I had the pleasure of getting to read Marie Forleo’s e-book this morning about time management. There were two quotes in particular that stood out to me:
1. “When you know what’s important, you can ignore what’s not.”
2. “You’re either going to change by design or by disaster.”
Let’s take a minute to talk about priorities. The first quote, for me, is directly related to fiannces. Marie’s e-book makes the connection between time freedom and financial liberation, in my opinion, even though it’s not so explicit with that kind of phrasing, per say. One of my favorite sayings from a dear friend is ‘que lo más importante sea lo más importante´. In English, may the most important thing be the most important thing. I like to think about this with the example of dating. Isn’t it amazing how, when you start seeing someone, you suddenly find the time to see them? Phone calls, going out, communication…all of it.
If it’s important, you make time for it.
The rest can wait. And sometimes, as referenced in the second quote, life will shock you into re-evaluating your priorities. It’s not always a pleasant experience. Most times our discomfort is actually the necessary predecessor to change.
The last several years for me have been filled with a series of these moments. Traveling abroad by far has taught me the most about what I’m looking for in my quality of life, causing me to be very uncomfortable in my current reality in the United States. Listening to podcasts has exposed me to a whole other world of employment opportunities globally that exist, making it easy for me to move on professionally to new opportunities because I know that what I’m looking for is out there. Not to say that it wasn’t extremely uncomfortable coming to that conclusion. Because I literally thought I had my dream job. The one I would stick with for decades to come. And losing my best friend in a car accident felt, in many ways, like the last straw. I could no longer keep playing by the same rules that everyone else around me chose to follow to live their lives. Which brings me to…
Today’s Task: Say no.
I decided to start inventing new rules for my life a while ago. And that meant shifting my priorities. In the hopes that this post will be expansive for readers, I wanted to summarize a few of the rules that I used by play by, and the ones that have taken their place. For fans of Mindvalley, they might know the column on the left to also be known as ‘brules’, or as Vishen Lakhiani likes to call them, ‘bullsh*t rules’:
| Old Rule: | New Rule: |
| Work in an office 9-5 (I never actually did this, but I know it’s a reality for a lot of people) | Work remotely and identify partnerships to create co-working space for myself |
| Work domestically | Work abroad and arrange my responsibilities accordingly |
| Opportunities are only available in big cities | I make opportunities for myself wherever I go and am the source of my own abundance (currently living in a town of 350, I haven’t had any issues) |
| Faking nice is acceptable in the professional environment | Authenticity matters and I will surround myself with people who are real with me |
| My income is limited to my salary | My income is only limited by my imagination |
| Apply for jobs you know you’ll do great at | Apply for jobs in areas where you want to build new skills. Say yes and then figure it out. |
| You have to be retired to be a snowbird. | I can travel the globe any time of year, and go south for the winter if I feel like it |
| Living rural means you can’t be part of an international community | I always have access to a global community and circle of friends |
All that is to say, creating these new rules for myself required saying “no”. “No” to the bullsh*t lies that in order to be happy, successful, and fulfilled, you have to do X, Y, and Z. “No” to the play-it-safers and the slaves of the ordinary. I want my life to be magical. Fantastical. Adventurous. And I’m willing to say “no” as often as I need to in order to make that a reality.
So cheers to YOU and the many “no’s” you will say in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. Cheers to closing doors so that many more open. Cheers to choosing to live by your own rules instead of having others define them for you.
Resources from today:
No, I’m not an affiliate of hers, although I should be! There are a few really great exercises in there that will help you think about your relationship with time, your priorities, and what you can say ‘no’ to in order to set more boundaries for yourself, in turn calling in greater financial abundance.
