Photo via iStock/Chamille White
"... It comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying." -- The Shawshank Redemption
Everyone's busy. If you're an executive, you are probably really busy. But what are you busy doing? Are you taking thoughtful, deliberate steps to creating the career -- and, more importantly, the life -- you want?
Many years ago, when I opened my downtown office, I sampled 29 paint swatches on the wall. I knew I hit the target when, within the first several months of opening, several clients remarked that the office was so "soothing." It was the exact word that defined my color choice.
While I have redecorated and refreshed the office since then, the environmental impact that I strategically crafted for my clients still remains.
As a business owner and CEO, intent drives every decision I make on a daily basis. I craft my career, company and life as if each were a piece of art.
If Your Life Were A Sculpture, Would You Buy It?
Lily, an executive coaching client, was a "super-caretaker." Taking intense pride in her accomplishments at work and her rise to COO, she often over-delivered. "No" was not part of her corporate vocabulary, no matter how complicated clients' requests. Her team members appreciated her open-door policy and she cultivated a workplace environment where everyone was thriving.
At home, family came before anything else. Between tending to her three children and her ailing mother-in-law, "anything else" rarely happened.
Lily felt empty.
During one of our sessions, I asked Lily:
"If your life were a piece of art on display at a gallery, would you be drawn to it? Would you find it interesting ... beautiful? Would you even notice it? And if so, would you buy it?"
As the tears formed in Lily's eyes, she slowly shook her head.
Majoring in Minor Things
Too often, busy executives like Lily rush through their days on auto-pilot, checking items off their To-Do lists in order to quickly move on to the next phone call, meeting or project.
Buried in the minutiae, life is busy, but it can also feel hollow.
Creating the life you want requires more than time management. Regardless of your career, industry or job title, your personal brand is the culmination of your choices:
- Time -- How do you fill your minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years? Every day starts with 24 hours. Do you spend them with intent?
- People -- Consider the individuals you surround yourself with. Do they bring out the best in you? Your future is directly correlated with the people in your immediate circle; the company you keep is the best predictor of your success. Contemplate where your closest friends will be in 10 years. Does that vision align with your goals?
- Environment -- Does the décor in your home and office reflect your personality? Is your workspace cluttered? What kind of music do you listen to when you want to be inspired -- or to relax? Do you light scented candles? The stimuli in your environment create the atmosphere of your life.
- Energy -- Every activity you engage in has the potential to drain or invigorate you. Do you maintain a healthy work-life balance? Are you majoring in minor things?
- Money -- Like time, money is a limited commodity for most people. How do you spend yours? Your purchases are a tangible reflection of your values and priorities.
- Mindset -- Your thoughts drive your mood, influence your behaviors and impact your results. Breaking free of non-productive thinking patterns, outdated attitudes and ingrained psychological pulls is perhaps the most neglected, yet most powerful choice you can make in creating the life you want.
Business -- and Life -- as You Intend It
At the beginning of my career, I began a practice that I continue to this day to ensure that every choice I make is deliberate and aligned with my goals and values: I make a daily intention.
Making an intention, and then checking to see if I've stayed true to my intention throughout the day allows me to make prudent choices, and to make necessary adjustments along the way. The ability to constantly improve is the beauty of being human. It allows us to create the lives we want.
Whether you're an executive running a Fortune 500 company, an entrepreneur launching your own business or a parent running a household, the details that get your attention will culminate in your work of art.
You are, after all, sculpting your future in every moment.