“The successful people are the ones who can think up things for the rest of the world to keep busy at.” ~ Don Marquis
This brief article is excerpted from a weekly ezine (“Monday Morning Muse”) offered by The Coaching Corporation. Each Muse has been prepared under the guidance of Inga Estes, president of The Coaching Corporation.
How many people around you are you keeping busy and productive? This might be an entirely new way for you to look at your job. What happened to me: I was so busy that I didn’t even know I was busy. I really hadn’t had time to notice. I was in action, moving forward, building a company, remodeling houses, having children, all at the same time, thank you. Everything moved very fast and my life was a swirl of, “Get out of my way, please, thank you, excuse me, gotta go, and buh-bye.”
I was so incredibly busy that I could barely breathe, let alone notice how busy I was. One early morning after an all-night at the office, I’d had enough even though I’d gotten the project done. I won the race, clocked the most hours, was the most determined, and got it done in spite of all odds. It was a gorgeous piece of work that the client would love and, once again, I was still awake as the sun rose. I hadn’t slept and my jaw hurt from too much caffeine, my eyes burned, and the nanny had fed my kids and put them to bed. I just wanted to make it home on time to get them off to school.
Did it feel good? Yes. Absolutely yes . . . and no. There was a cost to working this hard and I knew that I couldn’t pay it forever. Maybe you’ve been there; maybe you’re there now. Maybe it’s impossible to get your job done all by yourself. Actually, it’s a wonderful problem to have!
What are you really good at that you could teach someone else to do? Figure out how to give it away. Give away the best you’ve got, and you’ll always get more “best” to take its place. Check it out: What are you doing today? Can someone else do it? Now get going . . . and don’t do something new (pun intended).