[Transcript] … Today’s topic is this idea of becoming the CEO of You Incorporated.
So when we are working from home … which I have done, by the way, full-time for 10 years now … whether we are getting a paycheck from another company or if it’s your own actual company that you’re working for … all of us are in this same boat that we really are the CEO of us.
We are the boss of us, right?
The Boss of You
You know the old saying of, “you’re not the boss of me”? Well, guess what? You are, now, the boss of you.
So when you are working from home, I encourage you … even if you do actually report to a boss … I encourage you to consider yourself the boss of you. The CEO of You, Inc.
By the way, I just have to give a shout out to my friend, Mary Swarts. She’s the one who she has called herself, the CEO of her own life for a long time. Now, I don’t even know when she started using that, but she’s the inspiration for this idea of giving yourself that title.
It Changes Everything
I always thought it was so smart. Because it changes your mindset, right? It changes the way you approach your day. It changes the way you approach your productivity … the way you approach scheduling your day and working on the things that are going to move the needle forward and bring you money.
Rather than just these busy tasks, it helps you stay focused.
We all know working from home there are so many distractions. However, when you start thinking of yourself as the CEO, as the boss of me, then it changes, right?
Because if you’re the boss, would you be scrubbing your toilets during, you know, your productive hours? Would you be folding the laundry during your working productive hours?
Of course you wouldn’t!
Would You Hire You?
The other thing to think about when you’re in this mindset of being the CEO or being the boss of me is … would you hire yourself?
I know! Right?
That is so powerful for the people that I chat with about it. And because, really, when you think about it … are you performing at your best? Are you giving it your best? Are you giving 100% to this thing that you are doing, working from home?
Or are you allowing yourself to be distracted?
Your Timing
Now, here’s the beauty of working from home. If you can get eight hours of work done in six hours, then absolutely you can take that two hour lunch break or you can shorten your day, right? You can start late in the day or early, whatever it is that you want, as long as you are getting that work done.
And I threw out the eight hours of work just because it’s, you know, it has kind of become this standard, but whatever amount of work that you are choosing to do … that you need to do to bring in the money that you want to make … then you have to devote those hours to actually working.
Okay? Do you follow me?
And when you have the mindset of being the CEO, of being the boss, then you are more apt to put in the work … to put in the time that is required to do the work.
I just love the shift that it creates in people. Because here’s the thing … it maintains your motivation, right?
Accountability …
When you’re working from home, sometimes the distractions, the being by yourself, the, the not having somebody to check in with … sometimes that can be counterproductive in a way.
We are choosing to work at home because we don’t want to be micromanaged. But sometimes it can be a good thing. Maybe not that you’re micromanaged, but that you are accountable. That’s the word I was looking for …
When you are just accountable to somebody, it does keep you on task, right?
So I’m encouraging you to be accountable to yourself … to keep yourself on track … to keep yourself focused on the task at hand so that you succeed.
That’s the whole point, right?
Working From Home is Business
We are not doing this just to be able to stay at home. We are doing this to be able to stay at home and work from home and still make an impact. Still make a living, still make a difference with what we do while we’re at home.
So you really have to treat this working from home as a business. If you don’t treat it as a business, it’s not going to reward you like a business. Do you understand what I’m saying?
If you treat it as a hobby, as a lark, as a temporary thing, then it’s going to reward you thusly in the form of both personal satisfaction and monetary reward.
But if you treat it as a business and you devote, you know, the proper and required time and attention to it, it will also reward you like a business.
I hope you’re finding this powerful. It is such a powerful shift that that happens in your mind, and it really takes you to the next level in working from home.
So I hope that this is as powerful for you as it was for me. Because I mean, let’s face it … when I started working from home 10 years ago, I actually did so as a freelancer. So it was my own business. And if I didn’t get to work, then there was no money coming in.
It was not just a, you know, you’re going to get your salary anyway, kind of a deal.
But I think even if you are working from home as an employee of another company and drawing a paycheck, it’s not going to last … it’s not sustainable … if you are not putting in the work. They’re not going to just pay you to stay at home. I mean, let’s be honest … as much as we might like them to, we do have to contribute.
Business Mode
So I had to learn really quickly that I needed to really have that mindset of being in business for myself, from home, but being in business. And it was a business. When I sat down at my desk, I was in business mode.
And if you have a separate room or even just a separate corner, a separate office space, I want you to start thinking about, I encourage you to start thinking about when you cross that threshold … even if it’s a corner of your room, as you cross that invisible threshold … into your office, put on that CEO, that boss hat. Or that jacket if you don’t wear hats.
So put on that boss jacket and become the boss. Sit up straighter, shoulders back, head up … have that confidence of being a boss.
Try it and see if it doesn’t change your productivity today.
Try it and see if it doesn’t change the way you think about your day.
Try it and see if it doesn’t make you so much more productive and effective and efficient.
Closing Thoughts
So that’s what I have for you today. I am so glad that you have taken the time to be with me.
Now, I want you to do this …
Spread out your arms out wide. Do it! Spread your arms out wide. Now cross them in front of yourself and give yourself a hug. And now repeat after me … really say it out loud to yourself:
I am proud of you. I love you.
We have to remind ourselves that we are proud of ourselves because you know, we’re working from home. Who else is going to say it?
All right. So, I hope this has been a good break in your day. Now finish that cup of coffee and get to work. I will see you again soon.
Bye for now!
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