Spring’s arrival is always a welcome reunion for professional horsemen. Good weather, dry paddocks and green pastures for horses are a horseman’s delight.
Opportunities for the spring, summer and fall seasons abound and energy is high and spontaneous to wrestle all challenges.
Then after time, the project list begins to grow faster than the weeds on the manure pile. Repair and build fences, clean out hay mows, tune up equipment, and get fat and sassy horses back into riding and show condition. More riding lessons to schedule in too few hours, horses to train for show dates close by and yearlings and two year olds stacked up for starting and training.
Compounding the time crunch are family demands like baseball practice and games, dance recitals and senior proms. The feeling of overwhelm builds up within the professional horseman like a building volcano.
Eventually, something has to give in to the mounting pressure. Erupting in a volcano like fashion does work, but leaves a lava laden mess around for your clients, employees, friends and family to step through cautiously.
Another solution is to simplify and focus.
I know that word, simplify, looks good on paper. Making life simple is a challenging task when horses demand attention every day of the week, clients would like to demand your attention every day of the week and family members deserve attention every day of the week. But the alternative, complicated overwhelm, will never work for business owners.
The first step toward getting control to simplify is to become incredibly selfish. On the surface, the suggestion to become incredibly selfish sounds childish and self-centered. But think about it; until you get control of your problems, become balanced and the happy person you want to be, what good are you doing for your: horses, clients, employees or family members?
Thomas Leonard developed the 28 principles of attraction a few years back. They are principles of attracting the things you want into your life. Becoming incredibly selfish is the first of the 28 principles.
Here are some key points about the subject
- Know what you want and say so – people are more relaxed and drawn to you when you are secure about who you are.
- Removing things you don’t want to do from your life opens up time to complete the things you do want to do.
- Saying No to others requires practice, but gets easier each time.
- Even if at first it may seem unlikely, others will pick up the slack to do the things you choose to stop doing.
- If you have special talents like teaching, training or judging horses, you owe it to yourself and others to create the time to nourish and use your skills.
Viewed a different way, being selfish with your time benefits others just as much as it benefits you. If your business and personal life is approaching overload, its okay to be selfish and find other ways to get the work done. By simplifying your life, you will create the time to focus on your business and do more of the things that you are talented and gifted at doing.
This week, and in the future, you have permission to say NO.