The pressure to succeed is real.
Whether we admit it or not, we want most of the things we tell others that we don’t care about. There is often a feeling of uncertainty that comes along with not knowing if you can or will accomplish the things that we desire. Literally, “can we become as great as we hope to be?” That’s a very real and intimidating question to even have the nerve to ask of yourself, let alone to say out loud to others who will take the declaration of your hopes and dreams and likely run a tally to see if you can succeed. (hint: get rid of people who do that!).
The feeling of competition amongst peers is a little too much handle these days, especially if you’re not designed, prepared or intending on lifting up those around you. So most stay quiet, meanwhile everyone is in search of an answer to the same question… How much time does it really take to be great?
And, as life would have it, the answer to that question all depends on how your life is designed. Where you are willing to invest your energy AND if you are prepared to remove yourself from people and places that drain you of your ability to be great will truly determine the answer. I have actually started examining exactly how I use my time on days I’m slammed versus how I spend my time on the rare occasion of a more leisurely schedule to pinpoint exactly where I can maximize the time, and leverage the minutes or hours that I shaved off. All in the name of being insanely productive and still having time to enjoy the rewards that my accomplishments might provide.
Whether you’re a man or a woman, it doesn’t really move the time management needle much. The issue is the same, the pressure feels equally overwhelming and constant, and the solution can be created in many different ways. In life we will make decisions that not everyone will understand, you don’t need to justify them to anyone except yourself. So many people think that money and other resources are holding them back, it might very well be making something’s more challenging, but having the time is always the most difficult part.
Side hustles, passion projects, continued education, immersive opportunities for growth. Those are the opportunities that we cannot afford to lose out on.
Get still and make your plan, then get to work executing that plan. Don’t let it sit and collect dust. Time is our most precious commodity. I’ll dive into this more soon.
Until then, tell me…
What’s 1 thing that is high-jacking your time and stopping you from being great?
Lauren Maillian has been an entrepreneur her entire career since starting her first business at 19 – an internationally recognized and award-winning vineyard and winery that made her the youngest self-made winery owner in the country. She sold that business at 26 and started a marketing company, followed by becoming a founding partner at an early stage venture capital firm. That’s 3 businesses built before 30 and by age 26 earned her a coveted honor, being named to the Empact 100 List at the White House for being one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under 30 in 2011. She is a bestselling author of The Path Redefined, a television personality and former co-star and host of the startup focused television show Quit Your Day Job.
