THE LIFESTYLE ENTREPRENEUR

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Setting Rocks

This edition at a glance:

• Wellness Tip: Daily mindfulness practice

• Quote: from Teddy Roosevelt

• Post: Deep Connection is a core human need

• Article: Setting Quarterly Rocks

Wellness Tip

I took an amazing mindfulness class this week where the instructor went through a bunch of different breathing techniques, most of which I’d experienced but all through a new lens thanks to the expert teaching she provided.

One thing she said helped me recommit my mindfulness practice (paraphrased):

5 minutes a day of meditation is better than 30 minutes once a week. Doing those five minutes each day, even if it goes poorly, trains your neural pathways to go into the mindful state. And every practice is making your brain work better.

I loved that message - it reminds me I don’t need my meditation to be perfect, I just need to do it every day.

Quote

“Comparison is the thief of joy” - Teddy Roosevelt

Comparing to others is an infinite game that you can’t ever win. Instead only compare to your previous self. I wrote a short post about this topic here.

Post - Deep Connection is a core human need

I was pleased to see this post had the most engagement over the past week.

We’ve all ready that loneliness is as deadly as smoking at this point.

Humans are social creatures and need relationships to be healthy. The problem is my typical reader is in the depths of building a career, family, and trying to stay healthy and sane, so we’re so busy we can’t find time to have fun with friends.

I’ve been in that boat for a few years - and can attest first hand to the flaw of that logic. In reality - if we slow down a bit and find time to spend with friends and loved ones, we’ll do better in all other aspects of life.

If you’ve let your friendships and social time take a back burner, here’s a simple action right now:

1. Text one friend and tell them you’re thinking about them

2. Call one friend and say you just wanted to say hi

3. Make plans to get together with one friend for 90 minutes over the next week

Article - Setting Rocks

Setting rocks is one of the core tools of EOS® - the business system I’ve used in my companies in 2014, and help other entrepreneurs implement to get what they want out of their businesses.

It’s an extremely effective practice for businesses.

It’s also extremely effective for personal planning.

Put simply, it’s setting your 3-7 top priorities for the next 90 days. 3-7 is the sweet spot in company priorities based on years of trial and error, and also because of the “less is more” concept.

Without crystal clear priorities, we’re spending our days putting out the hottest fire, and we rarely make the progress we want towards our big goals.

How to do quarterly planning

Simple is always better, and a simple quarterly planning process is what you want. Anything too complex will eventually fail.

Here is a simple visual I created:

Here’s the list to follow - this applies to personal and business:

1. Set aside uninterrupted time for yourself and/or your team

2. Review the prior quarter - did you hit your numbers and accomplish goals? Discuss & contemplate what went well, what went poorly

3. Review vision - make sure you and/or your team are aligned on your long-term plan

4. Brainstorm - list all key priorities over the next 90 days that you need to accomplish to stay on track for your goals

5. Narrow - remove anything that isn’t an absolute priority - remember less is more

6. SMART your rocks - Make them Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely

7. Assign ownership - Only 1 person can own a rock - many can work on it, but it needs one owner

8. Communicate - Share rocks with everyone in your organization (or your family)

9. Integrate & Review - Review progress weekly to ensure you stay on track

I’ve been using this process for 10 years now - it’s one of the main reasons I’ve built multiple companies and constantly had forward motion in everything I do.

I didn’t start doing personal rocks until recently though - I really wish I would have sooner, but better late than never!

Action - Do you have 2024 goals that you’re kind of working on? Break them down into quarterly rocks, use the above process, and actually hit your goals this year.

Talk to you next week,

Mike

Thanks for reading The Lifestyle Entrepreneur

If you were forwarded this email from a friend and want to subscribe, go here.

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

I’m a Professional EOS® Implementer. That means I work with entrepreneurial leadership teams (typically growth oriented business leaders with 10-250 employees) to develop three things:

• Vision - getting teams 100% on the same page with where the company is going and how to get there

• Traction - Applying discipline and accountability to achieve that vision

• Healthy - Creating healthy, functional, cohesive leadership teams

If you or a business owner you know would like to hear more about EOS®,

Please click here for to schedule a free intro meeting.