Want to Achieve Success? Take Time to Rest!
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We can all admit that rest is a good idea…for the other guy. Most people have a hard time with the concept of “down tools” when they are self-employed. There is a fear of how it will be perceived or how the business will suffer if the owner rests*. Yet, we know it is good for us. A champion race horse needs to be fed, watered, rested, washed, and loved. A car needs to have the engine maintained. An athlete doesn’t go 100% all the time without breaking down! Rest is an important habit for success. As an entrepreneur or self-employed person, how do you give yourself permission to truly rest and recover when you feel like your back is against the wall?
- Know that you can afford to take the time: Mark Twain said, “If you have no time to rest, it’s exactly the right time.” Have you evaluated your pipeline? Do you know how many clients you are working with and the likelihood their transactions will close? Have you projected how much lead generation you still need to do before October? Knowing where you are will help you relax. If you are behind in business you can redefine the ‘rest’; a 24 hour technology detox, a weekend away, a night out with your friends or significant other without the phone.
- Plan the next start: Plug your lead generation into your calendar for when you return… not a GENERAL time block, but a specific plan of the names of people you will be connecting with and how. As Kevin Buffini says, “in order to be terrific, you have to be specific.” It will be easier to rest knowing exactly how you are stepping back into your business when you return.
- The only way to value your clients’ time is to value your own: Have you ever had to work with someone who expects you to drop everything at any moment and mirror their urgency over small things? Have you ever cancelled a personal appointment, scrambled to call someone back, and then regretted it? What I find with clients is that the ones who do not value their own time, do not value the time of others. Fear drives this*. What is interesting to me about this is the stable and reasonable client will not be attracted to the 24/7 model… the other kind will! Who do you want to have as your client? Be that person.
I have a client who does as much business as he wants. He is good at serving and maintaining standards with his database. This year he has a big goal and we have some ground to cover before October. I asked him how he justifies vacations when his numbers aren’t where they need to be in the moment. It is a healthy habit that I want others to mirror. This is how he replied;
“There is a biblical principle that if you are faithful in a little you will be GIVEN much. God gave me a family and I invest in those relationships by spending time with them. I believe that if I am faithful there and I invest in them, opportunity will open up for me in my business. The opportunity that opens is to invest in relationships within my database.” –Russ Akinin
*For more on this, pick up your copy of Think and Grow Rich and examine Chapter 15 on the six basic fears. Not resting stems from the fear of poverty and the fear of criticism.
Lindsey Zimmer
