Choices | Bryan Clifton

From the Blog

Feb

Procrastinating Focus

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 3:51 pm

We don’t lack the desire to change. We lack the focus necessary to make the change happen. To change requires action, and action does not exist without focus.

The problem is focus is easily diverted. Jumping from one task to the next does not make you more effective. It makes you a serial quitter. Your focus is cut each time, thus reducing your ability to get the job completed efficiently.

Understanding the difference between a great opportunity that is deserving of your focus and a time-wasting habit can only be developed over time. Discernment is needed to make wise choices.

Not all opportunities are created equal. With every chance you take, there is a reward. Some are larger than others.

We spend hours and hours talking about the things we need to do…only to fail to do them because we do not have the time. Here is a novel idea, what if we quit talking about what we have to do and actually did it? Action must take the place of procrastination. Focus on the task at hand. Get it done. Then go on to the next great opportunity.

Feb

Wedding Tourism

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 8:14 am

Get off the tourist track. Engage with local people. Find ways to interact on a personal level. Participate in family events. Have discussions with people who you cannot speak with. That is how you see what a country values.

At the wedding last week, I was extremely uncomfortable. I slept a few feet away from my future food while it was butchered. For the record, machete chopping is a tremendous alarm. The house did not have air conditioning or internet. It lacked a shower and the doors were not conducive to my height (I hit my head a lot). But it had something that our homes often lack. Community connection and interaction.

The entire village came together to share in the love of this young couple. If you got married next week, how many of your neighbors would help you? An even better question might be, have you met your neighbors?

This attitude was my main takeaway from Leyte. It took traveling halfway around the globe to see the value of a close-knit community bonding together to meet a common goal. It is simple yet profound. We do not have limits when we all work together.

They decorated a church, set up a reception area for 500 people, butchered 8 pigs and 3 cows, prepared the food, entertained guests, had a wedding, delivered the bride via water buffalo taxi, and most importantly had a great time doing it. I never saw a person lash out in frustration. The opposite was true. They throughly enjoyed each others company and loved the work they were doing. They did all of this in about 15 hours. That is amazing.

This was the highlight of my trip. It was so fun to interact with the people of the community and get to know them as best I could.

Do me a favor, take a trip outside your comfort zone. It does not need to be outside the country, but it should be slightly nerve racking. Situations like that force you to reassess what is important in your life. It is a good habit to do from time to time.

Feb

Busy Productivity

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 9:15 am

Staying busy is not the same as being productive.

Many people run around all day checking emails, texting, tweeting, making phone calls, etc. Yet at the end of the day, they failed to get meaningful work accomplished. They spent lots of time working but failed to produce results. They put in their time, but the results did not follow.

We value not having time. When was the last time you met someone who thought they had tons of extra time? They don’t know what to do with all the free time they have.

We are under an illusion. We believe that the numbers of hours we are busy (or say we are) has a direct correlation to the amount of work we get done. This could not be further from the truth.

There is no correlation between success and numbers of hours worked.

Zig Ziglar asks a question that drives this point home. He asks, “Why do you get twice as much work done the day before vacation as any normal day?” The answer is simple. We set a list of goals and tasks that have to be done before we could board the plane or set out for the road trip. Then we work the plan and get them done.

We make our work fit the time slot needing to be filled. We value hours worked over tasks completed. What is wrong with us? Time is our most precious commodity, yet we waste it on pointless tasks.

Now I know what some of you are thinking. “Bryan, I get paid by the number of hours I work.” I understand, but hear me out. What if you increased your productivity during those hours? How long do you think it would take before your boss would notice? Think that could lead to a raise or promotion? People that get work done more efficiently than others will always be in high demand. It may not pay off for you immediately, but it will in the long run.

Focus on productive hours, not hours spent. Get the work done and move on to the next task.

Feb

Golden Rule

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 9:48 am

Treat others like you want to be treated.

This simple statement wraps up the entirety of human philosophy.

We all know this statement by heart, but do we live it out? What would the world look like if we followed this piece of advice?

We tend to treat people nice when they have been nice to us, but not when they are mean. That evokes anger, not forgiveness.

It is a given that we want others to be nice to us. Since that is what we want, why do we not act that way?

Treat others like you want to be treated.

If we want peace, yet sow seeds of anger, bitterness, or rage, we can expect to receive those in return.

If we internalized this phrase, rather than giving it lip service only, what would our days look like?

Let’s make that a reality.

Feb

Enough

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 11:15 am

How much is enough?

That question is the root of greed and philanthropy.

To some, “enough” is a never-ending pursuit of more and more. While others have a set number in their mind that determines what “enough” is for them. It might be a net worth, a monthly income amount, or becoming debt free.

Enough means many things to many people, but the only person that it matters for is you. How do you define enough?

Defining what enough means in your life creates a finish line to work towards. Without a goal, you will run indefinitely.

Are you running a sprint or a marathon?

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