In this transcript, Clay Clark (U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year) and Tim Redmond (scaled a business to over $120 million in profit) discuss the importance of being paid like a boss. You can watch this on Thrive15.com, one of the top business schools in PA.
Clay Clark: What would you say if you’re talking to the 18 year old version of myself, we’ll just pretend that I’m behind the camera over there. It’s an 18 year old version of myself who’s saying to you, because I did this, “I am not going to make a to-do-list. I refuse to because I’m going to discovery some other way. I’m not going to use day planner, I’m not going to write stuff down.” What would you say?
Tim Redmond: Well, I want to … You have a special gift. When you’re creative in that gift, and when you give yourself fully to that gift of whatever it is, it maybe in communication, it maybe in design, it maybe in building, it maybe in selling, it maybe all … a combination of all those things. If you’re going to live large in life here, how are you going to most maximize that gift, because that’s the only way you’re going to be happy? Just understand that there are certain environments that you’ll function better in and certain environments you won’t. If you don’t want to set up this to-do-list and get your calendar set up here, “Because that’s just not who I am and I hate doing it,” I hate doing it myself.
When I don’t do it I live less of my gift, the people are … the world is starving for me to show up. I’ve got to do it with such energy, and focus, and at certain patterns, that if I don’t set up certain disciplines I’m going to short change myself, and I’m not going to impact the people I want to impact. Do you want to just drift through life and see whatever happens? Do you like with the way your life is? Are you trying to just try to trick yourself into thinking, “Well, if I get a to-do-list then I’m a slave to that, I’m not going to be a slave to anything.”
Without discipline, you’re not going to live large, without discipline you’re not going have your highest and best years. Without discipline, you’re going to be in the slave to these low level things that are going to fill up all your time. You’re going to be a bigger slave to things that end up into nothingness, or averageness, or the things that you throw up over … you want to throw up over by just being free spirited, and being creative, that’s going to ruin you versus creating this structure for you to best to operate in. This happens with me, I’ve don’t times where I’ve … The bad that’s happened is when I’ve been free spirited and wanted to be creative, and “I’m not going to be a slave to any schedule. I’m just not going to do that.” Well, that’s the time that I’m lease productive. The only way you’re going to be happy is if you become more productive. Whatever that means to you, however you express that it’s just you got to do that. What’s important, what’s more important than other things here, and of those important things when am I going to do those important things? It’s so important.
Clay Clark: Now, day planners and day timers. First off, do you call these devices … Do you choose to call them day timers or day planners?
Tim Redmond: I don’t … that’s … It’s my Google calendar.
Clay Clark: Okay it’s your Google calendar. On a daily basis, how do you … how much time do you devote to scheduling your day?
Tim Redmond: On those productive days, I’ll be … If I spent time Sunday night mapping out my week, it’s maybe 15-20 minutes …
Clay Clark: On Sunday?
Tim Redmond: No, that may be an hour, hour and a half, because I’m thinking about way out and not so far out, and then this month, and this week. I’m really wanting to say, “What’s really important going on in my life,” and when I do that, it’s my daily timer is a lot less. 15-20 minutes at the most. There are times that I go in the week, when I don’t take time and my chicken scratch is where I update that in the day to type it in. It’s better if I actually type it in, have time to type that in, and then when prioritizing that, or checking this and starring it …
Clay Clark: Sunday you’re spending like an hour?
Tim Redmond: An hour, hour and a half.
Clay Clark: Then on …
Tim Redmond: Sunday night.
Clay Clark: Sunday night and then everyday in the week you spending probably about 15 minutes just doing …
Tim Redmond: Just doing that.
Clay Clark: Everyday.
Tim Redmond: If I don’t do the Sunday night, Mondays will be a much longer day, because I’ve taken about an hour, hour and a half to really think through my week and to really get all organized.