Figure out what you need: Priorities matter!

“Thanks to your strategy, I didn't just get the job ... but I negotiated $16,000 more per year in pay.” - Mary L.

I can show up with my pom-poms and tell you HOW to make your dreams a reality all day long … but you won’t do the work unless you really want what’s on the other side.

I speak from experience. Shortly after starting my own business, I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I was confident. I was excited. I could see + taste the difference I was gonna make in this world. I wrote it down. I said it to myself in the mirror. I declared to my husband and anyone else who would listen: “I’m going global. I’m going to take this business globally in the next two years. I know how to do it. I’m going to do it!” And,  it started to happen! I landed two speaking gigs in South Africa. I did a webinar series for people in Kuwait. I was on my way!

Then I stalled. I did not “go global.” I did not get what I wanted. Not because I didn’t want it. Not because I wasn’t good enough. Not because I didn’t know how to do it. Nope. I stalled because even though I really did want to go global, I wanted something else more: time at home with my two babies and my two dying parents. My priorities were first to my family, next to my career. That #1 priority – time at home and the freedom + flexibility to care for the ones I loved drove me unconsciously. All-day long, I made micro-decisions and took action in the direction which would keep me where I needed and wanted to be: at home. When I had a choice to call someone in Europe about a speaking gig or call someone in my own backyard, I called the local person first.

I wish I had built this scorecard for myself back then. I wish I had been honest about where my priorities were and what I really wanted out of my business back then. I would have made more money and had even more freedom if I had focused all my efforts on local work in those days instead of being scattered. I wish I had been honest with myself and my husband. Things would have been a lot easier, and you know what: I would have reached that goal of going global much faster in the end! Well, you can learn from my mistake. You can stop and take the time to figure out what your priorities are right now in your life. Our priorities change, and you need to stop and re-evaluate periodically so you can get crystal clear on what matters most to you.

My friend Monica is a brilliant photographer. She does it on the side. I desperately want to share her with the world, so for a while, I was pushing her to start her own business, put up a website, advertise. She said “Yeah, yeah, yeah … you’re right. I would love that.” But she never did it, because she loves the freedom to work no more than 10-15 hours per week … when she wants, how she wants. She does not want a full-time job, and lucky for her she does not need it. Once she owned that and told me about it, I stopped bugging her … and she started loving the part-time photography she was doing.

Use this scorecard to figure out what matters most to you in your life right now. Because you … and the ones you love … are worth it. Do you have the balance you seek in your life?