19 August 2022

Playing *below* the line: Some of you work below the line, where
you’re focused on activities, and staying busy: busy-ness. You are
busy all the time. You never have any free time. Yes?

And if you never have any free time, then you are in a state of bad
planning. You’re stuck in a repeat cycle of giving every little thing
attention, even when the thing doesn’t deserve attention. Yes?
You don’t discriminate between an important long-term sustaining
activity, and a loud, urgent short-lived activity that is irrelevant to
your deep success.

When you work below the line, you’ve probably been led to believe
the story that, to achieve success, you must Work hard! Hustle!
Don’t give up! Stay busy! You need to put in long hours. Yes? Put
in the time. Put in the effort. Put in more effort, more time, more
energy.

If you’re a busy person who doesn’t plan, chances are, you focus on
the things that scream the loudest. Not the most important things,
but rather the loudest most urgent distractions.

If you don’t have the time to invest time to plan 12 times per year, or
at least 4 times per year to plan, then maybe having a business isn’t
the best fit for you. Maybe having a job and working for someone
else is better for you. Working for someone else will very likely pay
you better to stay busy. And working for someone else will get you
a lot more free time, a lot less responsibility, and a lot more peace
of mind in your life.

If you really want all the freedoms that a business can give you,
then I ask you to consider leaning into this: Lean into playing
above the line.

Playing *above* the line. And above the line is where you become
focused on outcomes and creating positive impact for the
people around you. Above the line is where freedom lies. The

freedom to leave a legacy by leaving a clear mark in the world for all
your contributions.

Working above the line means that the quality of your business, and
the quality of your work is not governed by how busy you are, or
how many new things you start, but rather, your business is
governed by all the things you complete and follow through on.

This means you deliberately choose which actions you will take.
You carefully and deliberately choose which work you will do
based on a deep set of principles and values. Yes?

Playing above the line means that you become laser focused into
seeing things through to completion and measuring your impact
all along the way. The focus is on follow-through – NOT how
much you’re busy.

Playing above the line means that you’re getting 6 months of work
done in only 1 month. You’re not doing more of what you were
already doing – You’re doing more of the RIGHT things. Yes? And
that’s where the magic happens.

You’re hyper focused on the results and the outcome. And you no
longer feel like an overworked victim. Because you’re actually
making a real impact. ‘I’ve been so busy this week’ falls out of your
vocabulary. Being busy means nothing to you anymore. Because
you’re working less. You’re working smart. You’re marking the
world. You’re leaving your mark.

Being busy does not mean you are being productive. In fact, how
do you know if you’re being productive? Your strategy plan, your
action plan, and your metrics are showing you and telling you
whether or not you’ve been productive.

Playing above the line has a dramatic impact on where you focus.
And the people around you can also have an impact on your focus.
Who do you have around you right now? Do you have friends
and loved ones who tell you that your dreams are crazy? That your
dreams are unattainable? Are your closest people activity focused

or busy focused? Yes?

Because as soon as you switch from being busy to being
productive… then your people will resist that. They will become
afraid of losing you to hyper productivity. You become a social
threat.

Seriously, playing above the line means that you become a social
threat to people who value being busy. Because now you’re getting
sh*t done. And you’re getting it done at record speeds.
But they – they are just busy. And they look at you. And you might
think… finally! I’ll get the recognition I’ve been craving for. Now my
people will notice how amazing I am!

But no. That doesn’t usually happen. Not unless they are already a
high-performance group of people. A high-performance group of
people will tell you ‘It’s about freaking time! We’ve been trying to
get you there!’

The low performance group will be like ‘oooh, that sounds risky.
Why don’t you just take some time out. You don’t need to go into
business. Maybe go get yourself a good job instead. Get out of our
playground. Get out of our sandbox.’ Have you heard something
like this before? Yes?

They might ask ‘why are you doing these seminars? Sounds like a
rip-off.’ A low performance group of people will do everything in
their power to sabotage your high performance.

Your high performance makes them uncomfortable. And they see
you as a threat, because at some point they feel they are going to
lose you, or that they will lose against you. And of course, this
happens at the subconscious level.

People aren’t usually aware that this is what they are doing. And
subconsciously, one of two things is happening for the low-
performing group. Either they are like ‘I will pull you back into line’ or
‘If I don’t pull you back into line you will leave me in the dust’. And
leaving is the ultimate rejection, so I will do everything in my power
to keep you in line, right here with the rest of us.