Inspired by Jack Parsons, CEO Big Youth Group, Verified by Big Youth Group.

3 Minutes Read

We get asked daily by lots of young people in different walks of life on “How have we managed to squeeze so much in our lives at such an early age?”

Take our founder for example from growing up with an alcoholic mother and a lack of network and classed as disadvantaged to being “Top 100 Most Influential Young Entrepreneurs” and “Most Connected Young Entrepreneur”

After taking time to really reflect, here are our recommendations if you want to be highly effective in your life.

Be proactive

We spend too much time worrying about things on which we have no control over, stuff that we can do nothing about. Instead, focus on the things we can change. And do it proactively, before we are forced to do something about it. Expand the circle of influence.

Begin with the end in mind

If we don’t know where we want to go, how will we ever get there? Envision your  future using both logic and imagination. Let it be based on principles. Write down your own mission statements. Imagine what your friends, family, colleagues, community share about you. What would they say? Write it all down.

Put first things first

List down everything you want to do. You will see that they fall into four categories.

• Important and urgent
• Important and not urgent
• Not important and urgent
• Not important and not urgent

Once you have put them in the catgeroies, you know what you have to do next.  

Think win win

Sooner or later, we realise that we not only awe a lot to the society we live in, we also understand that our success depends on others success. Life is not zero sum game. When we make it a habit to see how others also can benefit from our actions, from our decisions, we are better off for that. The world is too connected for us to think win:lose.

When I was 18 I was in a business negotiation,

Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Even when you are arguing with someone, it’s first good to understand their disagreement or arguments and try to express them even better than they can. It is even more important when we are interacting with our friends, family, team and other collaborators. Listen, understand, and only then open your mouth.

Synergise  

Synergy changes the conventional math. 2 and 2 is not 4, or 5 or 6 or 7. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. Teamwork. If you want to go fast, go alone as they say but if you want to go far, team up.

Sharpen the saw

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe. Your axe is your body, mind and soul. Run. Exercise. Study. Meditate.

Abraham Lincoln