Hello and welcome back. This episode I call Know Your 150%. So now I hope some of you chuckled out there, because obviously, discipline number five is to know your hundred percent, which is obviously your work capacity. The number of weeks per year and hours per week, that is your absolute magic formula, where one hour less, you'll start to get bored, one hour more, you'll start to burn out.
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This episode is all about what happens when you exceed your a hundred percent from time to time because it will happen. And it's happening to me right now. So this is the perfect episode and the perfect time to share what I'm experiencing, and how I'm managing it, in the hopes that you are thinking about you. Because many of you out there right now, as driven people, are in the exact same position. And it's a matter of just simply knowing when you're over capacity.
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And so there's this beautiful quote I heard back in my twenties, where someone said, "You can live out of balance in life as long as you know for how long and why." And that is really what this episode is about. And so right now, if you're living out of balance, as I am, the whole idea is just to understand that it's happening, know exactly how long it's going to last, and know why you are doing it, because you have to make sure it's worth the trade-off.
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And most of the time it's not. And so for me right now, it's worth the trade-off. And I just want to share with you my mental process and walk you through exactly what's going on, in the hopes, again, that you're thinking about you.
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And so as I sit here right now experiencing this, it's going to work out to about a month and a half long period where I am literally at 150% capacity. And so you may recall, I've been a 55 hour a week guy for 30 plus years. I've been working 40 weeks a year for the last probably 20 years. And last year I made a decision to go from 55 to 40 hours a week. And so all year this year, it's exactly what's been happening, and it's been awesome. A bit of a mental shift getting comfortable with that.
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But nonetheless, all of a sudden in this particular month and a half long period, I'm at like 60 hours a week. It really hit. And again, I want to walk you through this mental process. And so with that, that's why I'm calling it 150%, because it's important to know, if you're at 110%, 130%, 180%, it's all over capacity. And at some point burnout is coming.
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And I think for me, it has hit, like literally today. But nonetheless, whatever, the good news is, I'm a week and a half away from being back to 40 hours a week. I know exactly how long this is going to last and I know exactly why I'm doing it.
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And so a couple of specifics. And what caused this is a few things. Number one, we decided to restructure Shine, the book Shine. And so we've restructured it. And so this will all be unveiled in February. We're very excited about it. We've done some rewriting, some updating. It is a better book. And I was so convinced that we needed to do this, I had to commit the time. And so in this particular, I'm just going to keep calling it month and a half period, I had to find eight full days to hunker down and dive into this. And as I'm doing it, it's heaven. But what it does is it kind of displaces everything else, because my schedule was already full with 40 hour a week work. So that's the first thing.
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Second thing is, with the company Entrepreneurial Leap, we are looking at potentially bringing on a partner. And so we're going through these negotiations, these two to four hour meetings. And so again, that displaced it. I've been traveling a bit, so I'm on a plane every week and my to-do list is ridiculous. Like I'm staring at a to-do list of 20 really important things that need to get done like now and I can't get to them.
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So with that, there's just the reality of what's going on. And so now, I look at all of this and I have to make a decision, how long will this last? Why am I doing this? Is it worth it? Remember, most of the time the answer is no. But now we just simply run everything through the 10 Discipline filter to make sure this is all worth it.
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Because here's what happens, our friends and family are the ones that tend to suffer the most. Our time with them tends to suffer the most, as well as our time with ourselves. But there's no question, I'm seeing friends and family less. I am a little more amped up and edgy. And so what I do as a result of that is I just over communicate.
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Sorry, I'm a little edgy, a little overwhelmed right now, a little distracted. And so I over communicate. But again, that can only last for so long. Something's going to give in these relationships if I did this forever. But again, I'm also making it clear to them for how long and why. So just over communicate in your relationships. What I'm noticing, which is really cool though, is I'm as present as ever with them, even in this state, because I'm aware. And that's the point. It's like the secondary point.
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The first point is, you can live out balance in life as long as you know for how long and why. The second point is, be aware. You have to be aware that all of these things are going on. And I'm just really enjoying being aware, observing this, being present through all of this. But again, it can't last forever.
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And with this awareness, I can feel it in my body. I can feel how it's starting to take a toll. And when I was just going like this in my twenties, and thirties, and forties, I really didn't pay attention. Now I can see it, feel it, understand it. It's really incredible. And I hope the same for you. Because remember, I'm sharing this whole message and all of this experience for you.
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And so, again, this is when the 10 Disciplines are more important than ever, and you have this opportunity to just run this experience through the 10 Disciplines. And I'll just use a couple of them as an example, but let's start with 10 year thinking.
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And so with this conscious decision I made to restructure the book and do the work I'm doing with the book, take on a partner with Entrepreneurial Leap, is it in alignment with my 10-year thinking? Again, if you're out there and you're at 130, 150%, is the stuff that's taking you over capacity, is it in alignment with your 10-year thinking?
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And for me, it's a hell yes, because with what we're doing with the book and this restructure, there's no question it's going to make a bigger impact. And a big part of my 10-year thinking is to make a huge impact with this content that we're talking about. And the exact same thing with Entrepreneurial Leap, our intention to impact so many entrepreneurs in the making and early stage entrepreneurs, it's a no-brainer that I've got to make this commitment for the next 5, 10, 20 years and the impact it's going to have. So again, it's a no-brainer when I run it through the filter of my 10-year thinking. And again, as long as I know it's going to come to an end soon.
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Next is take time off, thinking about that Discipline. And I'm still taking time off. I was off to Boulder with my friends for that four-day trip. Kathy and I went to New York for three days. So I'm still getting away. I'm not canceling trips because of this. And what I'm realizing is, taking these trips is helping me recharge as I come back sharper, better, faster, doing the work that I'm doing.
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The next thing that comes to mind is know thyself. So the other thing I'm doing as good as ever is I'm delegating. I'm delegating everything that is not in my sweet spot with all of this craziness that's going on. And so unfortunately, my team is a bit stressed right now because they're getting all of those delegations. So they are absolutely at their limit as well. But again, it's short-lived for them.
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So this is the part where this starts to affect other people in your life, starts to affect other people in my life, and I just need to be aware of the effect it's having. And again, know for how long and why.
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Another Discipline that comes to mind is be still. It's really important for me that I stay in my stillness practice because it keeps me clear on all of these decisions I need to make. A lot of what I'm doing is a lot of creative work, and it keeps me at a very high creative level.
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And then the last thing that comes to mind is just saying no. In these times, you have to say no more than ever. And so I realized, I'm saying no three times more than I normally say no right now. I'm saying no to so many things so that I don't go to 170%. And so, there's an example of running these times through the 10 Disciplines to make sure what you are doing is in alignment, that it all fits.
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And so all that said, bringing it into the home stretch, if you are in this state, you have to see a light at the end of the tunnel because you can't do this forever. Something's going to give. Relationships, your physical health, God knows what, but something's going to give.
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And so for me, I'm a week and a half away from getting back to balance, and I can't wait. At the same time, I know for how long and why so I'm having a blast with this, even though I am a little edgier, a little more overwhelmed, and not a hundred percent myself.
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And so with that, this is you right now, please do a checkup on all 10 Disciplines. So literally, just carve out some time right now, sit for a half hour, go through each discipline and just make sure you're applying every one of them in these crazy times.
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And if you know someone going through this right now, please send them the link to this episode. I hope that helped.
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Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us, and please tune in for the next episode. Until then, if you'd like to see where you are on your True Self journey, go to shedandshinepodcast.com to take the True Self-assessment and receive personalized guidance.
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If you're already to begin your inner world journey with Rob and myself, please join us for the next round of the 10 Disciplines group coaching program. We wish you all the best in freeing your True Self, stay focused, and much love.
