What does it mean when I say you are the CEO of your own life? It simply means you are the one in control of your life (or you should be). Most of us spend our life contributing to a corporate entity at some level, whether it's a small business, a major fortune 500 company, a nonprofit, or a company we own. In some way, your job relates to a business and you are a contributor to the bottom line of that business. And whether I talk to the president of a company or to the person who's answering the phone in customer relations, people generally understand the purpose of their job and how it relates to the bottom line of the company. The idea that every job has a purpose and it must operate correctly in order for the business to be successful is a given. And yet I am always surprised that when these same people leave the building, they don't take those same principles home with them to apply to their own life. Many of these people have been educated for years on how to run a business, and yet they do not apply the same concepts to a personal life strategy that directly benefits them.
Those principles of business are just as beneficial in your personal life as they are in business. The only difference is the bottom line is your bottom line! As CEO of your own life, you should have clarity on what the objectives and outcomes of your life ought to be. In a company, small or large, there are different levels of formality in terms of a Board of Directors, hiring the right teams, having a short and long-term strategic plan for the company, and a defined mission statement. All of these fundamentals are considered necessary and relevant to operating a successful business. And yet, what greater business is there than your own life? But most people are not trained to look at their life in this way, even at the most prestigious schools.
Bottom-line is (no pun intended) you have a very defined life span---that’s just a fact. You have gifts, talents and attributes that belong solely to you. You determine who you surround yourself with. You are the one to build out a Board of Directors for your own life. And just like any good CEO of a company, you determine whether or not you surround yourself by talented people who enhance your leadership and emulate success. The outcomes for your life (YOUR life dreams) are being fulfilled and achieved by you every day. In my book, Beat the System…Create Your Own Pathway to Wealth, there are specific chapters on self-awareness; building your own personal Board of Directors; defining what's important to you; deciding what your ultimate objectives in life are; and determining what kind of legacy you want to leave behind. However, most people don't approach their life in this manner. Most people go to school for the first two decades or so of life, land a job, save a little money for their retirement, save a little for their children, buy a home, plan for vacations, and so on. But the average person can’t articulate a long-term view of exactly they want to accomplish in their life (including financially, physically and family). They are simply caught up in living their life like a hamster on a wheel. Most of us don’t even realize time is passing us by as we spin on the wheel, and we never take the time to get off the wheel and ask, “Why am I doing all of this”? It seems so rudimentary, but life just happens. Our overall bottom-line life success takes a back seat to life itself. It is so easy to lose sight of your own personal desires! When you take charge as CEO of your life, then you put all of the aspects and components that make up your life into perspective, just like the divisions/departments within a company. In essence, your job simply produces the income you need to enable you to achieve your own life plan. Your life plan is the overall company where you are CEO. When you put all of this into perspective, you develop a different mindset about why you get up and go to work every day. How your job fits into your broader life-strategy and what that job allows you to do. And, when that job is no longer serving you from a life strategy perspective, perhaps it is time to find a new one. It can become comfortable to stay in the status quo because it is easier and doesn’t require change, but if you are evaluating your job from the perspective of producing bottom-line results for your life then it is easier to make those decisions. When you have everything defined in your life and you're focused on the right things, then you have purpose in all that you do, and that leads to ultimate success. Developing a one-year plan and five-year plan while keeping your life objectives in mind allows you to easily evaluate decisions based on outcomes---just like a CEO does for a company every day! If you have read my book, you know I recommend evaluating your life objectives in five-year increments based on an anticipated lifespan. It generally takes about five years to achieve major objectives you define for yourself. You may not have all of the answers, but just like any great CEO, you surround yourself with the right people (personal Board of Directors) who you turn to for additional insight. It all starts with you taking the helm as CEO of your own life. You take control of your life instead of allowing life to control you. You have the final decision-making authority over your legacy. Don't let someone else put you in a box. It's your only life and you should achieve the objectives that mean the most to you. Define your mission statement and start today! Every great company has a mission statement that sets the direction for the entire company. All your actions and objectives orient around living the mission statement. Now you have a clear purpose and a “why” for everything you do in your life. You are the CEO! You can download my latest books on wealth and health for free on this website. Subscribe to the YouTube videos and click on the bell for weekly alerts. And check out the podcasts and my other blogs! I love hearing your own personal stories and questions, so contact me through any of my channels.
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