Chasing the money will never make you rich.
Working 60, 70 even 80 hours a week alone will never make you rich.
Sitting around and manifesting success will never make you rich.
However, taking deliberate, purposeful, effective action is what makes you rich: rich with inner fulfillment, rich with joy and happiness. Not to mention, it makes you rich monetarily as well.
Today, we are going to discuss three easy steps that you can follow to finally obtain the health, wealth and happiness you have been searching for.
Last year, I had the privilege of speaking at a very special conference.
The reason the conference was so special was partly because the attendees took the conference seriously. They attended each session in business attire -- not ratty t-shirts and jeans that you often see at many typical IM conferences. They listened to the speakers and asked intelligent questions.
Another aspect that made this conference so special was that the speaker line-up was so diverse. It included people like Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City; James Malinchak, an esteemed business coach and star of the ABC hit TV series Secret Millionaire; yours truly, of course, and a gentleman I had never met before named Nido Qubein.
Nido is a businessman, author and President of High Point University since 2005. He also happens to be a motivational speaker and, frankly, one of the best I have EVER heard in my entire life.
From the moment Nido started speaking, I was mesmerized! I took away so many lessons that day from Nido. But, one concept changed and enhanced my life so dramatically I needed to share it with you right now!
Great Things Happen in Three's
We have all heard the old adage that bad things happen in three's. We have all known that one person, who lost their job, got a divorce and had a car accident within a short period of time. Or the friend who failed her law exam, found out she contracted Lyme disease and had a flat tire all in the same day.
Today, I am here to tell you that GREAT things happen in three's all the time, as well. Perhaps we are just too busy to notice. But, the bottom-line is, when you live your life purpose and intent, you will notice because the results are too profound to miss.
And, what will help you achieve all your dreams, goals and desires is dividing your life (and your time) into the "The Prefect Three." Which I like to call The Art of Learning, Earning and Serving!
Like all great concepts, Nido's is very easy to understand and simple to execute.
The concept of "Learning, Earning and Serving" is simply dividing your time into those three categories. This means that 33 percent of your time is spent learning, 33 percent of your time is spent earning and 33 percent of your time is spent serving.
Learning
When was the last time you learned something new? I mean brand new. So many of us are consumed with our businesses and family that we stop the learning process. The lack of learning is so bad for our business, our families and our mental health.
It has been proven over and over again. When you stop learning you make less money. When you stop learning, you become less interesting. When you stop learning your health suffers.
Think back to the last time that you learned something brand new. How did you feel? You most likely had a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment, pretty darn close to euphoric. And, you shared that pride with your colleagues, friends, kids, and spouse.
When we talk about learning, I am referring to learning anything.
Below are some examples of things that I learned this year, that I am excited to share with you:
• Basketball: Everyone knows I am a baseball fanatic! But, my son loves basketball. Now that he is in middle school, he will be trying out for the team. He loves watching it on TV (yes, we live in South Florida and love the Heat). I wanted to be able to share this with him. So, not only did I learn the game of basketball, my twelve-year-old son, Connor, taught me!
• French: I love Paris. It is my second favorite city in the world, next to New York. My oldest daughter, Mikaela, has asked me if I will take her to Paris for her 16th birthday. I told her I would on the condition that she learns the language. I explained to her that I would have enjoyed my several trips to Paris so much more if I had spoken the language. At that point, it occurred to me that I should learn the language as well. So, this is something that she and I are doing together. We have just over 16 months before our trip so I am hoping that we will be fairly fluent.
• InfusionSoft: This is the CRM and email deployment system we use at my company. I have confessed many times that technology is just not my thing. But, knowing that this is the tool I have chosen to communicate with my members, I am hell bent on mastering it.
Of course, I have spoken and attended several conferences this year as well. And have read countless books. As a matter of fact, I read a book a week. This keeps me loaded with fresh business ideas and improves my vocabulary on a daily basis.
I can honestly say that I am spending 33 percent of my time learning. Not only does this increase my brainpower and it has been good for my health and my wealth as well.
Earning
We have all been there. Thinking that working like a dog will make us rich and happy.
Well, how's that working out for you?
The reason working countless hours doesn't work is because you burn out; plain and simple. And, once you burn out, you become resentful. Once you become resentful, no one wants to be around you and you end up hating what you are doing. And if you hate what you do, your customers will notice it, not to mention your colleagues and employees. At this point you can never be successful and happy.
But, if you limited your work to 33 percent instead of 50, 75 or even 100 percent of your time, you work smarter and more efficiently. This also leaves you the time for the two other important categories mentioned, learning and serving.
And, because you are learning and serving, your endorphins are flowing; making it easier to get the job done.
Serving
Call this category whatever you want -- serving, giving, volunteering, it does not matter as long as this is the selfless you.
Once I made this a conscious part of my being, my entire attitude changed. The things I used to get upset about seemed silly. The materialist items in my life became less important in my life and my family's life.
Once I went far beyond the Thanksgiving food drive and the Christmas clothes drive and really started giving my time, I became a much happier self; a person I am proud to be.
Plus, study after study has shown that random acts of kindness have an intense effect on your well-being. This includes everything from your productivity to limiting your stress levels.
At first, it may be hard to divide your time equally among the three and that's ok. But, I promise you, the sooner you get to the 33/33/33 you will see a difference in your life and your family's life for the better!