Can you take 2 weeks off right now? What if you did it in the next 6 months? That was a question I had asked myself for over 8 years before I made the move. Hopefully you don’t wait that long. This is a challenge for all of the business owners out there.
The 2 weeks have to be consecutive. That is to say, 2 weeks in a row. No bending rules by taking a day here or there throughout the next few months and calling it “2 Weeks Off”. You will only be cheating yourself there. Commit to taking 2 weeks in a row off for the sanity of you and your business. So let’s get to it, accept the challenge now.
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Here are the ground rules we set up (change as you see fit):
1) Must happen in the next 6 months.
2) Limited to 30 minutes each day of email/phone/social media. (We’re business owners, not monks. This is a test of inspired duration, not to see how long you can go without your business. Besides, you enjoy your business, right?)
3) NO MORE than those 30 minutes each day from Rule #2, unless a crisis occurs. Crisis must be clearly defined. (Think along the lines of your building burning down or 80% of your workforce leaving.)
4) 10 minutes per day must be used to reflect on how awesome you are. Just lay down in a quiet, uninterrupted spot and take care of these 4 things: 3 minutes of gratitude, 3 minutes of sending love (via your thoughts) to whomever needs it in your world, 3 minutes of naming 3 things you will create today and finally 1 minute to catch up on your sleep.
If that sounds like something you can handle easily, change the rules to make it more difficult. Nothing good was ever accomplished because it was easy. Stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. Dare yourself to actually live a life that allows you to take some time for yourself.
Want to go crazy bold? Eliminate rule #2. Want to stress your cardiovascular system? Eliminate rules 2 and 3. Disconnect for the full 2 weeks. Not quit that crazy and want to ‘check-in’ on your business? Keep the rules as-is, but add a 48 hour disconnected period.
The game is what you make it, just like with your business. As always, we love to hear the stories of what happened before, during and after your 2 weeks. Shoot us a line at [email protected].
This is the video that started it all.
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So here is how it played out for me, James Kademan at Draw In Customers.
It started with me babbling in front of a camera, making another business success video. The one you see above. I always make notes on what I am going to speak about. This time the topic was time off. I started to touch on taking an additional day a week off. Then it evolved into the dreaded territory. 2 weeks a being away from my businesses. Some of those days without phone or email. It scared the hell out of me. But I put the video out as a challenge to my audience. Would they accept the challenge?
I informed my accountability group of my video and of my personal reaction to it. The reply to my explanation was simple. “Can you take 2 weeks off in the next 6 months?” was asked by one of my accountability partners. My gut went into hiding somewhere north of my esophagus. They had me. My accountability group was doing what they do best. Keeping me accountable. They also agreed to take the challenge.
So I stumbled, and replied that I would make it happen.
Then I told my wife the video story and the accountability group’s reaction. She noted very quickly that with a vacation we already had planned (5 days with travel) and a conference I was already signed up for (Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within) I could add a few days between and after and have my 2 weeks. Those days off would just be starting within the next 6 days.
When your wife points out the obvious that you were too scared to see you have 2 basic choices. Make excuses or agree to success. Success is what I offer, so success is what I chose.
I aligned everything I could to make the 2 weeks seamless. With my phones and email taken care of by Calls On Call I was good there. I had put people in place to take care of some real estate that I was selling, should an offer show up. I set up scheduled posts on social media. I took care of a few minor things here and there. It was actually very nerve wracking, but oddly simple. I told a friend I was taking this challenge, and she rebuked, “Of course you can, you have the people in place to do it.” Turns out I do.
The vacation was great. The Tony Robbins conference was better than I could have imagined. I met some great people and transformed my life in no small order. My wife and I had a superawesometurbofun day. Which is essentially a day with just her and me and no kids or jobs to get in the way. After 13 years of marriage, we never had one of those. It was a blast. I spent the other days playing with my kid. Then we continued to Durango, Colorado. We saw family, mountains and went rafting down the Animas River. A few days to clean up and regroup and back to work I went.
During my vacation I had an employee quit, 2 clients leave and 1 small client/employee crisis. I recieved messages from clients that have my cell phone that were crisis in their own right, but were resolved in less than 30 minutes. Or at least, delayed. Not one of these things bothered me in my vacation. They should not bother you either.
This is the video showing my personal results.
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I promise you, fires will still be around when you get back. You’ll just have a clearer head to deal with them. It also pointed out some deficiancies that I was making up for without knowing it. Sometimes you need to do a little system diagnosis before you know what to repair.
Overall it was a great experiment in the power of being away. I challenge you to do the same. Let me know your results.
Good times, indeed.
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