Just Say “No” by Jim Stovall
Photo by Gemma Evans on Unsplash
Unless we learn how to say “no” to the things that are wrong for us in our personal and professional lives, we won’t be able to say “yes” to the right things. Our lives are a constant struggle between the elements of time and money. Typically, we start out as young adults and have very little money but a lot of flexible time. Then, based on our efforts, later in life we often find ourselves with a lot of money and far less free time.
Wealth and money bring choices in our lives. We can buy products that we hope will make our lives better and more convenient, or we can buy services that replace our efforts, resulting in us having more free time. Unfortunately, too often, we value our money more than our time. This is an unwise calculation because we can always acquire more money, but we are all allotted a finite amount of time each day, and we are allotted a finite number of days here on earth.
If someone calls you on the phone or barges into your office unannounced, interrupting your workflow and wasting your time, you often overlook this as a normal part of your professional life. If that same person reached into your wallet and took twenty dollars of your money, you would stop them and make them give you your money back. While it’s prudent and proper to protect your money in this example, it’s far more important and productive to protect your time.
Oprah Winfrey provided me with a great time management lesson that has had an impact on both my personal and professional life. Years ago, when I started having a bit of success as an author, speaker, movie producer, and columnist, I began receiving invitations to speak at events, make appearances, and do book signings. Some of these offers made sense for me within the context of my professional goals, and others did not. I found myself creating excuses in the form of scheduling conflicts to turn down the offers that did not make sense for me.
When someone called to ask if I could be at their event on Tuesday the 27th, I might reply, “Oh, I’m sorry I have another event that night.” In my mind, I was saying, “No, thank you.” Oprah helped me to understand that in the mind of the person inviting me to be a part of their event, they heard my excuse as, “I would agree to do it, but I’m already booked for that date and time.” I found myself being trapped into doing events I really didn’t want to do because promoters were willing to move the date and time of their event to avoid my conflict. Oprah gave me the simple, straightforward, and profound answer to any request that doesn’t fit my goals and objectives. Instead of coming up with elaborate conflicts and excuses, I have found it much better to simply respond by saying, “I’m sorry, that’s not going to work for me.”
This simple but straightforward response can save you a lot of time and avoid potential embarrassment as you strive to fill your calendar with activities that move you toward your personal and professional goals.
As you go through your day today, manage your money and protect your time.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including the Wisdom for Winners series. His most recent book, a collaboration with the Napoleon Hill Foundation, is Dear Napoleon: The Living Legacy of Napoleon Hill and Think and Grow Rich, which collects the stories of real people whose lives have been altered by the work and wisdom of Napoleon Hill. Jim Stovall is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor).