The Electronic Income Reducer!

 

Wow! I just wish I had just a little more time!” John says at the end of a long work week.  He then sits down in his favorite recliner and flips on his favorite television show and curls up with a bowl of popcorn and settles in for the night.  After a while, he says, “I need to get in shape!  But I guess that round is a shape, so I’m in shape.”  He plops down in the chair and loses himself in the latest tale of Law and Order.

John’s wife starts telling him that they need a new roof, and don’t know how they are going to pay for it.  The only problem is that he is so engrossed in the 10 o’clock news that he only half-hears her.  (That never happens, right ladies!) 3 am rolls around and he awakens in a cold sweat wondering where they will ever get the money for the new roof.  After all, they both work full time, and they are financially strapped. 

John has been in real estate for a while, but the media has been convincing him that the economy has crashed and he can’t expect much out of that career.  John relaxes and orders an instructional video titled, “How to teach pit bulls to jump from your trampoline into your backyard pool:  Wow!  His insurance guy will love that one!

This tale is all too common.  The victim is addicted to The Electronic Income Reducer!  This box is in nearly every home, and in most cases, in almost every room in the home.  Why do advertisers pay millions of dollars to have just a 30 second spot during the Super bowl? That’s because people are hypnotized and advertisers can access their subconscious minds directly!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to imply that all television is evil.  What I’m getting at is that most of America is in the habit of television.  Jack Canfield tells us in The Success Principals, that 90% of what we do in life is out of habit.  Thus, habits are the most powerful force in our lives.

 Let’s take a look at the math:  The average American watches 6 hours of television per day.  (No wonder most of America is fat!)  If you can pry yourself away from that box for just one of the six hours, you will pick up 7 hours in a week.  That is 365 hours per year, divided by 24 hours in a day that equals 15.2 days of extra time in a year!  Have you ever wondered why wealthy have large libraries in their homes, and poor people have large televisions?  This is not a coincidence!

In my live program, How to Keep Your Head On, While Working Your Butt Off, I show audiences how managing your time can be effective to help you achieve more in your life.  Some simple ways you can stretch more out of your work day can include:

• 1. Instead of asking or telling someone about and idea or a project right away, keep a notepad with everyone’s name on a separate page. When something you need to discuss with them pops to mind, write it on the page assigned to them. Visit with them at the end of the day, and cover many items at once, instead of making several visits throughout the day.
• 2. Eliminate the “Gotta Minutes” in your life. In my live program, 7 Keys To Unlocking Your Sales Success, we visit about the “Gotta Minutes”. You may be knee deep in a project and Fred “Gotta Minute” pops by your office and asks, “Jim, gotta minute?” You end up totally distracted and need to spend 10-15 minutes to catch up where you left off prior to the unplanned interruption. If you are working on a project, shut your door, or let your secretary know that you are not to be disturbed.
• 3. Take periodic times throughout the day to give yourself a mental “time out”. Meditate; look out the window, or just chill. You can only keep your brain on overdrive for so long. When I am on the road, I typically work 15-16 hour days. I am stacked with clients, prospecting, or working with coaching clients from 5:45 in the morning until well after 10 pm. I make time in the afternoon to just relax or take a nap (if possible). It may only be for 20-30 minutes, but it recharges better than anything I know of.

I have found these ideas to be quite useful in helping to get more accomplished in a day, week, month, or year.  I welcome your success strategies at info@theshef.com.  I would love to send you my goal planning e-book, free of charge, just email me at the address above and type “Real Estate Radio” on the subject line.  I’ll get it right out to you. 

If you have a program you really can’t miss, just Tivo it.  Schedule the down time to enjoy the show.  Don’t turn it into a habit!  I hope to run into you at a live event where we are Cooking Up Success Worldwide! 

Make it a great day!
Dave Sheffield