You are the CEO of Your Life - So What Are You Are Going to Do About It?

Earlier this week, I decided to be a little social at the company cafeteria and sat down with some people I knew.    I figured why not, the cafeteria was serving some BBQ and it would be great to get my mind off of work for a few minutes.    So, I sat down and the conversation started with some small talk, which led to what people did for evening activities after work.   There were six of us sitting at the lunch table so I am sure I would be hearing about some interesting hobbies, maybe about their children's activities or even about a little side gig they are doing.   Not a chance.

The conversation was dominated by news events, TV shows and more TV Shows.    I heard about "The Walking Dead", "The Game of Thrones", "13 Reasons Why" and then more "Game of Thrones".  The excitement and energy over these TV shows was baffling.   Then everyone looked at me wondering why I was so quiet and then proceeded to ask what do I watch on TV.     I answered, well, I don't really watch TV, except maybe Shark Tank or The Profit.  But most of the time, I read books when I am home.    Being nice, one person asked if I was into Science Fiction books.    I said that I was not into Science Fiction and proceeded to mention that some of my favorite authors are Gary Vaynerchuk,  T. Harv Eker and maybe Napoleon Hill.

By now, everyone looked at me like I was some freak show with no life.   I mean, I don't watch "Game of Thrones"?   How lame is that?  One person asked me if Gary Vaynerchuk was some pyramid scheme.

Ok, now I was at a point, that maybe in the future, I will look to spend lunch with a different crew.

You hear these facts all the time.

95% of people work hard to make the other 5% rich.
It is not the size of your TV, it is the size of your Library, that matters
With today's volatile economy, it is more important than ever to have multiple streams of income.

My impression from the TV addicts I sat with is that they basically rely on their company and their boss to dictate their own success and their free time is staying up to date with the most popular TV shows.  After all, what does "Game of Thrones" have to do with investing in a business?  

I didn't have a problem with my lunch colleagues, in fact it was fun and informative.  The time I spend at lunch made me think of how I am a little different from most of my colleagues at work.

So, let's talk about being the CEO of your life.

You are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of your life.   You are 100% responsible for your life; its happiness, its wealth and its health.  Your life is the organization and as such will have different departments such as accounting, marketing or health.   In other words, how you manage your finances, your resume, and your wellness.

Here are some tips to get your own departments in order:

- First, assess who you hang with and who influences you, and make any changes that have nothing to do with what you are working to accomplish.

- Second, what is the purpose of your own life?  Is it to be Rich?  Healthy? Compassionate? or all of the above?   Write it down on your dream board so you stay focused.

- Third, assess how you are spending your time.  Are you spending at least 80-90% of time on result producing activities that work toward your goals as the CEO of yourself?  Build a roadmap toward your goals and stay on track.

Personally, my goal is to not rely on a corporation to reach my goals of financial independence and happiness.    I am working toward my goals by reading the right books, hanging with the right people and spending my time on result producing activities "after work" such as my business ventures.  That is what I am doing about it, how about you?

A Tip for the Aspiring Entrepreneur - It is What You Do In Between The Lines That Counts

I love this time of year in my hometown of Boston, MA.   Of course, the weather goes from those chilly rainy days to that perfect sunny 70-degree day in a flash.   Boston's most famous sporting event The Boston Marathon happens.   Opening Day for our beloved Red Sox is here.  April is truly a great month to be in the Hub.

From a business and entrepreneur's perspective, spring is also a time of new beginnings, a time for reflection and a time for action.     The business plan you did right before the holidays is falling into place, and you are assessing the first quarter of the year, adjusting your goals along the way, so you can march your way toward amazing success.

If you are an entrepreneur, you probably have also read aspiring books and attended sold-out celebrity events and training sessions, in order to learn about positive mindset, business planning and successful strategies.   Some of my personal favorite books are from Gary Vandychuk, T. Harv Eker, Grant Cardone and Daymond John, to name a few.    Amazing amazing entrepreneurs and they don't fool around.  They know what that are doing.

Likewise each uber-successful entrepreneur may hold free training sessions via their own rock star tour that can move into more detailed multi-day trainings at a hotel or conference center in a great location like Las Vegas or Florida.    Robert Kiyosaki, Kevin Harrington of Shark Tank and Grant Cardone are well-known for their training companies and invaluable ways to take your positive mindset and focus and ultimately your business to the next level.

Books are a very small investment of your money and time but can be life-changing.   The multi-day entrepreneur/ business training is much more of a monetary and time investment.  Some cost thousands of dollars which for that budding entrepreneur can clean out their life savings!

I am personally an entrepreneur and have had my own business ventures for the past nine years in addition to a full-time career as an IT Executive.  I have been to celebrity trainings and have read probably a hundred books.  

What I have learned is that you can read all the great books, go to the best trainings that teach you how to be laser-focused and give you all the tools to succeed,  but if you go back to your old routine and don't take action on what you learn, it all goes to waste and you don't grow.

I have seen this happen time and time again.   We all go to this amazing Business Conference in Miami in February.  Everyone is all pumped up to take their business to the next level.  They can't wait to get home and get started.  Right?    By March, they are still saying they will get started next week and another week goes by and nothing.  Back to the same old song and dance.

The biggest tip of all is, it is what you do every single day is the difference between a business stuck in the mud or a business that is accelerating down the highway of success.

This tip does not cost you thousands of dollars or thousands of hours.   Once you learn the skills taught by uber-successful business professionals, make a DAILY action plan and track your progress every single day.    It is what you do between the line that counts, not the number of events you attend or the books you read.

Finally, I encourage you to join entrepreneur groups, go to a celebrity training event an pick up a great book.   Once you complete the training.book, make a daily task list and put it next to your goals and track them every single day.    You will start to notice that every day is like spring in Boston versus fall, and you will be onto that highway to personal success on your own terms.