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Do you know anyone who works 50 hours + a week? I’ve worked with many executives that think nothing of working 50, 60 or even 70 hours a week! Personally I think they are mad. Don’t get me wrong, I love my work; I just love my non-work time more. But this is not really the point. The point is, if you are working 50 hours a week is it because you think you must work this long to achieve the outcomes you seek? Or is it because you just want to be there for 50 hours a week? If it is because of the former, here’s a question for you… “When looking at all the things you do in that week, are you the only one capable of doing them or could you be delegating more of them?” In real simple terms, are you spending so much time working IN the business that there simply is no time to work ON the business?

Does this describe you? If so, think for a minute how much more expanded your mind would be, how much more elevated your business would be and how much more enriched your life would be if you only did the things that contributed in these three areas. Are you implementing low-level operational pursuits at the cost of the high leverage strategy?

The adage “don’t sweat the small stuff” comes to mind. The real value in making your life ‘burn’ with enrichment is in the stuff you do well and gives you the greatest return on your efforts. Chances are, that’s not photocopying your strategy documents!

When you’re ready to begin working ‘on’ your business and your life then check out The Emerson Project www.emersonproject.com.au … a project committed to exactly that.

Each day is built on little wonders. Things that we take for granted, that provide at the end of the day your balance sheet. It’s about getting from the day not just through the day. Let’s explore what some of those options might be…

You can start the day late. Sleep in to the last minute. Be woken with the abrupt sound of a ringing alarm. Snatch a coffee and a smoke and run for the door cursing the day.

OR

Start the day early. Catch a sunrise and stand in awe, go for a walk, celebrate and honour the freshness of a new dawning day; a new start.

Then…

Expect the worst. Drive hurriedly to work imagining the pile on your desk and the grumpy people you work with. Cuss the moronic drivers and run the lights to get the closest car park.

OR

Expect the best. Have praise and gratitude for your heart and your mind. Rejoice in the splendour of your senses; the breeze on your face, the scent of a freshly mowed grass, the glow of a new day dawning, the chirping of birds. Enjoy and revel in it all! Experience it all as if for the first time.

Then…

Eat junk. Grab a Coke and a chocolate bar from the vending machine. Sit at your desk and suck on lollies from your top draw.

OR

Breakfast well. Take time to enjoy it. Make yourself a freshly squeezed orange juice or a banana smoothie. Carefully prepare a fruit salad and yoghurt breakfast. Sit in gratitude of each mouthful.

Then….

Slump. Slump at your desk, arch your back and let your head droop.

OR

Take a little exercise. Stretch, go for a walk, ride a bike, feel the blood course through your veins. Practice some yoga and meditate for awhile.

Then…

Get the daily news. Read the headlines of tragedy, misfortune and war. Feel a sense of hopelessness and dread. Worry about the past, the present and the future.

OR

Read the good stuff. Not the papers; “If it bleeds, it leads”. The inspirational and wonderful stuff is in the books and notes from loved ones. Savour the words.

Then…

Ignore people. Shrug an acknowledgement at your family and co-workers. Grunt a few orders to your kids “Clean your room before I get in”. Tell your co-workers and friends you’re too busy, too tired, and too stressed.

OR

Greet them well. Wake your loved ones with a smile, but before you do stand and look at their faces. Feel the love you have for them and let them know it too. Let them greet the day with enthusiasm and splendour. Be kind to others no matter their disposition.

Then…

When asked ‘How are you?’ respond with negative comments – ‘I’ve been better’ ‘Glad when today’ over ‘Bloody Monday… again!’

OR

When asked ‘How are you?’ reply with a optimism and joy ‘Fantastic!’ ‘Never been better’ ‘Ten out of ten… and rising!’

Then…

Do the same thing. Regardless of the results, do the same things, bemoan the outcome, whinge about the results and complain about anything, but doggedly do the same thing anyway.

OR

Try something new. Sit with someone different at lunch. Travel a different route brush your teeth with your other hand. Go on, take a chance, take a risk and let yourself be fascinated by the everyday and the commonplace.

Then…

Wallow in chaos. Spend hours looking for the same report, try pen after pen that doesn’t work, pull that shirt from your overcrowded wardrobe and lament the clutter in your life.

OR

Clear away the clutter. Throw out that old suit. Empty the draw of those dozens of pens. Give away those magazines. Put clarity and freshness back into your day.

Then…

Kill time. Collapse in front of the ‘box’. Beer in one hand, remote in the other. Stay there until you fall unconscious in a stupor or apathy and dullness.

OR

Talk. Enjoy once again that lost art of conversation. Switch off the television. Face your loved ones and ask them how their day went and then listen, really listen. Tell them about your dreams and aspirations.

Then at the end of the day….

Forget it all. Wipe the day from your memory. Forget people’s names, what important to them, their dreams and their aspirations. Focus on failures, flops and a fear of what tomorrow may bring.

OR

Record it. Keep note of your day. The wins, the laughter and the challenges. Reflect on the positive things that happened that day in such a way that your journal becomes one of your most wondrous legacies and joy to read.

Then…

Crawl into bed and dread the thought of doing the whole thing again. Rue the day and all that is in it.

OR

Review and reward. End the day with a win. Kiss that face you stared at this morning, tell them you love them and hug them too. Be proud of them and yourself. Pause and review the day and look forward to the next one with great anticipation and joy. This is how a great life is built.

At the end of the day, and all through it for that matter, the choice is yours and yours alone. String enough of either day together and you have either a life that was led as a warning or a life of inspiration and joy. The choice is yours. Which will you choose?