It was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining, and the air was crisp. It was a perfect day for a hike in the woods. A woman – someone I would call a high achiever – was walking along on this gorgeous day when she suddenly heard a rustling behind her. She turned around and realized there was a family of tigers behind her. She knew they wanted to have her for lunch.

She started to run very fast. Good thing she was in top physical condition like most high achievers. After two years of working out with her personal trainer, she could outrace even the most physically fit tiger.  

If you’ve been following the Work Less, Make More program, you’ve learned how to prioritize your tasks and focus on the projects that really matter. These are the high-payoff activities. These are the things that stir passion in your soul, make life worth living, and put you on the road to success.

Prioritizing is a big part of working more and making less. Most people are bombarded with things to do every day. They find themselves moving quickly from one task to the next, from that task to another, all day long. When you’re in that kind of cycle, it’s hard to really get going on any one thing. Your mind is jumping from one thing to the next.

We all do things we don’t like to do. Things that clutter up our days. And there are many reasons why these things stay on our schedules. You might spend as much as half your time at work doing things you hate doing—and aren’t good at to boot—just because they need to be done. Or maybe you spend a few hours a week of your free time volunteering at the local animal shelter. You don’t really like the work, but you think it’s the right thing to do.

I recently got a call from a guy named Gary who wanted to hire a coach. Now, by most people’s standards, Gary was already very successful. He owned a home in a very affluent neighborhood, and drove a luxury car. Gary could basically afford anything he wanted. So what was his problem? Something was missing. He didn’t have enough time to do the things he wanted to do, or hang out with the people he enjoyed. He wanted a solution. Fast.

So I asked Gary what he wanted in life. Silence. When I asked again, I got a reluctant, “Isn’t that what I’m paying you to find out?”

If you’re already a Success Circle Member, I want to give you a sneak preview of the information that you will be receiving shortly in your mailbox.

http://www.successcirclemonthly.com

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INSIDE YOUR MAY 2009 SUCCESS CIRCLE INTERVIEW:

Million Dollar Networking, with Andrea Nierenberg

Recently, I interviewed Andrea Nierenberg. Andrea is the founder and president of The Nierenberg Group, an innovative communications consulting firm that The Wall Street Journal calls a “networking success story.” With a stellar 25 years as a leader in sales and marketing, Andrea is an in-demand business expert, both at home and around the globe. Her company partners with the world’s leading businesses in diversified industries throughout the world.  

We all have certain beliefs when it comes to success. The question is, are these beliefs helping us, or hindering us?

Early in my career, I adopted the belief that “in order to get what you want in life you have to work really hard to get it. You are going to have to put in long hours, and sometimes your personal relationships will suffer. You may have to give up hobbies and interests, and you’ll probably be working when your friends are out enjoying themselves and having fun. But in the end you’ll be successful.”

If you’re already a Success Circle Member, I want to give you a sneak preview of the information that you will be receiving shortly in your mailbox.

http://www.successcirclemonthly.com

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A few years ago, I was having lunch with a prospective coaching client. We were discussing his aspirations—where he was at the time, and where he wanted to be.

At the end of our lengthy conversation, Bruce asked me what the “key ingredient” was. He wanted to know the one thing successful people do in order to create results. What was he not doing, he asked, that was preventing him from pursuing this dream that he was so clearly passionate about?

It’s hard to imagine life before the BlackBerry. Though it was introduced just nine years ago, 13 million people now use this device to stay connected in the Information Age. The fact is, many people are too connected, literally keeping their BlackBerrys with them 24/7.

For many of my coaching clients, over-dependence on technology is an ongoing topic in our coaching sessions. Here are a few of the comments they’ve made: