I’ve been reading “The EOS Life,” where Gino Wickman discusses five pivotal aspects of life and business. Here’s a glimpse into the lessons I’ve learned, and my personal action plan that you can incorporate into your own business.
Table of Contents
Key Insights
- Identify activities that bring you the most energy and joy and focus heavily on those.
- Evaluate your current network and foster relationships with people who uplift you.
- Think about how you can make a dent in the universe in whatever space you are focused on.
- Figure out how you can solve bigger problems and create more value for others.
- Dedicate time to other passions which is essential for a well-rounded life.
1. Doing What You Love
Finding joy in our work is crucial for lasting satisfaction. Life’s too short for unfulfilling tasks. I tend to have a habit of taking on too much and having a do-it-myself type of attitude. This ends up draining my energy in the long run and is something I need to focus on this year.
đź“ť Action Item: I will identify activities that bring me the most energy and joy and focus heavily on those in my weekly routine. I will also identify the activities that drain my energy and delegate at least one of these tasks each month.
2. With People You Love
The people around us matter. Surrounding ourselves with positive, supportive people makes a world of difference. Business is hard enough as it is, people who drain our energy are making it 10x harder. This is not fair to you or them.
đź“ť Action Item: I plan to evaluate my current network and invest more in relationships that uplift, inspire, and push me to become better.
3. Making a Huge Difference
The impact of our work extends beyond us. How can we make a dent in the universe in whatever space we are focused on? This can seem daunting but getting clear on what difference you are trying to make can give immense clarity on the actions and decisions you need to make.
Gino quotes Simon Banks who said, you are not a leader until you produce a leader, who can produce another leader.
📝 Action Item: I will write down exactly what my “why” is. Once I understand that, I will create a 3-year, 1-year, and 90-day plan to relentlessly focus on that vision and make sure every business decision I make is aligned with it.
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4. Being Compensated Appropriately
Valuing our work and time appropriately is vital, this is an individual decision that is important to get clear on. One of the concepts of being compensated appropriately is economic leverage. I’ve always thought of this concept as, delegating tasks that cost less than your internal target hourly rate. This frees you up to focus on higher dollar-per-hour work. But what I didn’t consider, was the energy savings you get by not doing work you don’t enjoy. That energy savings can lead to more productivity and output. So when you combine the time savings you get from delegating work you don’t enjoy, plus the energy savings, you now can focus more on what will give you the most impact.
đź“ť Action Item: I will write down all of the ways I currently add value to others and then figure out how I can solve bigger problems and create more value. I will then make sure my weekly schedule is filled with work that directly contributes to the value I am trying to create.
5. Time for Other Passions
Balance is key. Dedicating time to other passions is essential for a well-rounded life. This is often the first thing I sacrifice when I get stressed or have too much on my plate. I tend to like to push through the work and skip the other things in my life that I am passionate about, which are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and health/fitness. I’ve been stuck at purple belt in Jiu Jitsu for the past 7 years because I often skip training to focus more on work. This is something I need to fix this year.
đź“ť Action Item: I will schedule 3 days per week for Jiu Jitsu and 4 days per week for strength training outside of work to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Wrapping Up
If you want to support my blog (I get a small commission), pick up a copy of the book and/or the EOS life journal here:
Gino Wickman’s “The EOS Life” has helped me with my quest for balance, impact, and joy in my business. Entrepreneurship can be hard and lonely, but it doesn’t have to be.
Check out my complete list of the best books on starting a business.
Here is a checklist of the action items I am going to implement this quarter:
- I will identify activities that bring me the most energy and joy and focus heavily on those in my weekly routine. I will also identify the activities that drain my energy and delegate at least one of these tasks each month.
- I plan to evaluate my current network and invest more in relationships that uplift, inspire, and push me to become better.
- I will write down exactly what my “why” is. Once I understand that, I will create a 3-year, 1-year, and 90-day plan to relentlessly focus on that vision and make sure every business decision I make is aligned with it.
- I will write down all of the ways I currently add value to others and then figure out how I can solve bigger problems and create more value. I will then make sure my weekly schedule is filled with work that directly contributes to the value I am trying to create.
- I will schedule 3 days per week for Jiu Jitsu and 4 days per week for strength training outside of work to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
About The Author
John has spent close to a decade working with marketing agencies in various roles and capacities. Over that time he developed a passion for building systems and processes that allow agencies to improve their service offerings and deliver their service more efficiently.