The life you have, the friends you can count on, the books you read, and even the restaurants you eat in, will come down to the five people you spend time with this weekend. Choose them wisely, because their recommendations and ideas influence you more than you can imagine.
You hang up the phone with a friend. You open an email from a colleague. You text someone you’re meeting later. How do you feel after those interactions? If you’re not gaining energy, enthusiasm and opportunity from most of the conversations you have, ask yourself this: Are you hanging out with the right people?
Can you imagine what your work, your life, or your business will be like five years from today? Every month that ticks by marks the passage of time, the one “non-renewable” resource that every entrepreneur wishes they had more of. Maybe it’s time to use your time better, and choose wisely with whom to spend it. To be “on purpose” with your focus on success.
Just think: if you only met one new person each quarter, within two years you could have a life that’s not only different from the one you’re experiencing today, you could be richer because of it. Rich in experience, in contribution, in health … and in your business ventures.
Make it a priority to meet the next person who will influence your future in positive ways.
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And as always, remember this:
1. First impressions matter. More than “what you do,” people will walk away talking about “who you are.” The next time you work on how you introduce yourself, consider writing it from their perspective. Write out a few lines (no more than a paragraph) that you’d want someone to remember after their first conversation with you. Practice it five to 10 times, and then edit it for the next five to 10 people you meet. 2. Follow up immediately. After that initial “exchange of energy” from meeting someone, you have an opportunity to drop back into their life sometime later that week. Depending on what you spoke about, and especially if you promised to get them something, follow up with something specific to the conversation. Also, consider sending something that reinforces the first impression you hoped to make. If they’re going to be someone who might influence you over the next five years, you’ll want them to know a little more about you. 3. Give more, sooner. The best time to build a network is when you have something to give. Reflect on your body of knowledge, your life experiences and your own personal and professional interests. This month, offer to host a Q&A session for your local Rotary. Offer to write, publish and print a “mini-manifesto” about success for the high school you graduated from. Offer to present your “My Toughest Life Lesson and What I Learned” for a local entrepreneurs’ club. 
Phil Mora is a business consultant, speaker, executive coach and CMO at Bold. I specialize in marketing and branding, online marketing, business development and entrepreneurship. A creative problem solver with a talent for strategic thinking and communication, I combine lessons learned from more than 15 years as a high-tech industry executive with my roots as a software technologist, product developer and startup marketeer. When I am not working on client projects, I am obsessed with with sports, fitness, wellness, nutrition and anything holistic: you’ll find me at the gym or outdoors training hard. Contact me here: I look forward to connecting with you!
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Say no to nonessential tasks and prioritize the ones of extreme value.
Consider your goals and look at your schedule before agreeing to take on more work. If a task is time consuming but not necessarily important to the main goal, pass it off or add it to the bottom of the list. Non essential: endless meetings at any time of the day/night to satisfy other timezones and other people’s lifestyles. Essential: gym time, family time, me time. Dedicate time blocks and limit distractions. Everyone has a place where they work the most effectively. Some people love to have music in their earbuds, while others need complete silence. Some people can work just as efficiently from their dining table as they can in a library cubicle. Wherever that place is, utilize it. Turn the television off, silence the cell phone, put away the tablet and dedicate complete focus to the task at hand. No responding to texts, no browsing the web.
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Time is something you can never get back: a most essential life skill to master is time management and your objective should he to make every day count, increase your efficiency at almost everything you do and improve your quality of live. It’s a lifestyle that puts you in the driver seat. But to do so, you must have the courage to end self procrastination and learn self-discipline. Here are a few tips that will guide you through improving your time spending habits.
Lay the foundation for effectively managing your time. Delegating the appropriate amount of time to get adequate sleep, maintain a healthy diet and exercising regularly are all essential elements to improve both focus and concentration. Making the time to create a healthy lifestyle will help improve your efficiency throughout the day, allowing for more time to complete other tasks. Identify and evaluate how you are currently spending your time. If you drive to work, how long is your commute? Can you commute after rush hour and go to the gym instead? Are you using this “me” time to organize your thoughts and capitalize on hours of uninterrupted mental creativity potential? These are the best times throughout your day to incorporate all those little things that you “wished” you had time for. Over time, these habits become a lifestyle, and you will find yourself well ahead of the pack. "When you operate your life in a healthy, organized fashion, and are able to execute daily tasks efficiently, stress is reduced, productivity increases and overall satisfaction surges."
Never hesitate to take a break if needed.
Everyone gets worn out from time to time and piling on more and more tasks leads to stress that will simply derail you from the mission at hand. Take a walk and get some fresh air at least once a day for an hour, or take that sick day you’ve been holding out on. We all need a moment of clarity and solitude to clear our overworked minds and recharge our bodies to give us that next big push.
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Phil Mora is a business consultant, speaker, executive coach and CMO at Bold. I specialize in marketing and branding, online marketing, business development and entrepreneurship. A creative problem solver with a talent for strategic thinking and communication, I combine lessons learned from more than 15 years as a high-tech industry executive with my roots as a software technologist, product developer and startup marketeer. When I am not working on client projects, I am obsessed with with sports, fitness, wellness, nutrition and anything holistic: you’ll find me at the gym or outdoors training hard. Contact me here: I look forward to connecting with you!
 San Francisco, Paris, Philadelphia 01/01/2015 Wishing you a happy and magical New Year. We hope it brings you lots of joy and happiness. All the best! |
i blog about the things I love: fitness, hacking work, tech, Experiences and anything holistic.
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