The Magic of the Free Day

My mother retired in 2004, and since then she's been as busy than ever, but doing the things she's always wanted to do with her time off (volunteering, seeing more plays and concerts, etc.).


But you don't have to wait until you're retired to do these things. Today, Dan Sullivan shows you how to have more magical free days in 2012, even if you run your own business.

Craig Ballantyne

"Fulfillment comes from a life of meaningful achievement and from being present in each moment while moving in the direction we most want to move." – Peter Bregman

Free Day™ Breakthrough
By Dan Sullivan

A Free Day™ is a 24-hour period free from all work-related thinking, communication, and activity. In all my years of coaching entrepreneurs, Free Days™ are the change they most often thank me for helping them make. They help you stay creative at work, keep you physically and mentally healthy, and deepen your relationships with the people in your life who matter most.

Even if you know all this and agree with it, when you're under pressure or facing unexpected upheaval, you might start thinking of Free Days as a luxury that's hard to justify. That's why it's important to regularly reinforce the Free Day habit, consistently protecting them and taking them, because Free Days are the last thing you should give up in tough times.

When people "fall off the wagon" and begin losing the productivity gains they've made, it usually starts with compromising their personal free time. It may start innocuously with, "I'll just get this one thing done," then gradually slide into a state of living in a "Reactive Zone" where each new thing becomes even more complicated because they have no new energy for dealing with it.

The flip side of this experience is using Free Days to make sure as much of your work time as possible is spent in the "Creative Zone" where things seem easier, your relationships are more enjoyable and helpful, you've got lots of new ideas, your actions are effective, and you're doing all this without creating new messes.

The three biggest obstacles to taking Free Days are panic, guilt, and confusion:

•Panic: "I'll take Free Days when this is all over."
•Guilt: "How can I take a vacation when my team has to work?"
•Confusion: "What will I do if I'm not at work?

Let's look at each of these three:

"I'll take Free Days when this is all over."

Of course, it's never over – there's always something you could be doing for your business. The most successful entrepreneurs, however, evolve out of being "Rugged Individuals" who do everything themselves, and learn to delegate, empower others, and focus on doing what they do best.

These skills become even more important when emergencies happen. Besides, when you go too long without taking Free Days, everything starts to seem like an emergency. Driving this feeling of panic is the notion that, should you step away, there would be a complete catastrophe. In our experience, though, stepping back creates simplicity.

"How can I take a vacation when my team has to work?"

By starting your own business and raising it to its current level of success, you've taken risks and poured a lot of yourself into the company. Your team members (who get weekends, annual leave, and statutory holidays off) haven't made this kind of investment, so it's perfectly appropriate if you're rewarded differently. And if you really want to be of service to your team members, remember that you're far more valuable to them when you're fully rejuvenated and present.

Entrepreneurs ask us, "How can I get my team to work on their own, without having to constantly come to me?" Leave from time to time, that's how! When you're not there, your team members get a chance to catch up and to learn how to make decisions and take action independent of you.

"What will I do if I'm not at work?"

This is the biggest obstacle for many entrepreneurs. Work is rewarding–you're good at it. You get things for being good at it. The rewards in other parts of your life might be less tangible or measurable, and you might not be as good at them. Consistently going back to work–either physically or mentally–can quickly become a habit.

My experience from working with thousands of entrepreneurs is that one-dimensional people are vulnerable to losses in other areas of their life, such as deteriorations in their marriage or health. And paying exclusive attention to work isn't even a good business strategy, since business ultimately becomes the only thing you know. Creativity always involves an element of novelty.

No matter how much you love your work, there are always other realms in life that can give you opportunities to use your capabilities. And what's all this success you're building actually for if not to provide you with a rich life? Free Days are an investment in your future happiness and productivity that you won't regret.

Strategies for taking great Free Days.

It takes some practice to get the hang of Free Days, and, like diet and exercise, they need to be an active part of your life, not just something you know would be good for you. Luckily, the practice is its own reward!

Here are some strategies that really work:

1) Schedule your Free Days in advance.

As you look over the time ahead, try to schedule Free Days just before periods when you know you'll need to be your most productive. Think of it this way: one vacation, one breakthrough; two vacations, two breakthroughs; and on and on.

By booking your Free Days in advance, or even putting someone else in charge of your Free Days, you save yourself from having to justify or negotiate them with others–or yourself–at the time.

2) Do what you really want to do.

Don't make your Free Days just a different set of obligations, spending the whole day doing things for everyone but you. You might be rejuvenated by spending time on your own, or by being surrounded by other people. You may enjoy high-energy activities or quiet time. For some, a natural environment is a soothing break from our technological civilization.

Whatever you choose, it's important that it's consistent with who you are and what you need. If you're planning Free Days with friends or family members, involving them in the planning will ensure that you come up with something everyone enjoys.

If you're stuck for Free Day ideas, check in with your lifetime goals, and see if there's anything you can do that will move you closer to them. Or you might want to start small and achieve something you've been meaning to get to for a long time.

3) Let your team members help you.

Your team members can see when you're tired, even if you haven't noticed yourself falling into that state. When it seems like they're not understanding you or that they're just not "getting it," that's a sign that you need Free Days–and they have a vested interest in helping you take them! Their results depend on your creativity, for one. And you can be sure they prefer working with the rested and rejuvenated version of you.

4) Train your clientele.

There are two ways you can wean your clients and customers off having constant access to you. First, help them understand that Free Days mean that when they do get to be with you, you will always be fully charged and present with them.

Second, in certain areas, your team members have specific talents that actually enable them to take better care of these clients and customers than you can. So, in presenting this change, you can reassure your clientele that you're leaving them in the hands of a specialist. If they're properly introduced to this concept and the transition is smooth, their experience of your business can actually improve:

Getting less of you personally can be an opportunity for them to get more of the value they come to you for.

Do one thing.

If you don't already have a Free Day strategy in place, just start where you are and do one thing–book a single Free Day, brainstorm about locations or activities for your free time, or have a conversation with your spouse or friends about something you could do together. All that matters is that you do something, however small, to start developing the Free Day habit.

The most successful entrepreneurs manage to achieve a balance between their personal and professional lives. If you consider that balance an important part of your lifetime goals, Free Days can provide a crucial strategic tool for making sure you attain it, and that you enjoy all the freedom your success affords you.

[Ed. Note. Dan Sullivan is the president and co-founder of Strategic Coach®, a global organization that has helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs grow their businesses exponentially while enjoying an exceptional quality of life. He is the author of more than 30 publications on the subject of entrepreneurship.]

Source : http://www.earlytorise.com/


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A Self-Made Millionaire's Guide to Dealing with Debt

I had my first serious run-in with debt when I was 30 years old.

My wife K and I were renting a condominium in Washington, D.C. Our landlady came to us with an exciting opportunity: We could buy the condo for $60,000 with no money down. For just $100 a month more than what we were already paying for rent, we would be paying a mortgage. It sounded like a great deal, so we took it.

What we bought was a negatively amortizing mortgage with a three-year term and an 11% interest rate. That meant, every three years we were paying $19,800 in debt service and another $3,000 in closing costs.

We didn't realize what was going on because our monthly payments were only $550. I was too foolish then to ever ask myself, "What is the cost of this debt?"

I tried to find another bank to take me out of this scam but none would. The mortgage we had signed was not backed by the government (Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae), which meant that no other bank would touch it.

I learned that when banks make it easy to borrow money, it's not because you are a nice, deserving person. I learned that if you can get a loan despite poor credit (as ours was at the time), there is usually a scam involved. It also taught me to always ask the two critical questions about debt, "How much will it cost?" and, "Can I afford it?" It was an expensive lesson.

Many of us view debt as a necessity. We buy homes with it. And cars. And boats, and toys, and vacations. Some use it to buy the basics: clothes, food, and furniture.

Debt is not necessary. It is a luxury. Sometimes debt is useful. Sometimes it is wasteful. But debt is always dangerous.

It is unnecessary because there are always less expensive ways of getting what you want. And it is dangerous because it can sometimes be very expensive.

Let me give you two examples.

Let's say that, like most Americans, you are in the habit of buying things with credit cards. After a while, you notice that you have accumulated $30,000 in total debt. You decide to cut up your cards and repay your debt. You can devote $400 a month to paying it back. How long will it take, and how much will it cost you?

The answer may surprise you. Assuming an interest rate of 10%, it will take you 10 years to pay off the credit card debt. And your total payments will be $47,275. Of that, $17,275 will have been in interest payments.

Or let's take a $150,000 home on which you take a $120,000 loan with a 6.5% interest rate over 20 years. The mortgage payments are $894 a month, which you can afford. But how much will that house really cost you? Including interest payments? You will end up paying $244,725 for that house. Almost 40% of that – $94,725 – will have been to interest payments.

The commercial community (bankers and manufacturers) doesn't want you to be afraid of debt. And neither does the government. These institutions want you to like debt. They want you to use it. They want you to go into debt because it is good for them.

When you take out a mortgage to buy a home, or sign a lease on a car, or use credit cards to pay for your lifestyle expenses, the commercial community profits. The manufacturers make money on products you may or may not need. And the banks make money on your debt.

The mainstream financial media rarely talks about the dangers of debt. That's because they make their profits from the financial institutions and manufacturers whose advertisements support their publications.

And the government actually encourages its citizens to take on debt. This was the recommended strategy for getting us out of the Great Recession that the (second) Bush administration (and the Federal Reserve) advocated and it's the same scheme that Obama's people are advocating today.

Here's what you should know about debt:

As a general rule, you should live without it. You should find less expensive ways to acquire the things you need.

Unless you are wealthy, don't lease your car. Buy it. Buy the car you can afford, not the car you believe will make you happy. Any non-appreciating asset (such as a car) will never make you happy if you have to pay its debt service. I didn't buy my first luxury car until I was a multimillionaire.

Don't buy anything with a credit card. Keep only one credit card for renting cars. Use a debit card to buy clothes and groceries. If you don't have enough money in your bank account to use your debit card on a purchase, don't buy it. If you don't have enough money in the bank to buy something, it means you can't afford it.

If you can't afford the debt on your house, sell it (if you can) and buy something cheaper. In any case, start paying off the principle balance of your house (the amount you owe, not the interest you will owe) as fast as you can. Make it a goal to own your house free and clear as soon as possible.

If you have debt, pay it off as fast as you can, but not before you have filled up your bucket for emergency savings. By emergency savings, I mean money you will need to pay your bills if you lose your job. Six months' income is what some financial advisors recommend. I'd recommend a year. It may take you that long to replace your lost income.

Pay off your debt even if the interest rate is low. In theory, you should put your extra money elsewhere if you can earn more on it than you are paying in interest. If, for example, you can get 4% in municipal bonds and you have a student loan at 2%, it makes more sense to buy municipals bonds and pay your student loan off slowly. But in reality, the extra 2% you are earning on the spread is not worth the risk in carrying the debt.

When I started earning money, the first thing I did was get rid of that terrible loan on the condominium I told you about earlier.

The next thing I did was pay off the mortgage I took on a home. I paid it off in two or three years, even though it was a 30-year mortgage. I loved the idea of owning my home free and clear. So I put every extra dollar I had toward paying down that mortgage. The bank didn't like it, but the day I tore up that mortgage... I felt like I had been emancipated from financial slavery.

Finally, if you are troubled by debt, know this: you can get out of it just as I did.

[Ed. Note. If you're not happy with your financial situation, you're in the perfect position to change it for the better – right now. At The Palm Beach Letter, we can show you how. For the equivalent of a tank of gas or a dinner out ($49)... you are getting a whole year of realistic investment and wealth-building advice. Click here for details.]

By Mark Ford, editor, The Palm Beach Letter

Source : http://www.earlytorise.com/

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