What's the dark side of thinking mostly about success? Director Guillermo del Toro:
"If all you think about is success rather than fulfillment, that's a dangerous coin you're dealing with. That kind of success has a horrible exchange rate of currency. Horrible. It's never going to be enough to pay the debts you have in your soul as an artist."
(in a roundup of wisdom from various artists at the Fast Company website)
What fulfills you?
Are you making enough time for that?
I think the 80/20 Principle applies to this. You may be familiar with the version that says 20% of what you do earns you 80% of your income. Doing more of that 20% increases your income exponentially.
I believe 20% of what you do gives you 80% of your fulfillment. Doing more of that 20% will give you lots more satisfaction.
In both cases, though, you have to stop doing some of the things that currently take up 80% of your time. Here's a plan for doing that:
Make a list of everything you do and how much time you spend on it. This should include work, social activities, housework, etc.
Circle the ones you don't find fulfilling.
For each of those, ask yourself:
Does this need to be done?
What would happen if it weren't done?
What would happen if it were done to a lesser extent?
If it does need to be done, do I have to be the one to do it?
Who else could do it?
What needs to happen for them to do it instead of me?
If I absolutely have to do it, what can I change about how I do it that would allow me to do it in less time?
Use the time you save to do more of what fulfills you. If you do that, success might just follow.
(You'll find lots of creative strategies for making the most of your time in my book, Focus: Use the Power of Targeted Thinking to Get More Done. You can get it from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)
