It's that time of year again... and we're about to change the time on our clocks this weekend.
With time on our minds... there was a chapter in the Bloom Unleashed Book Club book, "50 Ways to Yay," that reminds us of the importance of balancing time.
Balancing our time is so important to all of our interpersonal relationships, work life, parenting... and just simply trying to carve out time to get in a workout.
But in addition to HOW we are spending precious time... WHO we spend our time with matters even more.
"If the people you surround yourself with are playing at the same level or lower than where you’re trying to play, you’re never going to get any better. If you step up your game, and surround yourself with a team of people who are achieving more than you, you will inevitably rise to what you see is possible. So if you want to go pro, you have to spend less time with amateurs and be courageous enough to learn from the best. Success leaves clues, and if we want a life of more happiness, abundance, connection, and fulfillment, we have to be willing to learn from the people who are thriving in these areas of life. This brings me to the 40/40/20 rule. When I began taking stock of the people I spent the most time with, it was no surprise that my life looked the way it looked. While I was having a blast being a social butterfly who knew everyone and was out every night, I certainly wasn’t living up to my full potential. So I stepped up my game. I began spending 40% of my time hanging around people and reading books from those who were more successful than me in the areas of my life that I wanted to develop and improve. This kept my skills sharp and allowed me to grow exponentially. I also got strategic about finding people who were looking to create on the same level that I wanted to create on (what I call my success circle) and spent 40% of my time with them. This allowed me to have a support team of people equally as committed to their visions whom I could bounce ideas off of and stay motivated with on a daily basis. Then I spent the remaining 20% of my time being a source of information and inspiration to others who are looking to learn and grow in areas that I had done well in. This allows me to stay in the practice of giving back, and it strengthens what I am learning every time I share it. The 40/40/20 Rule has truly expanded everything that I’m doing in life. It’s created exponential growth, nonstop motivation and support, and built-in contribution. When we have a surplus of those traits in our lives, we have a surplus of happiness to tap into.
The author encourages us to ask ourselves what 5 people could you spend more time learning from in books, workshops, seminars or simply just over coffee?
What 5 peers could you spend time with keeping each other accountable, motivated or inspired?
How could you spend 20% of your time sharing with others what you've learned from along the way?
Now ask yourself what group do YOU need to develop the most and what will you do to develop it?
Lots of food for thought here in spending our TIME a little more wisely!