Let's examine a pointed but straight forward analogy. Assume you are a smart cellular phone. Cell phones have many applications you download or are preloaded before purchase. When you purchase the cellphone, it comes with a charger, the phone, and a battery. Now, if you are the phone, you will need your battery (your energy) to work, the applications (people dependent on you), and the charger (people who feed into you).
Okay, so you may already see where this is going. Every night, you charge your phone getting ready for the next day. When you pull your phone off the charger, and you see 100 percent, you are prepared to tackle the communication world. However, what you also must realize is, despite not making a single call or anything, there are applications in the background draining your battery (energy). You must remain diligent in your understanding of which application is consuming you as you travel throughout your day. We also are fully aware of our charger. As the battery drains, we know we can plug up and recharge. Think about the people in your life that are your chargers. These are the people who want nothing from you but to always see you at your absolute best. The funny thing is we often have significantly fewer chargers than applications for our smartphones and our lives.
Identify the people who are your chargers and when possible, magnify them. Like the cell phone charger, we frequently have one or more at home, one in the car, one at the office, and maybe one we keep in our travel case. The unfortunate thing is we frequently pay little attention to the charger and more attention to the draining applications, that is until our energy becomes low. Then we quickly turn back to the charger.
While you are navigating your entrepreneurial journey, it is essential to understand and identify your chargers and your applications. For example, you walk into the office and say, “Good morning, how are you doing today?” The immediate response(s) will reveal to you who is an application or a charger. Applications might give you an answer, such as “very stressful,” or “I am feeling very low,” etc. This response, if you allow it to, might put an unnecessary drain on you. However, same situation, different response... The person says, “I am doing fantastic” or “incredible.” This answer provides you with a jolt of energy and could become a temporal charger.
So, as you progress through your day reflect on who are the apps and who are the chargers. They both have their place and you will have perspective.
Be on the lookout for upcoming posting on the release of Navigating the Entrepreneurial Journey, currently available for pre-order at www.drrickygallaway.com
Enjoy your day
Dr.RickG.