“No-meeting Wednesdays”

On Monday, I wrote {in what} happened when my business grew faster than I thought possible.

Now, let’s {have a} closer look at {among the} tactics I used {to create} it happen. ({That is} something {you may use} whether you run {a small business} or not.)

A {couple of years} ago, {I came across} myself getting {a great deal of} emails from readers, my team, friends. I’m talking 1,000+ emails/day. And {in the same way} I would {awaken} {and begin} answering them, I’d get dozens more.

At first, I thought I HAD to answer every email. That’s how I built my business {to begin with}. I tried but quickly saw {that when} I replied to every email I wouldn’t have {time and energy to} focus on {other things}.

I could go {the complete} month answering emails…and have nothing {showing} {for this}.

Let’s see….my options are:

• Wake up and spend my entire day fighting other people’s fires
• Decide to {manage} my time and do what {I wish to} do

Notice how it’s {very easy} {to state}, DUH RAMIT, SECOND BULLET POINT, LOLZZ

But {when} you say “I’m {likely to} {manage} my time,” that stupid voice {in your mind} starts saying {things such as}:

“Yeah, BUT”…

• “{You need to} answer everyone’s emails”
• “Maybe {that may} {do the job}, {however, not} everyone runs {their very own} business”
• “I’m already behind. I don’t {have sufficient} time {because of this} weird strategy stuff”

Screw that. I {made a decision to} grow, so I’m {likely to} do what {I must} do.

If I {would} {create a} massive impact, I {had a need to} {escape} the day-to-day and work on my business, {rather than} in it.

If I kept {looking forward to} an opening {in my own} schedule or for {an incredible} business idea to strike, it never would’ve happened. I had to intentionally {reserve} the time {in my own} week for {considering} “big picture” stuff.

No meetings. No calls. Just {time and energy to} {consider} strategy and where I was {choosing} IWT.

I started by carving out {a couple of} hours on Wednesdays. {I QUICKLY} expanded to a half-day, {and lastly} made Wednesdays totally {my very own}.

When Wednesday rolled around, I had {a listing of} books and articles {I’d} read. {I’ve} a notepad I {take down notes} in. And {once in awhile}, {a large} idea hits…

In fact, {the theory} {for just one} of our programs – Brain Trust – came up during {one of these brilliant} strategy sessions. {Listed below are} the numbers:

That’s over 2,500 members at $49/month – {folks from} {all over the world} who love {this program}.

All {in one} {of these} Wednesday sessions.

I {may have} spent my entire year answering emails and I never {could have} {develop} this idea. {The main element} was (1) having time {reserve} for myself and (2) studying high-level business strategy from the masters (see {a few of} my reading list here).

The same {holds true} {for you personally}.

Do you have time {reserve} {to spotlight} big wins? {Have you any idea|Are you aware} {what things to} study and {how exactly to} apply it?

When I {made a decision to} grow, I stopped studying {individuals} who were {in my own} market. Why do I care {should they} make 10% {a lot more than} I do? {I needed} {to learn} how multi-billion-dollar companies and CEOs {take action}. What questions does Jeff Bezos ask when he interviews people? How did Steve Jobs run {a gathering}?

I quickly learned that successful CEOs think differently than scrappy entrepreneurs. Scrappy entrepreneurs {search for} shortcuts and {methods for getting} off {the bottom}. That’s fine – {they need to} {do this} when they’re {getting started}.

But at {a particular} point, you can’t just “hustle” {the right path} bigger. {You need to} completely change your thinking, your strategy, {and also} your team. {This is exactly what} separates constantly hustling entrepreneurs…from true CEOs.

Next week, I’ll be {discussing} how I grew my business {from the} simple blog to {a significant} business – {not only} launch/launch/launch, but a strategic machine where we {focus on} products 2-3 years {beforehand}. Especially how I {centered on} CEO psychology, {creating a} team, and business strategy. {Speak to} you soon.