People who know me would have a sense that I am an introvert. Not that I don’t enjoy public speaking or hanging out with clients, I just get exhausted when I had too much interaction.
When I attended Archangel Summit 2017, Simon Sinek (Start with Why guy in case you don’t know him) made a perfect metaphor. Introverts wake up every day with 3 coins in their pocket. Every interaction they have during the day would take away one coin. By the end of the day, introverts get exhausted.
On the other hand, if you are an extrovert, you wake up daily with no coin in your pocket. For every interaction you get, you get to add a coin. By the end of the day, the more coin you get, the happier you are.
Erwin and I have attended many different events during the year. Some events are held at night. I’m usually the wife who stands there waiting exhaustively for him to finish. He seems to have an endless amount of energy meeting new people and making new connections. (Although he thinks he’s an introvert, I secretly think that he’s an extrovert.)
I got to know myself a bit better, I feel more comfortable in my own skin, and I got to describe myself a lot better to the people around me. I made the decision much more confidently.
It’s no difference this year.
Play like a kid
Jim Kwik is a world expert in speed reading, memory improvement and optimal brain performance. He’s an excellent presenter.
Children are the fastest learner in the world. Why are they learning so quickly? One of the reasons is because they incorporate playing into their learning process.
If playing helps to learn, how come we, as adults, don’t play nearly as much as the kids anymore?
We believe that we grow old, so we don’t play. But, the truth is: because we don’t play, we grow old.
When was the last time you tried something new and played?
Using your smartphone in the first hour when you wake up decreases productivity by 30%
This is an obvious one.
Every year at Archangel Summit, I get reminded not to use my cell phone first thing in the morning.
I would keep this habit for maybe 3 months, and then I slowly settle back to my old habit, checking my emails, social media and reading entertainment news (which is totally useless).
Brendan Burchard reminded us that productivity indeed gets destroyed by 30% if we checked our phone first thing in the morning.
Why?
When we read emails, we are on other people’s agenda. We turn on our reactive mode and help other people with their requests before we attend to our business.
To give you an example, Erwin saw my notes from an accounting course that I am enrolled in. He asked if he could get a copy of the notes.
The answer is “of course”. I could have easily stopped everything I was doing and dug out the note and emailed it to him, but I was in the middle of writing my blog post this week.
I wrote down a reminder in my planner and continued with my writing.
You see? It is so easy to get distracted by other people’s agenda (yes, even your husband’s agenda and request) than focusing on completing what we started.
When you wake up next morning, let’s leave our phone unattended and get our #1 priority done.
“Where awareness goes, energy flows.”
Once upon a time, I was told meditation was good for me.
Meditation was supposed to be something that all successful entrepreneurs practice every day. Sometimes 2 to 3 times a day.
I never understood why and how meditation helps. I did it and didn’t get any noticeable difference from it.
Dandapani, the Hindu Priest, gave an excellent explanation this year.
He described our mind as a huge room, the room that is divided into different areas. Each area represents one emotion or capability or a memory, such as happiness, sadness, feeling accomplished, etc.
Awareness is like a light bulb. When you move the lightbulb to happiness, you feel happier. When moving the lightbulb to the sad area, you naturally feel more down.
If we practice awareness in a particular area, your energy flows in that area. That area grows even brighter in your mind.
To give you an example, I have focused long and hard on marketing, personal development and tax development all along.
These are the areas in my life that have growing light. In the last few years, I started waking up earlier, eliminated TV from my daily life, and focused on growing my business using different marketing strategies.
How does this relate to meditation? Meditation allows you to practice concentration. Concentration allows you to put your awareness and energy in the area of your life that you want to focus on.
Develop will power and concentration
Concentration requires practices. Lots of practices.
We practice scrolling down our Facebook feeds and checking our emails every two minutes. We practice distraction every day.
If we want to practice focus and concentration, Dandapani suggested us to pick something we do every day. For example, if you speak to your spouse every day, you want to practice focus on him.
I would remove my phone and any distractions from our daily conversation.
My muscle of concentration will grow bigger over time. 😊 And I will be able to focus on the work and task that will help me achieve my goal faster.
12-month health challenge
I have been on the journey to improve my health for a while now.
Food sensitivity analysis, eating supplements, not eating things that would cause me stomachaches, exercising, etc.
When Brendan Burchard challenged the audience for a 12-month health challenge, I realize that I have been on this journey for a while.
I’m by no means perfect, but I am proud to say that I’m in the best shape of my life, way better than when I was in my early twenties and teens.
I’m still struggling with my diet and bloating, but I’m working on them. Good or bad, improving my health, day in and day out.
Are you in the best shape of your life yet?
Taking actions
Lessons are great. Knowledge is power. Without taking actions, nothing will change.
Here’re the few actions that I will take for the coming year:
- Practice meditation every day
- Practice focus and concentration with my family every day
- Schedule play time every week and play with my kids every day
- Read a book, instead of reading my emails, first thing in the morning
- Continue to adjust my diet to have the best health in the next 12 months
It would be fun to look back a year from now and see how I’m progressing in the next 12 months.
You?
Achievements are deliberate daily choices you make every single day. Have you intentionally made the choices to achieve your higher purpose or why?
Until next time, happy Canadian Real Estate Investing.
Cherry Chan, CPA, CA
Your Real Estate Accountant
