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You're Working Too Hard on the Wrong Things (S5) S34:E4 Tuesday · Inspirations for Your Life

0:24
Well there, hello everyone, it's great to be
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with you on the ever-popular Inspirations for
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Your Life show.
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Thank you so much for deciding to join
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me here today, really, really do appreciate that.
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welcome back, because you are really welcome here.
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Thank you so very, very much, guys.
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We are kicking through our master topic, and
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this is an incredible, incredible week.
1:01
We always have great master topics, as you
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guys know that, I'm sure.
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All right, so before we get going with
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that, I want to let you know I
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have a cup of decaf hot tea here,
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and it's delicious.
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So if you want to get yourself a
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beverage, something to eat, feel free to do
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that and come on back quick to the
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So let's kick this show off, everyone.
1:31
So this whole master topic week is about
1:33
build a life you don't need to escape
1:35
from, Series 5, Show 34, and it's really
1:38
the truth.
1:40
You're working too hard on the wrong things,
1:43
Series 5, Show 34, and that's episode number
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4.
1:50
That's today, Tuesday's granular topic.
1:52
So everyone, welcome to the ever-popular inspirations
1:55
for your life show.
1:57
I am, in case you did not know,
1:59
John C.
2:00
Morley, a serial entrepreneur, engineer, marketing specialist, video
2:05
producer, podcast host, coach, keynote speaker, graduate student
2:10
at Montclair State University, a passionate lifelong learner,
2:14
and so grateful now to be a published
2:17
author.
2:18
Yes, guys.
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So grateful for that.
2:20
All right.
2:20
So friends, have you ever finished an incredibly
2:23
busy day, completely exhausted, only to wonder what
2:28
actually moved forward for you?
2:30
Yeah.
2:31
Many people have had that question.
2:33
Sometimes the problem isn't that we aren't working
2:35
hard enough, because a lot of us say,
2:37
oh, I got to work harder, I got
2:38
to push harder.
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That's not the key.
2:40
We're working incredibly hard on things that don't
2:44
deserve our best energy.
2:46
All right?
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Today isn't about lowering your standards.
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It's about becoming more intentional about where things
2:55
lead and land for you on those standards
2:58
and how they belong in your life.
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Your time, your attention, talent, and energy are
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limited.
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So let's explore 30 ways together, okay, to
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make sure your best effort goes where it
3:09
can actually make a difference.
3:11
Or I like to also say, move the
3:13
needle.
3:14
So that's an important piece, guys, is people
3:17
work very hard and they get into burnout.
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So you need to work not just smarter,
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but we need to work more with intention.
3:23
I think that is a very important thing,
3:25
guys.
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Very, very important thing.
3:27
Number one, not everything deserves maximum effort, okay?
3:32
Giving everything 100% sounds admirable, but it
3:38
isn't sustainable.
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Different responsibilities deserve different levels of attention.
3:44
Save your greatest effort for what genuinely matters
3:47
in your life.
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Number two, identify what genuinely matters, okay, before
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working harder.
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Determine what matters most.
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Ask which responsibilities, relationships, and opportunities would create
4:03
meaningful consequences.
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If you gave them more attention, stop.
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Number three, polishing things today.
4:12
Nobody values anymore.
4:14
It's easy to spend an hour here improving
4:17
something nobody will notice or benefit from.
4:20
Quality matters, but endless refinement can become a
4:24
sophisticated form of wasted effort, all right?
4:28
Number four, know where excellence creates impact.
4:33
Excellence is powerful when it changes the result.
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Learn where additional care improves someone's experience, strengthens
4:43
an outcome, or creates lasting value.
4:47
Number five, give important work your best attention,
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okay?
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Your most meaningful work shouldn't receive whatever attention
4:58
remains after distractions consume your day.
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Protect your time when your mind is strongest
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and use it deliberately.
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Number six, stop exhausting yourself on the minor
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details.
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You're burning out, guys.
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Details matter, but not equally.
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Don't spend enormous energy solving a $5 problem
5:20
while a $5,000 or $5 million opportunity
5:24
is waiting for your attention.
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Number seven, distinguish meaningful effort from busy work.
5:31
Being occupied isn't the same as making progress,
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and ask whether what you're doing is moving
5:39
something important forward or simply keeping you busy.
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What I like to say is in an
5:45
endless loop.
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Number eight, invest deeply in fewer priorities.
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So when everything becomes a priority, nothing really
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is.
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Choose fewer things that deserve serious attention and
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give yourself enough room to do them well.
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Number nine, know what deserves extra care.
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Some moments deserve another review, another conversation, or
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another hour.
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Learn to recognize where extra effort can genuinely
6:19
improve the outcome, or like I said, move
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the needle.
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Number 10, stop treating every task like an
6:26
emergency because it's not, guys.
6:29
Constant urgency destroys perspective.
6:31
Some things need immediate action.
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Others can wait.
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Learn the difference before every notification begins controlling
6:40
your valuable schedule.
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Number 11, guys, and this is important, put
6:46
quality where people can feel it.
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Quality matters most when improves a real experience.
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Put extra effort into the places where customers,
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colleagues, friends, family, or people you serve can
7:08
actually feel the difference.
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Number 12, give relationships meaningful effort.
7:15
Don't spend your best energy completing tasks and
7:19
then giving important people whatever is left.
7:23
Relationships deserve attention, listening, presence, and follow-through.
7:31
Number 13, focus on work that creates lasting
7:35
value.
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I think a lot of people get looped
7:38
into what they think is important, but then
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they find out it's not really important.
7:41
They're like, wow, I spent all that time
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on it.
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That's a very, very, you know, that's a
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big, big problem for, I think, a lot
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of people.
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And the reason I think they don't understand
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that is that for whatever reason, when people
7:57
do things, they're like, okay, this is the
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way it's supposed to be.
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But then for whatever happens, they're like, oh,
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my gosh, what am I supposed to do?
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How am I supposed to handle this?
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And it just causes, well, it causes a
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whole bunch of problems for a lot of
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people.
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And I want to tell you that you
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have a lot of power over these things.
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But don't let these things, how can I
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say, don't let these things, like, confuse you
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because, you know, guys, they will absolutely, absolutely
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confuse you.
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And I think that's a very big problem
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for a lot of people today is to
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understand that.
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And if you don't understand that, then maybe
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your whole problem is that you don't understand
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your value, you don't understand your worth.
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And that's something I think that a lot
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of people need to get.
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And they need to get this now.
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If they don't get it now, then this
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could be a very, very, very, very big,
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big problem for so many people.
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And again, you're going to be left feeling
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tired, which nobody wants to feel tired, right?
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So create that lasting value because some work
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disappears the moment it's finished.
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Other work builds knowledge, relationships, systems, opportunities, or
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something that continues creating value.
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Invest accordingly.
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Number 14, stop chasing meaningless perfection.
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Perfection can become expensive when the difference between
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excellent and flawless adds a little value.
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Don't sacrifice hours simply because you're afraid to
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declare something finished.
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No.
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Number 15, know when good enough really is
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enough.
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I think sometimes, you know, we want everything
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perfect, and I get that, okay?
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But if we're constantly trying to make everything
9:44
perfect, how do we ever, how do we
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grow, right?
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And if we can't grow, then that's a
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big problem for so many different people.
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Like, they don't understand, like, the whole concept
9:57
of it, okay?
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I think that's a very important thing for
10:01
us to realize, when good enough really is
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enough.
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Some people will spend their whole life, you
10:07
know, never finishing because, actually, they didn't think
10:11
it was good enough.
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Now, you can always make things better.
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I don't want to tell you you can't.
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You can always make things better.
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But if making things better is going to
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stop you from finishing, just finish first, and
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then you can do things better later, right?
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You can always, you can finish, and then
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you can come back and do something later,
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if that's what you want to do.
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If you don't want to do that, then
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I'll tell you, there's other things you can
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do in your life, okay?
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Those other things you can do, hopefully, will
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move the needle for you.
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Hopefully, they'll get you to understand what it
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is that you're missing, right?
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So, good enough doesn't mean careless, okay?
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Doesn't mean sloppy.
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It means recognizing when something has fulfilled its
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purpose, an additional effort would produce almost no
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meaningful improvement right now.
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There's lots of things for this.
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It could be in a marketing campaign.
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It could be, let's say, in a volunteer
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opportunity.
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When you know what you're doing is enough,
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but doing more is just going to burn
11:15
you out, and it's not going to really
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help the end game, right?
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So, these are important things for us to
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think about, right?
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Very important to think about.
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But I think the more that you realize
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this one phrase, done is better than perfect.
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Done is better than perfect.
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Done is better than perfect.
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I use this analogy when doing websites a
11:35
lot, right?
11:35
You know, we want the website to be
11:36
like so posh, right?
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But we want to get the site done,
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and we want it to be under the
11:42
standards and everything great.
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But then what we find out is it
11:44
doesn't work the way we want because we're
11:49
so hung up on dotting every I, crossing
11:53
every T.
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Now, there's nothing wrong with that.
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Don't get me wrong with that, but we
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need to launch the site so later on
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we can work on those harder things.
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We can work on the things that maybe
12:01
we want to fix later, but we have
12:03
to get the site launched.
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And sometimes that can make a very big
12:07
difference in your life and a lot of
12:08
other people's lives.
12:09
I think those are very, very important things.
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And I think many people don't realize what's
12:21
happening or why things are changing.
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And it's because of this one thing.
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It's because of that whole concept of done
12:26
is better than perfect, okay?
12:30
Done is better than perfect.
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And you'll realize that more and more each
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time.
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But sometimes you're saying to myself, John, wait
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a minute, it has to be great.
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I'm not saying that perfect means it's not
12:45
great.
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The best way I can explain this is
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if you've ever waxed a car, and I
12:53
did many years ago, it's not my specialty.
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And you put the wax on, you wait
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to take it off, and I did a
13:01
good job, but then it's not as good
13:03
as my dad wanted it to be, right?
13:04
It's not perfect.
13:07
But done is better than perfect.
13:08
And each time you do it, guess what?
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You become a little more comfortable.
13:11
You become a little better at actually doing
13:14
those things right.
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I think that's an important thing to understand.
13:23
That's an important thing to realize, right?
13:26
Very important for us to realize.
13:27
And so every time you grow and you
13:30
change, you'll be like, okay, now I get
13:32
this.
13:33
Now this makes sense.
13:34
Now I know why we're in this conundrum
13:36
right now, okay?
13:41
That's an important piece, guys.
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It's a very, very important piece for us
13:46
to acknowledge.
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Number 16, save excellence for what deserves excellence.
13:56
What the heck does that mean, John?
13:59
Well, let's try to break that apart.
14:02
Your highest standard, okay, has greater value.
14:08
When it's directed intentionally, give excellence to the
14:13
work, people, and responsibilities, where excellence genuinely matters.
14:21
I think that's an important one.
14:25
When we understand what we do matters and
14:28
how that changes our life, it gives us
14:31
a completely different perspective, but it also can
14:33
help the output in our life, okay?
14:37
It can help the output.
14:38
I think that's a very important thing for
14:43
us to be aware of.
14:45
Number 17, please concentrate instead of constantly switching,
14:50
okay?
14:51
Every disruption carries a cost.
14:54
Constantly jumping between tasks fragments your attention and
15:00
gets you frustrated and a lot of times
15:02
doesn't get the work done.
15:04
Give important work enough uninterrupted time to reach
15:08
deeper concentration.
15:13
Being intentional, I tell this to a lot
15:16
of people, a lot of people don't get
15:17
what being intentional means.
15:18
It means that you're present in the moment,
15:23
okay?
15:28
Be intentional in the moment.
15:32
That's something that a lot of people, I
15:34
think, don't understand, they don't realize.
15:38
And I know what you're saying.
15:42
I know you're saying, well, this can't be
15:44
right, but I'm telling you it is right,
15:47
okay?
15:47
It is right.
15:49
When you're intentional with something, you're going to
15:52
be able to get a better creative perspective
15:56
on it, okay?
15:57
You're going to understand things from a different
16:00
angle, all right?
16:02
That's an important piece.
16:04
You'll understand it from a different angle.
16:06
Number 18, put your strongest skills to meaningful
16:10
use.
16:11
Your abilities shouldn't spend their entire life buried
16:15
under low value distractions, okay?
16:19
Find opportunities where your strongest skills can solve
16:23
meaningful problems.
16:26
And I know a lot of you're saying,
16:27
well, John, I don't know how to solve
16:29
a problem.
16:30
I'm not saying you have to come to
16:33
the table with all the answers.
16:34
I'm just saying that you need to be
16:36
willing to be open to where the answers
16:39
come from, all right?
16:42
And when you're willing for the answers to
16:45
come from different places, you can say, okay,
16:46
now this makes sense.
16:48
Now I get it.
16:49
Now I see why before this wasn't working
16:51
for me, right?
16:52
That's important.
16:58
Now I get why I was in alignment
17:01
with the rest of the team.
17:02
Now I get why I was always burning
17:04
out.
17:04
Now I get the reason, okay?
17:06
Number 19, stop wasting talent on distractions.
17:11
Talent doesn't guarantee impact.
17:14
You can be incredibly capable and still spend
17:17
your days on things that don't matter anymore.
17:21
Protect your abilities from meaningless demands.
17:25
Number 20, choose impact over activity.
17:31
It's not how much you get done, it's
17:33
the impact of the work you're doing which
17:36
carries forth to others.
17:37
A packed calendar can create the appearance of
17:41
progress.
17:43
Impact asks a harder question.
17:45
What changed because of what you did?
17:48
Measure more than the motion or the busyness.
17:53
I know some people are saying, gee, if
17:54
I'm not busy, if I'm not busy, then
17:57
I must not be successful.
17:58
And that's a real, like a real misnomer,
18:01
okay?
18:02
A real misnomer.
18:03
And I think that's important for us all
18:07
to land into, to understand like what that
18:10
means in our lives and even other people's
18:13
lives.
18:14
So that's a very important point, guys.
18:16
Number 21, give important moments your full presence.
18:21
Not every valuable use of effort produces a
18:24
business result.
18:26
Sometimes your best effort means putting down the
18:28
phone, listening carefully, and being fully present for
18:33
someone or something important.
18:36
When you're talking to a friend, are you
18:41
constantly scrolling on your phone?
18:44
And yet you tell, uh-huh, uh-huh,
18:47
uh-huh.
18:48
Can you put your phone down and actually
18:51
look at me?
18:52
Oh, that's respect, but that's intention.
18:59
If you allow that to persist, you're enabling
19:05
that person.
19:06
Say, hey, if we're going to have a
19:08
conversation, do you think I could have it
19:10
with you and not, you know, the back
19:13
of your head?
19:14
Or, you know, the back of your cell
19:18
phone?
19:18
You think we could do that possibly?
19:20
Huh?
19:22
I had somebody the other day, we were
19:24
on a hike, and the person was going
19:28
way ahead of me, okay?
19:30
And the reason they were doing that is
19:32
they're playing with their phone, checking emails, scrolling.
19:35
That's wrong.
19:37
When you're with somebody else or with a
19:39
group, you don't do those things.
19:40
That's disrespectful.
19:42
Number 22, invest effort where it compounds.
19:46
Some effort continues producing value after the work
19:49
is done.
19:50
Learning a skill, building trust, creating a system,
19:54
or developing a strong relationship can pay dividends
19:58
far into the future.
20:01
Number 23, stop performing for people who aren't
20:06
watching.
20:08
Don't exhaust yourself trying to impress an imaginary
20:12
audience.
20:13
Make decisions based on genuineness valued.
20:20
You have rather than what you think somebody
20:21
might think about you.
20:25
These perceptions are important, guys.
20:28
Number 24, let priorities determine effort.
20:32
Your priorities shouldn't exist only in words or
20:35
in a vacuum.
20:36
They should influence where your time, attention, money,
20:40
and energy actually go.
20:43
Number 25, do fewer things exceptionally well.
20:47
You don't need to become average at 20
20:50
things because you're afraid to choose.
20:54
Sometimes reducing the number of commitments allows you
20:57
to best work and let that show up
21:02
and appear for people.
21:04
Number 26, recognize where your contribution matters.
21:08
You may have lots of skills, but if
21:11
you don't know how your contribution is mattering
21:14
or making a difference in people's lives, it
21:17
becomes hard to continue.
21:20
You see, ladies and gentlemen, you don't need
21:21
to be involved everywhere.
21:23
You don't even need the jack-of-all
21:24
-trades.
21:25
Look for situations where your knowledge, experience, relationships,
21:29
or abilities can create a meaningful difference.
21:33
That's true, guys.
21:35
Number 27, stop spreading yourself too thin.
21:39
Saying yes to everything eventually reduces what you
21:44
can give to anything.
21:46
Protect enough capacity to deliver quality where you've
21:50
already committed.
21:53
Number 28, make your effort intentional.
21:57
Before investing significant effort, know why you're doing
22:01
it.
22:02
Intentional effort has direction.
22:04
It isn't simply movement for the sake of
22:07
feeling productive.
22:09
That's the old school method.
22:11
If I keep feeling tired, I keep feeling
22:14
like I've worked, then I must have worked.
22:17
Not necessarily, guys.
22:19
Number 29, your best deserves a worthy destination.
22:25
Your best energy is valuable.
22:27
It's precious.
22:28
Your strongest thinking is valuable too.
22:31
Your experience and talent are valuable as well.
22:34
Don't continually spend them where they create almost
22:38
nothing in return.
22:41
Number 30, guys, please put your best where
22:44
it matters.
22:46
This gets back to the whole concept of
22:48
being intentional, doesn't it?
22:49
It does.
22:51
Put your best where it matters.
22:53
This brings everything together.
22:56
You don't need maximum effort everywhere.
22:59
You need the right effort in the right
23:01
places, directed toward what deserves the best of
23:06
you.
23:08
And that sounds crazy, but it's the truth,
23:10
guys.
23:10
As I get ready to close today's show,
23:13
some important points are coming to mind.
23:15
First, working hard can appear to be admirable,
23:20
but working hard without a direction can become
23:23
exhausting and just put you in an endless
23:26
loop of no results.
23:29
You can answer every message okay, perfect, with
23:35
every detail.
23:36
Attend every meeting, accept every request, and keep
23:41
yourself moving from morning until night.
23:46
But at the end of the day, ask
23:48
yourself, what received the best of me today?
23:54
Was it something important?
23:57
Was it someone who matters?
24:01
Did your effort solve a meaningful problem, strengthen
24:05
a relationship, create something valuable, or move an
24:09
important goal forward?
24:14
These are important things for us to think,
24:16
but a lot of times we don't think
24:17
about them because we're not in the moment.
24:21
We're here, but our attention is somewhere else.
24:27
Our attention is somewhere else.
24:32
That's important, guys.
24:34
Very, very important to understand and, of course,
24:38
be aware of, all right?
24:40
That's very, very important to know.
24:45
Or perhaps did your best enter disappear into
24:49
minor details, unnecessary urgency, distractions, and things, well,
24:54
nobody truly valued.
24:57
I think that's a problem for a lot
24:58
of people.
25:00
They can't measure it.
25:01
It goes somewhere they don't want, and they're
25:03
like, huh, how do I handle this?
25:07
How do I handle this?
25:10
And maybe you don't know how to handle
25:11
it.
25:12
Maybe you don't know.
25:15
Maybe that's the whole reason in a nutshell.
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You don't know how to handle it, right?
25:23
I mean, I'm just saying, how do I
25:28
know how to handle it?
25:29
How do I know how to move forward?
25:31
How do I know to react?
25:33
Well, I can tell you this.
25:34
When you become intentional with everything you do,
25:39
the wheels just sort of turn in motion
25:42
almost without you having to think.
25:44
Like when you pedal a bike, not having
25:47
to think about how to pedal a bike.
25:52
The wheels just go round and round.
25:55
Now, this isn't permission to become careless.
25:59
I want to be clear to make sure
26:02
you understand that.
26:03
I'm not saying to do your worst work
26:05
or to do what nobody else wants.
26:10
I'm not saying any of that, okay?
26:13
I'm saying to be intentional, but I'm also
26:15
saying don't burn out.
26:18
Don't burn out.
26:21
Because if you burn out, you're no use
26:24
to anybody.
26:27
You're no use to anybody.
26:29
I think that's a very important thing that
26:31
many people don't get.
26:34
When you're not able to help yourself, you're
26:38
not able to help anybody else, okay?
26:48
You're not able to help anybody else.
26:56
I think that's a very important thing for
27:00
us to realize.
27:05
And I'll tell you that it's important.
27:08
And it's important because of maybe where you're
27:13
going or maybe what you're doing, right?
27:17
If that matters to you, then that's going
27:20
to change your life.
27:22
Now, it's not going to change it today
27:24
or change it tomorrow, but it will change
27:27
it in time.
27:27
That's something that I can promise you, all
27:30
right?
27:30
So it's permission to become selective.
27:37
Know when excellence matters.
27:39
Know when good enough is enough.
27:43
Protect your concentration.
27:45
Give important people your presence.
27:48
Invest in your work that creates lasting value.
27:52
Stop performing for an audience that may not
27:55
even be watching.
27:57
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm John C.
27:59
Morley, serial entrepreneur.
28:00
And thank you so much for joining me
28:01
for another amazing episode of Inspirations for Your
28:04
Life.
28:05
You have only so much time, attention, energy,
28:08
and talent to give.
28:10
Don't spend your best every day.
28:13
Your best deserves a worthy destination.
28:16
Put your best where it matters.
28:18
Check out BelieveMeChief.com for more of my
28:20
amazing, inspiring creations.