Going straight to the point today… ;)
Living a life you love and being at your best at all times requires that you strengthen your strengths and delegate your weaknesses.
Too many people try to get good at the things they hate. Or they try to get better at the things they’ll never even be more than “OK” at, even if they were to spend a lifetime working on improving this area.
Let me explain:
At the beginning of my business, I believed that I should be the one to do my own bookkeeping. Now, if you know me well, you know that I really, really despise that stuff. The minutia, the tedious aspect of it, the, well, everything about it. Ugh, I cringe just thinking about it.
But I had a “rule” that it could only be done by me. And so I persevered, but between us, I pushed it off, again and again, because I just loathed it. And over time, I became late on my taxes. For years. Which incurred financial penalties I don’t even want to tell you about.
Until I realized one day that, no matter how much I spent getting good at working on the bookkeeping, even if I took a lifetime to get good at it, I would never be even “mediocre,” let along “great.” I’m just not wired for it. And frankly, I could be doing better things than entering things into Quickbooks, you know?
Like focusing on marketing (which brings in money), or enjoying my evenings and weekends (which brings in joy, not stress).
So, I made a commitment to invest in myself and hired someone to do my bookkeeping and taxes for me. Now remember, this was in the beginning of my career, when my cash flow wasn’t, well, flowing. Things were tight, but I invested in myself anyway, even though it was a stretch at the time.
And I vowed (to myself) to use that time and energy that I was saving, not to eat bonbons on the sofa watching TV, but productively.
That’s when it dawned on me that investing in myself was one of the best things I could ever do for myself. Delegating my weaknesses, so I had more time to strengthen my strengths.
And what a return on investment that was!
So, I ask you today…
Why are you still doing all of those things you despise doing?
It’s different for everyone.
I adore cooking (frankly, I would be giddy if I could cook all day long), but for others, it’s a chore they absolutely dread. But whether it’s cleaning your bathrooms, completing the monthly accounting for your business, driving your kids around (I told you recently that this definitely not on my “love to do” list) or learning html so you can save a few bucks updating your website…
…the truth is, you’re continuing to do these things because you believe it will “save you money.”
The problem is, you could be doing something so much more productive, whether it’s personally or professionally. And you would be so much happier.
So, I have an invitation for you today.
Pick something that you really, really don’t like to do, either at home or at work.
I’m talking about selecting at least one thing in your life that, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being “I LOVE IT!” and 1 being “I HATE IT!!!!”) is below a 5. Now, just break your rule around not spending money around this and “I can just do it, it’s OK, besides, I don’t want to spend money on this,” and instead hire someone to do it for you.
You can start small if it feels easier. Or you can boldly go big. One step outside of your comfort zone is all that is required.
You could:
- Pay a neighborhood friend to come organize your closets for/with you
- Get a live-in Au pair to help you with the kids’ lunches, driving them to school, to do homework with them while you do other things
- Hire a housecleaner to come every week or every other week
- Create more support in your business in the tasks that are not in your zone of Unique Brilliance
You see, it’s more than just getting that particular thing done.
It has to do with you deserving the highest kind of support in life and boldly claiming it.
These seemingly tiny things add up and shift our entire experience when we begin to live this way.
And that’s how you boldly live a life you love.
You’re worth it,
Fabienne
P.S. Go ahead and share this quote:
