Time, is on your side…

Each and every one of us has 24 hour in each day to do something magnificent. Given only 8(ish) are spent sleeping, some of it eating and even a bit of it using the bathroom, you still have plenty of time left to make a difference in the world, stretch your influence and generate massive impact…

So why aren’t you?

Time really is on your side, especially when it comes to personal branding, because (and I’m sorry if this comes as a shock to you) it’s going to take at least 5 years to really rocket launch you and your personal brand.

Yep 5 years,

But there’s good news…

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...The average time of a 5 year apprenticeship, if you take into account just the working hours, is just 10,000 hours and thought leader Malcolm Gladwell says that after 10,000 hours you reach a ‘tipping point’, when your target audience flips from niche based early adopters to the much larger group of the early majority.

After around 5 years working at your expertise, as long as you’ve been consistent with your brand and your message, that’s when you truly start to become well known, well paid & wanted.
So what are you doing with your time?

According to Matt Haig, author of the best selling ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’ book which takes a refreshing angle on depression, there are 5 ways to deal with how you manage time.

Here they are, with my added take on how to apply them to your personal brand, so you can use those 10,000 hours you have to build a stand-out profile, with a fan based following and global impact.

1) How to Stop Time: Kiss

Are you doing what you love? Ever notice that when you really enjoy something you don’t see the time going past, then suddenly you notice it’s been hours! In the real world, time flies by so fast but when you do what you love the memory of it holds firm, deep inside your brain and buried in your heart, like a moment trapped in time.

There is a raw and true emotion when you love doing something you really enjoy, the things you find effortless and simple to achieve. When your activity is congruent with who you are, what you are passionate about and what drives you, time could stop still and you would be happy there forever.

Make sure you are doing what you love, it will make you incredibly happy and naturally attractive to others who also want the same level of contentment you have.

2) How to travel in time: Read

What are you reading at the moment (other than this article of course haha).
Do you grab the latest gossip magazine every time you pass a newsagent?
Do you read the doom and gloom in the newspapers, what social media posts capture your attention the most?

What you read sets your mindset about the world, and actually there are some pretty neat things happening that never, ever make it to the paper!

Millionaire entrepreneurs I meet tell me they always have at least 1 self development or inspirational biography on the go. They treat books as their own personal improvement university. Always open minded to the ideas and opinions of people who have achieved great things.

If you see yourself as a stand-out brand, you are going to need to re-focus your brain to ignore the hype and bullshit in the media and zone in on what’s really going to take you forward - the positive ideas and opportunities that challenge you to succeed, no matter what.

3) How to escape time: Music

Are you sick of the hard daily grind? Would you love to be incredibly well known, respected and sought-after without having to wait so long for it to happen? Well it’s time you started playing the right tune to dance to.

Visualisation is the key, setting the tone, orchestrating each move and creating your own song sheet is going to get you there mush faster than just sitting around waiting for it to happen.

There is only one person writing the theme song for your incredible influence and impact on the world, and that’s you. Don’t copy others, make your own music.
Make a dream board with real, tangible, actual images of where you will be in 5 years time, write down your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and start working on the simple steps to become a virtuoso. Remember, building your brand is like learning a musical instrument, you have to start with the basics, practice every single day and be prepared to hit some bum notes before becoming a rockstar.

4) How to feel time: Write

Yep, having written 5 best selling books I totally get this one. I wrote three books at the same time and the only way I did it was to block out sections of each day to focus exclusively on writing. For 3 months, from 7am - 11am the rest of the world did not exist. Time became tangible.

The trade off of course with blocking out time for real, is that what you put in is reaped a million times over from what you sow. Even though I wrote those books a few years ago, they are still being bought and read today.

The time and effort you put into preparing your brand will enable you to leverage it for many more years. Make the time you spend on your brand palpable. Block it out in your diary, take consistent action steps each day and after a while you will feel the difference. You will have momentum.

Of course you are likely to get writers block and I know plenty of people who’ve started a book, but never finished it - so persistence is vital to your success.

Are you planning your time in order to become well known, well paid & wanted?

5) How to release time: Breathe

Clarity and direction. That’s what people get when they work with me. How do I know this? Because I asked them. They were the two words that came back almost 100% of the time when I asked “what was it that I did or you”.
Why is this so important? Because it demonstrated to me that when you step into your brand, when you start to live it, that’s when, in the immortal words of the song by The Police, “Every breath you take, every move you make”, is congruent with who you are.
What are you naturally good at? When are you at your best? When do you simply breathe easy, knowing you are doing exactly what you should be doing with all of your time?

If you asked your clients “What was it I did for you” what words would they use to describe your specialist expertise?

Living your brand is so vital in order to be authentic and have total confidence in what you do to help others. Make sure you find your focus, get into the flow and make it easy to stand out and be found.

You know when you are living your brand because it’s as easy as breathing.

Wait there’s more….yes of course I had to add in a bonus for you.
Given we each have the exact same number of hours each and every day, there is definitely one more aspect to time that ends to be mentioned.

6) How to waste time: Worry

You have everything you need to be the go-to specialist. If you’ve been in your trade for over 5 years, you have completed your apprenticeship and you know more about your industry than 90% of the population does.

In fact you’ve probably forgotten more than most even know! about what it is that you do! So stop worrying about your ability. Start believing that you are completely capable.

You are enough.

Yes there are going to be people who know more than you but don’t feel threatened by them, learn from them and continue to improve. Don’t let worry hold you back from greatness. Stop comparing yourself to others, they are on their own journey.

Too many people worry about what others think of them. They seek approval, scared they will let someone down, undervalue their talents and skills.

You are enough. Worry is simply a waste of your time.

What's the time right now? Take a look now.

What could you do in the next 60 seconds to make the best use of your time in building your brand?
What simple action step can you complete today that takes you closer to that goal of being the go-to specialist in your field.
Time waits for no man, or woman. So get going today, make it happen and take the time you need to discover what you want people to say about you, what your legacy will be after your time is over.

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