People always ask me if I’m busy with my business. Luckily I’m not. My goal is actually to have no obligations and complete freedom in the first place.
In my country’s culture (Netherlands) this attitude is commonly interpreted as laziness. This is really silly in my opinion, the goal of work shouldn’t be to be busy but to achieve freedom. Many people don’t seem to think about this.
I like to build my business in a way that everything can be automated and outsourced as much as possible. So I have as many time as I want to do what I like. Like reading, fitness and meeting friends. And often I find myself working on my business again because I like it, but that’s not the end goal.
Freedom is the main reason for me to be an entrepreneur, my highest life goal. I don’t think it’s possible to achieve this when you’re trading time for money. So you have to find a way to “earn money while sleeping”.
People don’t have time to workout, meditate, read and build a business because they are too busy chilling, watching Netflix, TV and sports, and drinking alcohol.
— Gijs Heerkens (@gijsheerkens) June 20, 2022
Being too busy in the short term is understandable. But many people always claim to be too busy.
If you are like this, I think there are three options:
- You are exaggerating
- You can’t plan
- You can’t say no
If you have time to watch Netflix, scroll social media or drink beer, you are in group 1. It’s just a matter of focus and excuses. It takes time to achieve things such as being healthy or mastering a topic. A good rule of thumb is to skip as many things that give instant satisfaction as possible.
If you’re in group 2 you might want to start following an agenda. Plan everything, including private events like workouts, cooking, reading and even sleeping. Disable incoming calls because they always distract you instantly and screw up your schedule completely. And don’t read your email all day long.
Being in the last group is the most difficult because it’s in your personality to be agreeable and compliant. Refusing things is probably hard for you because it’s not in your nature, so maybe you can take an assertiveness course.
So, even though the word business comes from busy, having a business is actually a tool to be less busy. A great paradox.
Stop inundating yourself with noise and with "busy" nonsense.
You're not busy, you're hiding from doing the important work that's right in front of you.
You have a gift. It's time to stop being scared and to share it with the world.
— Ryan Stephens | Getting Dialed In 📈 (@ryanstephens) November 22, 2020