‘No’ is a Powerful Productivity Strategy

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”_Hans Hofmann

A few years ago, I read a short but interesting book entitled; ‘Eat that Frog,’ written by an American productivity strategist, Brian Tracy.

At the beginning of the book, Brian writes about his extensive research on time management, maximum efficiency and personal effectiveness for more three decades. 

With that wealth of knowledge and experience, he concluded that to get control of our time and life, we don’t have to work too hard, we only need to change ‘the way we deal with the never-ending river of responsibilities that flow over us each day.’ 

He said we would get control of our life and ‘activities only to the degree that we stop doing some things and start spending more time on the few activities that can really make a difference.’

In this direction, the author of ‘Greatness Guide’ Robin Sharma puts the same concept across to his inner circle in the following powerful words: 

“Focus. Focus. Focus on your burning priorities.

Say no to everything else; life is short.

You only get one shot at great.”

As we can see, the true experts of peak performance have all realized the special importance of the negative-seeming word ‘NO’ when it comes to getting significant, positive things done. 

Evidently, no matter how many efficiency tips we aggressively master, we can never get everything done in any given day. 

Why? 

Simply because of a simple truth; there will always be more to do than we can ever do in any 24-hour day.

Whether the period is a day, a week, a year, and even a lifetime, we can’t ever get everything completely done but we can intentionally get really important things done.

So in the face of that undeniable truth: the way out is to say ‘no’ to things of little or no significance so we can conserve time and energy for things of true significance.

In the words of an American author, Scott Belsky: “It is only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that really matter.”

Though saying no to distractions can be hard, yet it is an art that will improve with practice. And, once we see the benefits of deliberate prioritization— by elimination— in our work and lives, we will never go back to the way of frantic busyness again.

Greg Mckeown expressed the same idea in his book, ‘Essentialism.’ Below is relevant quote on the subject at hand from his wonderful bestseller. He writes:

“Only once you give yourself the permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.”

In finality, never forget that: ‘No’ is one of the only high performance tools you will ever need to get maximum results in life with minimum use of your time and energy. 

So instead of surrendering your agency to the urgency of everything, set your own priorities and lead—by choosing to jettison anything that stands in your way.

How to Help Out in a Crisis

“In every artist there is a touch of audacity without which no talent is conceivable.”_Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In a few years back—2016, to be precise—the revolutionary founder and CEO of the ultra-modern electric company (Tesla), Elon Musk enhanced his reputation as one of the true heroes of our time.

Heroes are said to emerge in a crisis. And that is true. But this time around, the crisis didn’t affect just a few persons; it affected almost two million people: the inhabitants of South Australia.

The country experienced a huge storm with devastating tornadoes which brought down key infrastructures of energy, electricity and power. And the aftermath resulted in almost total blackout of the whole South Australia.

To cut the long story shut, the country had a very serious problem to deal with, and she dealt with it awesomely.

As it turned out, South Australia dealt with it awesomely only because she had the help of white knight in formidable armour: Elon Musk was the one who saved the day in a pretty remarkable way.

Though many of us would prefer to flee from problems of any kind but very few people would rather think creatively on how to upturn such problems into an opportunity for service.  Elon Musk is one of those few.

To help out, Elon Musk made an offer to the South Australian government that is both ambitious and daring. He made a business deal out of the crisis by taking full responsibility for restoring the power grid in just 100 days.

In his own words, he wrote: “Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature OR IT IS FREE.”

Think about the last part of the sentence to really understand the confidence of the man. He placed a binding condition on himself to either deliver as promised or forfeit the sum of N50m dollars. Wow! 

And as you would expect, once the contract was signed, the whole world started counting from day one to see if Musk had bitten more than he could chew, this time around.

Alas, the iron man, Elon Musk not only won over his self-imposed challenge but he succeeded in a pretty remarkable way: he delivered on his promise forty-days ahead of schedule. Impressive!

And it was such a great success that didn’t just strengthened Tesla reputation; it really offered exceptional value to the people Australia.

The next part of this article is where we get to learn the secret power of the gallant man on a white horse.

Be Audacious in Your Preparation

“If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.”_Carl von Clausewitz 

After reading that remarkable story, I paused to reflect on what could be his secret.

What gave him the sheer confidence to make such a bold offer?

And how was he able to meet up in almost half the time?

And how can we strengthen our character so we can be a little more like him in striving to fulfill the big promises we make to others and ourselves?

In search of answers, I read more on ‘our knight’. And it turned out that Elon Musk truly knows something about life far above the average person on the street.

Elon Musk revealed the hidden secret of his blatant audacity in the following words:

“Work like hell.

I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week; this improves the odds of success.

If other people are putting in 40 hour work weeks and you’re putting in 100 hour work weeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing.

You know that you will achieve in 4 months what it takes them a year to achieve.”

I think this quote says a lot on why he had the confidence to put himself in a tight corner, beforehand. It also says a lot on how he could cut his execution time into almost half.

You see, beneath his audacity to dream and aspire big is his audacity to act massively. 

You and I need to understand that our big promises mean nothing, if we are unwilling to correspondingly commit big and make amazing things happen. 

Arguably, the two qualities of men of confidence, which may portray a touch of wonder in the eye of an average person, are their sheer will and their incredible commitment to relentless action.

Truly Care and Be Genuinely Willing to Serve

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”_Mahatma Ghandi

In this case, Elon Musk’s motivation to big commitment springs not from fame or fortune but from his deep desire for service. He said: “For me it was never about money, but solving problems for the future of humanity.”

So to thrive out of a crisis, we need to truly care about people’s welfare and creating value to serve their greatest needs during such a period.

Finally, we should strive to be audacious in our aspiration to tackle meaningful problems in the society. Above all, we should always strive to matchup our actions with our bold promises. No wonder the former Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Benjamin Disraeli concluded that, “success is the child of audacity.”

The Dominant Quality of True Professionals

“A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it.”_Alistair Cooke

In the book, ‘Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do’ author Robert H. Schuller narrated a story of the moment his family had a dinner with the famous pianist, Roger Williams as a form of appreciation for his contribution to their ministry.

Though it was a blast of a feast, yet Roger William noticed when the clock hit ten. Immediately, he said, “Well I really have to go. I must get to work.”

“Work at this time?” Robert Schuller curiously inquired.

Roger replied: “Yes, it’s rehearsal. I will go home and rehearse from ten o’clock till about two o’clock. I’ll sleep for about four hours, and then I’ll get up and rehearse for another two hours.”

Now pay close attention to the next question posed by Robert Schuller, for that’s where the point of this entire article hides.

He asked: “Do you do that everyday?”

Roger replied without any hesitation, “O yes, every day.”

As we can see, the few at the top of their game are not there because of raw talents alone, they are there largely because they consistently get better at their craft by working on it, everyday.

In this sense, what is true for a great singer is also true for every other great.

Every day, great scholars study.

Every day, great painters paint.

Every day, great writers write.

Even on any challenging or tempting day, true professionals have learned not to rationalize and skip the day’s duty. On such a day, they force themselves to put in their reps, no matter how little.

Adopt the Attitude of Everyday @ a Fixed Time

“What I adore is supreme professionalism. I’m bored by writers who can write only when it’s raining.”_Noel Coward 

When it comes to high performance and maximum efficiency, time blocking is the tool of choice for committed professionals. They employ regimented routine to free up their minds and their time to do their best daily work. 

I have realized from personal experience that when we give our duty a time and a place in our schedule, possible distractions and interruptions tend to fall by the wayside. 

Generally, the most successful people are the most productive people. They are the ones who show up, whether it is easy or difficult. They are the ones who put in the effort when it is easier not to. They are the ones whom we can confidently count upon to deliver, no matter what the circumstances are. 

To them, no pains are too great, no revisions are to too tedious, and no sacrifices are too much for the privilege of becoming the best at their craft.

In this direction, Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology concludes after years of research that the secret of true professionals is nothing but grit: the ability to stick to one’s duty— irrespective of the present circumstances or future challenges— for as long as it well darn takes. 

Simply put, above all else, effort is the decisive factor of who gets to the fame hall of achievement in the end. Effort takes precedence over raw talents: it is required at all times, at the beginning, in the middle and even at the rear of the journey.

In other words, it doesn't matter what our life work is, if we don’t commit to it unconditionally, we will never be among the very best—not even close. 

You see, the ability to show up every day, and do our work — especially when we have the impulse not to — is so valuable a thing that it is plainly all we need to become a true professional in any field of endeavour.

In summary, you don’t need to become a workaholic to be a true professional; you just need to get better at what really matters, day in, day out—without fail. 

When consistency is truly unshakable, mastery becomes inevitable.

Perspective Changes Everything

“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”_Camille Pissarro

Due to the current phenomenon of COVID-19, our free modern world is suddenly challenged in an unprecedented way.

As a result of the challenging situation we all face in almost every part of the globe, some people are already suggesting that the Apocalypse has begun. 

However, they are being far more pessimistic than what the data portray. 

Even if the data is that bad, they are forgetting an essential lesson of survival: our ultimate destiny is never determined by what happens to us; it is determined by how we view what happens and the actions we take in response to the situation.

Philosophically, truth is more important than reality. And the truth is: perspective has the capacity to transform a hopeless circumstance into a glimmering scenario of faith and courage. As an American businessman Allen Harold wisely said that our perspective is “the (only) difference between a mountain and a molehill.”

As a matter of fact, humanity has witnessed and survived plagues that were far more deadly than what we are witnessing right now. Therefore, we really need to view things with balanced optimism to thrive out of the present difficulties.

In his book, ‘Either/Or’ the Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard points out that with the right perspective in a world of crises, darkness and restriction, wise men will doggedly search for things to be grateful for.

But without the right perspective in an environment of opulent opportunities and the most desirable circumstances, someone is sure to be bored and miserable. 

By that line of reasoning, instead lamenting and wishing Coronavirus had never happened, we should adopt a positive perspective by being grateful that it is not worse than it presently is (Remember Black Death with 40% fatality rate). 

And secondly, we should realize that this will make our modern world stronger, not weaker in the long run. 

The current adversity will accelerate research on how we can gain firmer control on pathogens, going forward. In the words of Napoleon Hill, the author of ‘Think and Grow Rich,’ “Every adversity has a seed of equivalent or greater benefit.”

Without a doubt, our challenges provide us with the greatest opportunity for creativity and progress. Human race have enjoyed better health and safety from the work of scientists like Louis Pasteur, a French microbiologist who was motivated to act by the prevalent plague of his time. 

Subsequently, his discoveries on vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization have led to breakthroughs in saving a lot of lives through prevention and treatment of deadly diseases in Europe and the world over.

As the author of ‘Unlimited Power,’ Anthony Robbins once said, “Every problem is a gift. Without them, we wouldn’t grow.”

With the wrong perspective, it is too easy for us to spend our time lamenting the disastrous hands we are dealt but with the right perspective, the next course of action is to use every challenge we face as an immediate source of advancement. 

Never forget, the greatest problem is never the difficulties; the greatest problem is having the wrong perspective in dealing with them as the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung did say: “It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves.”

Demonstrate the Right Perspective in Our Collective Fight Against the Deadly Virus

So while other people are choosing to behave like this is the beginning of the end, choose to spend your time to instill faith and confidence in the mind of everyone around you.

While other people are choosing to watch television all day long, saturating their precious minds only with the news of gloom and doom, divert your own attention to stories of courage, innovation and resilience.

While others are choosing to remain focused on thousands of people that are dead, be grateful to God that He has granted recovery to four times more than the number of fatalities.  

You see, the main thing we need to thrive in the face of a crisis is a term I call ‘determined optimism.’ With it, the world has survived greater challenges than this, but without it, there is no hope for the future.

In the end: we must never allow our challenges to take away our strength. Rather, we should use them to enhance and magnify our latent power. 

Perspective changes everything!