Keep Your Promises – Waking Giants

The Lone Leader Weekly

17th May 2023

Stop Taking Score Play The Game.

When you spend all your time taking score against strangers, you never realise how far you’ve come.

#1. Old Thinking Creates New Problems.

But new problems create the opportunity for new thinking.

#2. Life Is Layers Of Paint. 

Each one tells a story, but only some colours stay relevant.

#3. You Are Not Alone.

You need to whisper a little louder.

Why do we keep our promises to others but not to ourselves?

The one thing I know to be true when it comes to being a lone leader is that we always break promises to ourselves.

Modern leadership demands that we are servant leaders, putting our team’s needs before our own. While I agree with the reason, it does mean that we often lose sight of our needs.

The emotional support, security, stability and free cookies on a Friday are all well and good, but not while you lay awake at night resenting the investment.

Because we have all been there.

The promises that we break the most:

1. Time to rest
2. Time with family
3. Time on our hobbies
4. Time working on the business, not in it
5. Time sleeping
6. Time laughing
7. Time having fun
8. Time to celebrate your success.

This is what my business demands, you might say. True. Right now. But you can change.

The magic ingredient? Capacity.

Freeing up time to do the things that you compromise daily.

It’s not getting up at 4 am because some guru tells you to.

It’s not hiring more staff, so you suddenly become an entrepreneur rather than a business owner.

It’s you deciding what you want your business to do for you.

How it serves your needs and goals.

How does your team collaborate with you to realise your vision for a better world, industry or product?

I say fuck convention, the industry standard or the way it has always been done. 

I say to you, design the life you want and get your business working for you.

Am I preaching theory over reality? No.

Since I designed to get my business working for me, these are the things that give me the capacity:

1. Walking the dogs when I get up, around 7 am, while listening to podcasts. (Often taking notes)
2. Have the goal of being available for to the world at 10 am, which often means I can get a lot done upfront
3. If I’m not feeling it, I change my schedule and work different hours later in the day
4. Take me out for coffee on my own to take a break
5. Call friends to check in, talk business, talk shit
6. Take my wife out for coffee to check in most weeks
7. Train at lunchtime when the weather is good.

All of which recharge me and give me the capacity to deliver on my business goals.

I work fewer hours but end each day more fulfilled because I am not chasing my to-do list.

I wish this were a foolproof method; it’s not. I have been playing with these ideas for the past seven months, and it takes time to break the habit of always being in your business.

But I know that if you don’t decide what you want for your life, life will decide for you.

You don’t have to give up on your goals.

You don’t have to give up on the scale.

You don’t have to give up on financial freedom.

But you do need to start making promises to yourself and keeping them.

One small promise at a time.

Until next week, be selfish; no one else will for you.

G.

What next?