Biggest Outcomes, Greatest Investments

Why aren’t you making major progress on your most important goals? It’s not because you don’t know what needs to be done. It’s more likely that it’s because you aren’t committed enough. You don’t yet have a big enough “why.” And without a big enough “why” you won’t make the investments.

What investments? I’m so glad you asked. To reach your goals, your biggest outcomes must command your greatest investments of time, of energy, and of money.

The Investment of Time

Your biggest outcomes must command the majority of your time. The single greatest indicator as to whether or not something is really a priority for you is your calendar.

If your goal is important, it gets big, giant, over-sized blocks on the calendar. The fact that the activities that lead to your biggest outcomes doesn’t appear on your calendar is demonstrable evidence that it either isn’t the biggest outcome you are after or that you aren’t really committed to achieving it.

The calendar doesn’t lie. If it’s your biggest goal, get the activities that get you there on your calendar.

The Investment of Energy

You have limited time. But you also have limited energy. If you don’t invest your best physical and emotional energy in those outcomes, you won’t achieve them. This truth is easier to understand by looking at when the investment of energy isn’t made.

If you allow minor issues to chip away at your energy, then you won’t have the energy to devote to what’s most important later. Covey called this “majoring in minor things.”

I am a morning person. I have more–and better–energy in the morning. I have greater emotional energy and greater clarity. I use my mornings to tackle the activities that move me towards my greatest outcomes. I know a few people that need time to warm up; they do better work in the afternoon. Whatever works for you works for you.

Invest your best energy in your most important goals.

The Investment of Money

A lot of people want big outcomes but don’t invest enough to reach them. Sales organizations do this by setting goals and not putting enough money behind them to execute. Entrepreneurs also underinvest in what matters most (often sales and marketing). It’s a common error.

But I’ll never understand people who don’t invest in themselves. There is no greater investment you can make than the investments you make in yourself. You are your own greatest resource. In this Disruptive Age, you need to read books, read magazines, attend classes, attend conferences, attend Webinars, get coaching, and get training—anything that’s going to give you new insights, new ideas, and new tools.

Invest the money in yourself. You’ll never get a greater return on any investment.

Your biggest outcomes require you to make your greatest investment of time, of energy, and of money. The sooner you start paying the price, the sooner you will have what you want.

Questions

What are the biggest outcomes you need to achieve? What are your goals?

Is your calendar a reflection of those goals?

Is how you invest your best energy proof positive of what’s important to you?

Are you investing in the single most important asset you have for producing results?