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When No Leads to The Bigger Yes

Guest post by: Melanie Benson Strick

Article Overview: How do you know what to say yes to...and what you should be saying no to? As a business owner, your time is one of your greatest assets. Here are some tips to help you know the difference.

When No Leads to The Bigger Yes

Recently someone I know told me for weeks in a row they didn't have time to exercise. However I noticed each morning that they had time for a flurry of activity on Facebook. Now this is someone who has a TON of stress in their life and would tell you how important it is to go for the daily run but he just NEVER has time. So is it really not having time? Or is it not having the self-discipline to say no to distractions?

How many times do we catch ourselves doing things that aren't really that important at the expense of doing what is REALLY vital to our success? I don't just mean the tasks to grow our business either. I mean the time for what's really important - self-care, focused time with our loved ones, or maybe even just time to do nothing and recharge.

I often hear my clients and students recount this saying I came up with years ago:

"Everything you say yes to means you are saying no to something else. Are you saying yes to the right things?"

Entrepreneurs have a billion things on their plate every day. Add in all the noise from email, phone calls and the constant blur of new ideas and we have a recipe for overwhelm. We all know that overwhelm will keep us stuck exactly where we are right now but yet...many of us lack the ability to manage our time differently.

This is where the power of no comes in. No, when used wisely, becomes your secret weapon to having time for more of what's important to you. No frees up time. No can protect your energy. No leads to the bigger yes. Yes to your genius time. Yes to time for recharging. Yes to building the dream in record time. Yes to living the life you've always wanted.

But that means we have to have more discipline to say no - even when it's uncomfortable. Let's face it - for many of us saying no is VERY uncomfortable. We might miss out on something or hurt someone's feelings. Yikes!

Reflect on these "no" opportunities in your life:

- Speaking for free (or even for back of room sales) for an audience that isn't full of your ideal clients

- Continuing with a customer who constantly pays late or complains about everything

- Strategic partners who always want you to promote them but never have time to promote you

- Virtual seminars (or live ones) that are clearly designed to build the hosts' list (but rarely generate sales)

- Spending time with colleagues or friends who constantly complain about their life (and refuse to do anything differently to fix it)

- Trying to keep up with what you SHOULD be doing instead of what feels aligned and purposeful

No is a powerful tool in your toolbox. To use it wisely you will need to get crystal-clear on what your real priorities are. You may need to stop living in your current illusion of what you think you can accomplish.

My advice is this:

Put the most important things first.

I start my day with my meditation, a walk or hike and breakfast.

Everything else comes after that. Those are the most important things I do to prepare my mind and body to be at its best. We all have a bigger yes that is just WAITING for us to step into. It's time to expand our impact on the world and you'll need more energy and bandwidth to accomplish this next leap.

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Article Tags: business priorities, melanie benson strick, power of no, time management



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