In decades of financial consulting for the wealthy and volunteer counseling for financially struggling families there are two differences that stand out more than any other between these two groups. One is HOW THEY USE THEIR MONEY and the other is HOW THEY USE THEIR TIME. Today I want to talk about TIME.

My most successful clients and friends are very wealthy and though they work hard, they only put in a fraction of the time at work as most folks. They all know that BUSY is worthless – PRODUCTIVE is priceless. I have frequently said that my most successful clients will get more done in a week than most people will in an entire month. The exciting thing is – you can too!

My highly successful clients use what I call “Tools of Mass Production”.  At a minimum they all use some form of To-Do-List plus an “Appointment Calendar”.  There are dozens of different ways to use such tools, but the only thing that matters is that you get the job done. Well, “what is the job” that you need to get done?

You need to become a person of “Mass Production”. You need to get much more done in far fewer hours. Understanding what I mean by “get more done” is crucial to becoming highly successful. You have no doubt heard the old expression, “The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing”. I use a modified version of that expression. It goes like this:

“The Main Thing is to Discover the Main Thing”

I rarely encounter lazy people who are asking for my help with their business or personal finances. The problem is not the number of hours they are willing to invest for success. The problem is they work on the wrong things. Let me demonstrate my point using the most common recurring mistake made by home business owners.

As the owner of your own business, your time will generally fit into one of three categories.

1. Personal growth – studying, researching, attending seminars, etc.
2. Administrative – tax planning, personnel issues, insurance matters, etc.
3. Income Production – asking someone to buy some product, or to join you in business

Only the third item on the list creates actual income. Highly successful people spend almost all of their time on number three, while the underachievers all stay absorbed with numbers 1 and 2.

Let me take this illustration one step further, because if I stopped right here, many would feel much better about their activities than is healthy.

Please carefully take note of the fact that there are countless “sales related” activities, such as writing ads, working on websites, putting presentations together, etc….. but, ALL OF THOSE ARE ADMINISTRATIVE. You don’t get paid to do administrative tasks- you only get paid when someone actually makes a buying decision.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that ads, websites and presentations don’t ever reject us. They are more “pleasant” tasks to work on than asking someone to make a buying decision - the problem is they don’t pay very well.

I doubt there are many people who hate contacting prospects for the first time as much as I do. However, because I accepted the fact that either I would get better at it, or I would fail, I have been able to achieve some amazing successes.

I still hate ”breaking the ice” with new prospects, but there are ways to get the job done that reduce the misery to a very tolerable level of discomfort.

I have three practical suggestions for you:

1. Click on “Wealth Center” in The “A” List and sign up for free. It includes my highly regarded eBook – “The Art of Achieveing Financial Freedom”, plus all the “Tools of Mass Production”, which includes all my time and money management tools.
2. Join my blog and I will notify you when there is a new posting. I will only post about one new article a week, but they will ALL be practical and will come from my own experiences.
3. Hire me as your income coach.  You can put me to the test for 30 minutes for free. Click on “Your Income Coach” in The “A” List for details. Spending a few hundred dollars onetime could make you many thousands of dollars year after year.

Stay tuned for more helpful suggestions and tips on creating financial independence by creating a successful home business.