When I’m coaching, often my clients will comment about not having enough time to slow down, think, and strategize for their personal lives, their life’s work and career, and the work of their teams. They enjoy the gift of being able to do that with me, in a way that enables them to move forward personally and professionally. Through our work together, they learn the importance of stopping, every day or week, just to think. They schedule it on their calendars and they resolve to not allow anything to get in the way of that time. 

In my own life and career, I’ve learned to set aside time. Every morning, I take time to pray and journal to get centered and ready for the day ahead. I exercise to get my blood flowing and to be in good health. I review my affirmations, my mission, and my vision so that I can be intentional about my work. Periodically, I do a “brain dump” and write out everything that’s on my mind. Often, new thoughts and ideas come up that I hadn’t even considered before. I take time to read, listen to podcasts, read articles, or watch TED talks and other videos that inspire and motivate me to continue my journey. I also take time to think and be focused about my longer-term goals and the tasks that I need to complete to accomplish them. And, I schedule time with friends and colleagues to help me think through ideas and challenges I’m facing. 

There’s a proverb that goes, “all hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”

Success doesn’t happen by accident; it happens on purpose. 

I like to watch biographies about famous and successful people (usually music artists). The one thing I’ve noticed they all have in common is that they are intentional and worked hard to get to where they wanted to be. 

To sum it up:

Build in time (schedule it) to:

• Get centered and ready for the day ahead 
• Exercise
• Review your affirmations, mission, and vision (and if you don’t have any of these, use the time to write them out)
• Capture all of your ideas. You never know when you’ll have an opportunity to implement them
• Be a continuous learner
• Set goals, choose a strategy, and create a plan of action
• Get support from others, find someone you can be accountable to
• Be intentional 

Taking time to think might feel like you’re doing nothing, but you’re not! You’re doing something that will propel you toward your destiny. 

To your success!