The Butler Project

Ever wished you were “creative?” Or “a natural?” Longed for the word “genius” to be used to describe your actions? Well, the realization of your dreams may be just around the corner if your mind is set the right way. This is according to Stanford Psychologist Carole Dweck who conducts her research in personal, social, and developmental psychology.

In her new book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Ms. Dweck suggests a “growth mindset,” one that welcomes challenge, change, and accepts mistakes as part of the learning process is the path to success in many areas of our lives including relationships, parenting, and work.

If you’re reading this blog, you are probably already geared for growth, but encouragingly, Ms. Dweck has found you can nurture and increase your tendencies towards growth, learning from your mistakes, and embracing change.

I encourage you to read more about the growth mindset.

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Here’s a snippet of Mark’s conversation with Jim, multi-millionaire business owner, and super charged entrepreneur.

Mark: A friend of mine who is himself already a millionaire said if he could ask a lot of financially successful people one question it would be, “What single attribute do you possess that has contributed most to your success?”

Jim: Are you asking me that question?

Mark: I am.

Jim: Ok, what single attribute do I possess that I think’s most contributed to my success? … I’m going to focus on two.

[Emily: But I'm only going to cover one of those in this post today.]

Mark: Great.

Jim: I’ve kind of said this before, but one of them is that I think that I look at the world for the way it is, not the way I wish it was. But I have the vision to be able to see how I want it to be and what I would like it to be. When we look at ourselves and analyze our behavior, and say, “You know what, I’m a millionaire in embryo, with the behavior of a garbage collector.”

[Editors' note: we don't believe Jim was referring here to employed, hard working, and very necessary garbage collectors. Based on the context of his whole interview, we believe he was referring to the stereotypical lazy person and threw in garbage as a negative emphasis. We love and appreciate our garbage collectors!]

I think it’s important that every job that you have or everywhere you go, [maybe] it’s school, you’re able to be honest with yourself, about your behavior and about the circumstances and where you are. I think when you’re interviewing or meeting with people, as you look as business plans, just as you interact in the world, (even in family relationships,) be honest enough to look at your relationships and look at the world around you and try to see it through objective goggles, and accept things for the way they are.

I mean, imagine where we would be if the world and the banking [industry] would have been able to look at what should have been very clear and [see] all the sub prime loans that we were making, [and] what would happen when those interest rates reset… They were loaning money to people that they knew in the future wouldn’t be able to pay those loans back. So you have these large hedge funds and other people funding those loans and buying them, and why are they buying them? Because they refuse to look at the reality of what the world really is. They get caught up in the hype!

And I’m saying this can happen in relationships where we don’t understand what our children are doing or what they’re up to or we don’t understand our own behaviors just in general, in anything we do. Objectively look at the world for what it is in an honest way. That’s a good place to start. And I won’t be specific how I finally did that in my own industry, but I think that I made a lot of my strategic business decisions, even starting with the sales training that I had at the beginning, saying, what we’re doing doesn’t work, so why [do] the same things that don’t work? Here’s the objective honest look; we need to find another way.

The Butler Story

Back when we Butlers (there are 4 of us siblings) first decided to go into business together, we started out with a model that was basically gaming the system. We were smart enough to figure out where the money was online and how to get to it without providing any real value. We made a lot of money in a very short time (all legally, mind you) and without a whole lot of work. It was exciting. It was exilherating, and we made big plans for quitting our jobs and taking exotic trips in the near future.

That first business model was really a flash in the pan and when the cash flow dried up, we agreed we wanted a more sustainable and fulfilling business model. That’s when we turned to ecommerce and started selling trailer hitch covers.

We set some pretty lofty goals for ourselves, most of them leading directly to the aforementioned quitting our jobs and taking extended vacations. One of our brothers did in fact quit his job, and made the family business his sole income.

Well, that was all fine and good except that none of us had looked objectively at the situation nor had we developed the habits necessary to be full time entrepreneurs. We had meetings, we set goals, we accepted tasks with deadlines. And then we watched TV, went surfing, played golf, went to the movies, stayed up late, read novels, spent hours on digg, took the kids swimming, watched some more TV, and basically did everything but work on our business with commitment and discipline. We were “millionaires in embryo with garbage collector habits.”

How has that worked out, you wonder? Well, our brother Peter, who quit his job, had to go back to work. The income goals we planned to reach after 4 months weren’t realized until 19 months into the business. We also had to face the sad fact that our site wouldn’t be supporting the family any time soon.

But, after looking how things really were, making changes, and putting in a lot of hard work, things are looking up. In fact, we’re about to hire our first employee. More importantly we’ve learned A LOT on our entrepreneurial journey. Mark quit his job a few months ago and is supported by another business he started. Peter is quitting his job today and will live on the income he now makes freelancing. And bonus: we’re taking a fabulous vacation in a few weeks, all expenses paid by Trailer Hitch Universe (our ecommerce site).

Are we still “millionaires in embryo?” Yes. Do we still have “garbage collector habits?” Yes; sometimes more than others. But we’re improving our productivity every week and looking at things objectively and honestly. As we evaluate future plans and goals, we do so with an awareness of our individual strengths and weaknessess and real life circumstances.

So much of what our millionaires talk about is getting things done. Jim especially talked about being productive, moving forward everyday and always looking for ways to be more efficient.

Over the past few years in my life, particularly since having my fourth child and starting an online business with my family, I have had to learn to become more efficient and productive with the few free hours I have any given day. I’ve tried many things, but these are the things that work consistently without requiring lots of extra work. They may seem very basic and obvious, but put into action have made an incredible difference in my personal productivity.

1. Get your zzz. Nothing helps me get more done than being fully rested: I’m more positive, I don’t have energy slumps during the day where I don’t want to do anything, my mind is clearer, and I have the energy to physically get up and get busy. Try going to bed earlier (that’s between 9:30 and 10 pm for me) for a month, and you’ll be hooked.

2. Chop it up. I originally discovered the power of breaking big tasks into smaller jobs with housework–instead of cleaning the whole house in one day, I use 6 days of the week. So while my house is never completely clean (a pipe dream with kids anyway), it’s also never completely dirty.

Knowing I wanted to write this post about getting things done would have sent my former perfectionistic self into serious “put it off and try to forget it mode” (which, in it’s worst case includes a lot of junk food and mindless TV.) Instead, I sat down a week ago and put out a very rough draft. I came back 3 days later and made some revisions; then I had only a few changes to make this morning. I had to start earlier, but I had nothing to get overwhelmed about, and nothing to stress over.

I read once that a person can focus on one task for about 90 minutes and then will lose productivity without a break. Breaking bigger jobs into smaller tasks completed over a longer period of time keeps you fresh and limits stress.

Photo credit: laffy4k

3. Watch the clock. Sometimes, when I just can’t stand the thought of the work that has to be done, I give my self a time limit and say, “I have to work on this and give it my all for this many minutes.” (I’ve found I can do just about anything for 15 or 30 minutes.) I use this trick for transcribing our millionaire interviews. Taking those interviews from their audio format and putting them on paper is an overwhelming and dreaded task, to say the least. But even on the worst day, I can do it for 15 minutes. Sometimes after that time is up, I am so happy with the results, or so interested in the interview, I keep going for 15 or more minutes. Other times, I gleefully quit after the timer rings and move on to something more enjoyable, or at least different, to give my mind and wrists a break. I feel good that I did some of the interview and know that I don’t have as much to do the next time I sit down. I’m happy because I did part of something that needed to be done and I’m that much closer to finishing it. That positive energy moves me forward in my next task too.

If I’m working on a task that needs to be done over and over or that will never be finished (think cleaning a bathroom or commenting on blogs), I give myself a time limit and just get done as much as I can. I know I’ll be back and can pick up the slack next time.

4. Offer a reward. Getting things done is a reward in itself, but for those days when you need a little extra encouragement, decide on a reward for yourself when you get your work done. For me, it’s reading, calling a friend, spending time outside, going out to eat, etc.

5. Straighten up. Can you really get stuff done when your work area is messy? Clutter puts me on edge, and is a constant reminder that I have other stuff to do. If I can keep my work space and my home in order, I have a clearer head and less stress; I can work more efficiently and focus on the task at hand. Often, a five minute investment in organizing my desk or office pays off in huge dividends of a clear head and work quickly completed.

Clean up after yourself as you go. It’s much easier to take care of items right after you use them than it is to let a big mess pile up and then take care of it. Force yourself to clean as you go for a week and see if the results aren’t motivation enough to turn that into a habit.

6. Prioritize. Make the most important things to get done the first things you do. I’ve heard it said that each day begins the night before. If you take the time to plan tomorrow tonight, and put an emphasis on the most important things you need to accomplish, you know where to start the next morning when you’re fresh and ready to go (because you went to bed early, right?). If you’re getting the most important things done first, you’re progressing on your goals and moving to where you really want to be.

7. Walk the line. Jim (millionaire business owner) knows the shortest distance between two points is a line. He decides where he wants to get and takes the shortest route to get there. Figure out where it is you want to go and make sure your daily tasks are in line with that vision.

If you’re not consciously moving toward your ultimate goals, you’re probably taking on tasks that you think society requires, not tasks that are important to you. For example: shopping. Do you spend time, money and energy buying food, clothing, household, or electronic items that you think you have to have to keep up with your friends and neighbors? Use that planning time the night before to make sure your tasks are in line with who you really want to be.

These are the things that work for me. Take them, try them, and make them yours. Whatever works for you to keep you moving forward, that’s where you want to be.

Make sure to check out our entry in The Thirteenth Edition of the Carnival of Improving Life!

What’s on your to-do list today? I don’t care if it’s actually written down or just in your head, what things do you plan to accomplish today?

Right now, you’re reading this blog. Was that on your list? Is it helping you with your big picture? Is it moving you forward to the person and the place you really want to be?

If you’re related to Mark or me, and you’re reading today out of obligation; quit it. If you’re a friend, simply interested in what we’re up to; quit it. If you subscribed at one time, haven’t found any value, and now are just too lazy to unsubscribe; unsubscribe. It will probably cost you two or three mouse clicks. It’s worth it.

If the information you’re spending your time reading at The Butler Project is not inspiring you to make changes in your life, to move forward and really live the life you want to have, then stop spending precious parts of your life here, and find something else!

If there is one thing I’ve learned from listening to, transcribing, and blogging about Mark’s interview with our multimillionaire business owner, Jim, it’s that you’ve got to be efficient! You’ve got to know where you want to go and find the shortest path to getting there. For Jim, that meant flying in to visit the offices he managed on the early Monday morning red-eye so he could have more family time on Sunday. It meant sleeping on the couch or (gasp!) the floor of pest control offices so that he wasn’t wasting time or money on hotel rooms. It meant always looking for ways to be more productive, more efficient with his time.

So, if you haven’t learned one thing yet from this blog, if you haven’t taken some positive action in your life because of it; it’s time to find something else. Something that will help you move forward passionately, and, (for lack of a better phrase) Be ALL You Can Be. And, as long as I’m quoting slogans: Just Do It!

And I’m not just talking about money here; money is just one part of the overall equation. We interview financially successful people because when you have more money, you have more options. Because the path to creating wealth is paved with the principles of self development. Because we personally continue to learn and improve with each interview.

Since you haven’t quit reading yet, I’ll leave you with a little excerpt from Mark and Jim’s conversation:

Mark: you have used a word a lot as we’ve talked, which is “indolent.” And I think that’s a powerful word. It’s a strong word, so define it for me. What do you mean when you say indolent? What does that person look like?

Jim: You know, that’s a great question… I don’t know what the dictionary would say, but in my mind, when I say indolent… it’s the antithesis of productivity. It means you don’t get things done, it encompasses procrastination, excuses, sitting around, perhaps avoiding responsibility, and again, to me it’s just the antithesis of productivity and efficiency.

Mark: Wow. Makes me not want to be indolent.

Don’t be indolent today! Find one thing you can do today, one small thing, if that’s all you have time for, and move yourself forward. Start becoming your best self today.