Episode 167 Transcript

Heather Porter (00:02.562)

Well, hello and welcome back to episode 167. Do you agree with this statement? Successful people don't do more. They do less, but they do it better. Hmm. Earlier in my career, I really believe that growth came from stacking more on my plate. More tasks. I had more hours. It's like, yeah, work, work, more learning, more doing, more businesses. Like if one business...

 

business wasn't enough, I would be like, yeah, let's start another one. More yes to projects that were coming into my path. I've just got excited about them and not really think through them properly. Does any of that sound familiar to you guys? But yeah, it was just like stacking more on my plate. That's what I sort of thought was going to move the needle forward. And then up until recently, I was just juggling so many things that I actually was mistaking motion for momentum.

 

Even while running this podcast, you often are attracted to the thing that you need to do yourself, right? So think these conversations with people over the last couple of years have really helped me just think about how I'm running my business differently. And the breakthrough for me didn't come from doing more. It really, really came when I got ruthless about doing less. And that's been a...

 

like a recent development for myself. And I was really reminded about that on the trip that I recently took to Dubai and London to celebrate my birthday. when I was there, I was okay to say more or say no more. And I was okay to lose out on opportunities so I could really be present with life beyond my business. And normally when I go on trips, I wouldn't be like that.

 

Like I would think I was like that, I'm here, I'm having fun, but the entire time I'm obsessed and thinking about my business. But I actually found for the first time, I think ever or in a very long time, I completely tuned out other than the one hour a day I left myself to check in with my team. but that was a huge shift for me. And that was just only a month ago that I had that really massive shift and things have really started to change a lot for me. And by the way, if you want to listen more,

 

Heather Porter (02:28.064)

around about my trip and kind of my insights on that go back to episode 163. So here's a stat that's stuck with me recently. High performers spend 60 to 80 % of their time on just one or two core activities. One or two. The rest delegated, automated or simply deleted, moved away from their mind.

 

As a, I'm not gonna do it. So you, listening, watching, wherever you are in the world, what's your 80%, what are you doing right now that feels productive but isn't actually moving the needle anywhere? What is that? The next step in your growth is removing most of what's actually on your plate and reallocating that time to the high leverage work, the important work.

 

the work that drives your business forward faster than ever before. It's that work you want to focus on. And we can oftentimes get so buried in that motion that we're, as they say in marketing and everywhere we go online, now you're on the hamster wheel and you're never going anywhere. And that's kind of why, right? Cause we're focused on the motion of our business and not really the momentum of things that work. So I really love this saying.

 

Your life expands in direct proportion to what you eliminate. Interesting, right? So if you're feeling stuck, don't add more to your plate. Strip it way back. Reclaim your focus because let's be honest, this obsession with doing more, it's often like sophisticated avoidance really, right? It really is busy work.

 

is a disguise. You'll hear that time and time again from all the guests that I've been interviewing here. And what you're looking to do is simpler, higher leveraged work. That's really what you're looking to do. It's honest. It's the only thing that's actually going to move the dial in your business. And gosh, just, you know, hearing it from my guests and starting to think through how I'm doing that in my own life and business is just.

 

Heather Porter (04:50.926)

It's kind of profound. making me change a few things up in my own life as well. So that's where that next level lies that you might be looking for. Maybe while you're listening to the show, it's basically quieter than you thought. And what I mean by that is that there's more time and more space to do the things that you really, really love outside of work. Simplification, right? We'll bring it right back to that. Simplify the things that matter most to your business.

 

focus on them one or two at a time. When I was speaking to my mastermind group last night, I have a couple groups that I get together with and I was speaking to this group with another three business owners and they were saying to me like, what's changed for you? Cause they kind of sensed it. Like what's changed for you? And I said that I've stopped focusing on learning so much and I've started focusing on living. Like I know it sounds so like wanky and cliche, but it's true.

 

I've kind of just, when I go out on my daily walks or, you know, I'm hanging out in my room at night and unwinding. I'm not on like business podcasts like I used to be. I'm actually listening to fun podcasts or I'm listening to music on my walks, music that lifts me up and makes me happy. Or I'm watching really fun movies again. I'm just coming back to sort of focusing on living, um, things that are making me happy. And, uh, I'm showing up.

 

for work and relationships that actually matter. I think that's really important. I'm re-evaluating things. And that means I'm working to not care so much about the rest. Like generally, you know, the things that have created the busy work, I've got to really look at what those are and strip them away. At least that's where I am right now in my life and my business. Just focusing on things a little bit differently and looking at the things that have filled my time that don't need to anymore.

 

So, hopefully, if you're there with me, you might be thinking through that as well. Do you need to say yes to more things, or should you strip it back? Alright guys, have a great rest of your week, and thank you for tuning in as always, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye.