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THE 10X RULE
Exercise
What are your three biggest fears?
Whom do you fear contacting who could help you or
improve your business?
What did you learn about fear in this chapter?
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CHAPTER
17
The Myth of
Time Management
I
should begin this chapter by admitting that I do not consider
myself a great manager by any means. Neither have I been a
great planner. In fact, I’ve never even written a business plan.
However, I’ve always been able to effectively manage myself
well enough to build multiple companies from scratch. Time
management has never been something that I considered valu-
able, even though I do spend time on those things that I think
are most valuable.
I often receive questions about time management and
balance in my seminars. I have found throughout my career
that the people who are most concerned with time manage-
ment and balance in their lives are the ones who believe in the
notion of “shortages” that we discussed in an earlier chapter.
Most don’t even know how much time is available to them
or what tasks are most necessary to accomplish in that time.
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THE 10X RULE
If you don’t know how much time you have—or need—then
how on earth can you expect to manage and balance it?
The fi rst thing you must do is make success your duty
by setting distinct and defi nitive priorities. I can’t do this for
you, of course; everyone’s priorities are different. However, if
success is a main concern for you, then I would suggest you
spend most of your time doing things that will create success.
Of course, I don’t know what success means in your life. It
could involve a variety of people and things: fi nances, family,
happiness, spirituality, physical or emotional well-being—or,
if you’re like me, all of them! And remember—it can be all of
them. I personally am not interested in balance; I am inter-
ested in abundance in every area. I don’t think I should have
to sacrifi ce one in favor of another. Successful people think
in terms of “all,” whereas unsuccessful people tend to place
limits on themselves. They may believe that “If I am rich,
I can’t be happy” or “If I thrive in my career, then I won’t have
time to be a good father, husband, or spiritual individual.” In
fact, it’s interesting to notice that the people who put limits on
what is available to them are also most inclined to talk about
“balance.” However, this is a fl awed manner of thinking that
neither time management nor balance will resolve.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s pointless for people to
worry about time management and balance. The question
they should be asking is “How can I have it all in abun-
dance?” Successful people have attained the things they
desire in quantities so great that no one can take them away.
And how can a person consider him- or herself successful
if he or she isn’t happy? What happiness is there in being
unable to pay the bills or provide for your family or worry
about your future? The moment you achieve one goal you’ve
set for yourself, then it’s time to establish a new target. Quit
thinking in terms of either/or and start thinking in terms of
all and everything.
As I was writing this, a client sent me a message asking,
“Do you ever rest?” I jokingly wrote him back within seconds,
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The Myth of Time Management
123
“NEVER!” I do, of course—like every other human being.
However, I also know how much time is available to me,
what my priorities are, and that it is my duty, obligation, and
responsibility to go after them in the time I have. I challenge
you to keep track of how you’re spending your available time,
perhaps in a journal. Most people have no clue what they are
doing with their time but still complain that they don’t have
enough.
Every single person has 168 hours in a week, and based on
a typical 40-hour work week, the average U.S. employee is only
productive 37.5 of those 168 hours (30 minutes for lunch each
day). And it’s pretty unlikely that most people actually work
this entire 37.5 hours. In fact, the average individual spends
22.3 percent of his or her available time at work, 33.3 percent
asleep, and then 16.6 percent in front of a TV or online—and
those comparisons assume that the person spends 100 percent
of his or her time at work actually working! Then these very
same people worry about balance and time management. But an
imbalance is always going to occur when you don’t do enough
with the time you have.
While most people claim to value time, many don’t
seem to know very much about it. Who creates time? Do you
create your own time, or does someone else do that? What
can you do to create more time? What does the expression
“time is money” mean? How do you treat time to make sure
your time is money? What is the most important thing that
you should do with your time? All of these questions are
worthy of consideration and require your attention in order
for you to maximize time.
Let’s assume that you have 75 years to live; that’s approx-
imately 657,000 hours, or 39,420,000 minutes, in this life-
time. Take any given day of the week; you have an average
of 3,900 Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, etc. Now—here’s
the scary part—if you are 37 years old, then you have only
1,950 Wednesdays left. What if you had only $1,950 left to
your name? Would you watch it slip away, or would you do
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THE 10X RULE
whatever you could to increase it? I believe that I can do
more with 1,950 hours than most people can. The only way
to increase time is to get more done in the time you have. If
I get 15 phone calls done in 15 minutes and you get 15 calls
done in one hour, then I have essentially created 45 minutes
for myself. In this way, the 10X Rule makes it possible to
multiply time. If I hire someone and pay that person $15 an
hour to make 15 calls every 15 minutes, then I just duplicated
my efforts—and my time becomes money.
To really understand, manage, maximize, and squeeze
every opportunity out of the time you have, you have to fully
understand and appreciate how much of it you have available
to you. You must fi rst take control of your time—not allow
others to do so. If you listen to people discuss the topic of
time—especially in regards to the amount they have at work—
you’ll probably hear a lot of complaining. People act as though
work is something to get through, yet in reality, they spend very
little of their time even doing it. Most people only work enough so
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