A successful investment banker went on vacation to a tropical island. There he met a fisherman who had a unique way of catching fish. The banker immediately saw a business opportunity.
He told the fisherman he should hire some employees so that he could replicate that process in different locations on the island. The fisherman said, ?Sounds great. Then what??
The banker then told him to raise money so that he could expand off the island. The fisherman said, ?Sounds great. Then what??
The banker said that eventually the fisherman would be able to make an initial public offering, so that he could keep growing the company, move to the US, and hire thousands of employees. The fisherman said, ?Sounds great. Then what??
The banker said, ?Then you can sell shares in the stock market and make millions of dollars and eventually retire.? The fisherman said, ?Sounds great. Then what??
The banker said, ?Well then, I guess you can move to a beautiful island and fish all day.?
Many times in business we may find ourselves on a similar growth path. You want more and more so that you can keep growing your company in order to reach that ultimate destination. However, sometimes the destination or happiness you are striving for is actually right in front of you the entire time. It is hard to recognize this unless you are able to stay present and not keep stressing about the future.
Below are 5 tips to help you stay present in business and in life:
1. Be Grateful?
Focusing on your accomplishments and the great things in your life is by far one of the best ways to stay present. Being grateful for those in your life?letting them know that you appreciate them is also key. To get in the habit of doing this, you could try a simple exercise. Put 10 pennies in your left pocket. Each time you give a compliment, move it over to the right pocket. The goal is to move them all over in one day.
2. Journaling?
In my last article I discussed the importance of journaling to stay positive. The same thing holds true for staying present. Experts estimate that we each have over 50,000 thoughts a day. Journaling allows you to break down the thoughts that rise to the top. It lets you explore your journey to success in more detail. Why do you want to grow your business? What are you trying to achieve? What does success mean to you? Exploring such topics in more detail allows you to be more present and focused.
3. Stay Organized?
It is next to impossible to keep up with all the information that is in our feeds on a daily basis. Too often we look at our incomplete to-do lists and only focus on what we are not doing.
There are many tools you can use to keep your lists organized. Two that I recommend are Any.do and Asana. Of course, software alone is not enough to help you stay present; rather, it involves organizing your mind around both long-term and short-term goals. One great exercise for your long-term goals is to look backwards as if you had already accomplished your dream and then create the story that will make it happen.
Read more at Forbes.
