Are you just surviving or preparing?

It’s not always best to have that conversation. Give your employer 40 hours of competent, reliable work. Use the other 128 hours a week to build and begin preparing for the life you want.

Episode #825 April 08, 2022

Hi this is Dan Miller – and yes you’re listening to the 48 Days Radio show – where each week we take 48 minutes to dive into real life questions about finding your passion, deciding what kind of life you want to live – and then finding or creating work that allows you to show up every day, excited to be able to do something that is meaningful, fulfilling – and profitable.  This is where normal, indecision and ambiguity come to die.  Welcome to the 48 Days Radio Show.

Questions:

What should I do while I’m waiting for things to get better?

Tony Robbins shares a story about asking Nelson Mandela how he survived all of those years in prison. He said he almost snapped at him when he said, “I wasn’t surviving. I was preparing.” And he was. He spent four days each week doing his own exercise regiment (on top of the heavy manual labor he was doing). When Ted Turner was asked about all the many losses of his sailing team and his baseball team, he answered, “I wasn’t losing. I was learning to win.” How do you respond when things aren’t going as you had planned? What do you do when you’re in prison like Nelson Mandela, stuck in traffic or in the midst of a pandemic or lose a job. Robert Greene, the author of 48 Laws of Power, says there are two types of times in our lives: dead time when we’re passive and waiting and alive time, when we’re learning and preparing for the future we want. If you’re in a situation you can’t control, are you just surviving or preparing? Do you see your situation as losing or learning how to win?

My employer will fire me if he knows I’m building a side business.

No, do not tell your boss. While there are a lot of bosses out there that may be understanding, but with the previous reaction you’ve seen from your boss, just continue doing what you’re doing and building it on the side. Use my 15-hour-per week model to fit both in. GET IT HERE Give your employer 40 hours of competent, reliable work. That leaves you 126 hours a week to build and begin preparing for the life you want. With those 15 hours I would suggest you divide them as follows: 3 hours – reading, studying, gathering new knowledge (20%) 5 hours – creating content – working on your book, courses, coaching packages (33%) 4 hours – working directly with clients (27%) 3 hours – marketing efforts to build your brand and reputation (20%) When you get to the point where you’re generating 50% of the income you’re generating now with just that 15 hours a week, you can look at the possibilities of switching to your business full time or with the type of business you’re describing, you may decide to keep running it as a side business, which is perfectly fine as well.

Do hobbies count toward the 5% of our income being invested in ourselves?

This is a very legitimate question. I agree that some things that may look like hobbies to other people may actually be legitimate, self-improvement investments, like a personal trainer or Spanish tutor. It doesn’t have to be books, courses, seminars or coaching. There are many other things that allow you to improve yourself physically and mentally. Thanks for sharing this question, as I prepare notes for my next book on this very topic. Get my formula for investing in yourself here.

Many times your podcasts and quotes have inspired me, but I am unable to take any action due to the fear of moving my feet.

Ask yourself this question: If we were meeting three years from today, what has to have happened during that three-year period for you to feel happy about your progress. If that is a lot different than what you’re doing today, then it will be a lot easier to start taking action and preparing for what it is you really want. “I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” — Frederick Douglass Find out more in my blog: Pray With Your Legs God provides food for the birds – but he doesn’t just show up and throw it in their nest. Sometimes the exercise of faith we need most may be to engage our spiritual quadriceps, stretch those hamstrings and use our gluteus maximus for something other than supporting our head while we pray.

Quotation:

[click_to_tweet tweet=”“I wasn’t surviving, I was preparing.” Nelson Mandela @48daysteam” quote=”“I wasn’t surviving, I was preparing.” Nelson Mandela”]

Resource:

Dan’s formula for Investing in Yourself, no matter what your income is – 48days.com/invest 

So many of these questions are centered around mastering your own mindset. Check out my course: 48 Days To Master Your Mindset here.

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Summary

1. Don’t just wait for things to get better. Spend that time “preparing” for the opportunities that are coming.

2. Give your employer 40 hours of competent, reliable work. Use the other 128 hours a week to build the life you want.

3. Invest in yourself in ways that bring you variety and enjoyment as well as ways to be more productive.

4. Decide what you want your life to be three years from now, then make decisions today that take you in that direction.