It is time to invest in your education and development. There may be a course you have been meaning to take or a conference you have wanted to attend. Do not wait any longer, as you are your most precious asset, and you should invest in yourself fully. You and your growth are all you can truly control after all....
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Creativity is a strange animal — you could almost say it has a will of its own. You may have had the experience, as I had, of sitting in the middle of a meeting talking about an unrelated topic. And then suddenly, you have a flash of inspiration about something you have been grappling with for a year. Other times, you may struggle with the solution to a problem– perhaps you can’t find it, despite trying everything.
We all have our methods for inspiring creative thought. Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most brilliantly creative minds humanity has ever produced, famously left many of his works of art unfinished. He would start work on one piece and then leave it incomplete. On commissions, he would take more time than what was originally allotted. Those who hired him would try to force him to complete his work with punitive clauses in contracts, but it wouldn’t work.
I recently received the best compliment I have received in a long time. I was talking with one of my company’s service providers, who said that she trusted our company implicitly. She is aware of how we manage the company, along with its processes and systems, and knows that she can rely on us to take care of our common interests.
As an example, she mentioned our many years of working together without any issues. She recalled a payment we were scheduled to make a year after a completed service, about which she had forgotten. Even though we did not receive a bill from her, we still called her to drop off the bill and pick up her check. We made the payment because it is a part of our process.
Our responsibilities as company managers are many: we must build a great team, structure our organizations in the best way possible, make sure the company is achieving its objectives, and plan for growth. One of the challenges we also face is infusing the company with a sense of trust. Organizations that inspire trust in every direction run more smoothly, and in the end, trust can make the work more enjoyable, too.
Our careers are a progression. As our careers develop, our work with all the experiences it involves as well as our colleagues and counterparts can be some of our greatest teachers. We grow through our work because it forces us to confront our fears (e.g., fear of failure or public speaking) in a way that no other activity would. There is no choice; we have to get to the other side of our fears because we might otherwise damage our careers. By letting go of our reservations, we discover new inner strengths as well as other perspectives in life. Over time, we learn and grow with our career.
Along the way, we also inevitably make mistakes. It is part of what we sometimes must experience to learn. We regret some mistakes, and often we would rather forget them because they sting, but we all make them. If you are on an upward journey and working on areas you have never worked on before, you cannot know everything there is to know about them, and you will make mistakes. They are a part of our path.
The Only Handle It Once principle, otherwise known as OHIO, is a useful model that will help you improve your productivity. The idea behind it is that once you start working on a specific task, you work on it completely from beginning to end. That is, once you touch an activity, you do everything related to it until you finish.
This approach is especially useful for shorter tasks, like a quick email or phone call. Instead of letting it take up space in your inbox or to-do list, you take a few minutes to take care of it. The task doesn’t even ever have to make it to your to-do list. Of course, it is not always possible to do everything at the moment. If you cannot work on the incoming task immediately, set a reminder at that moment to work on it in the future.
Defining the right structure for your company is one of the most important areas in which you can invest your time as an entrepreneur. It is a significant undertaking, especially if the company is already operating under an existing configuration. Nevertheless, your organizational structure will determine how everyone operates within your company. How well it fits the company’s tasks and internal dynamics as well as the external context that it inhabits can make a significant difference in the company’s performance of up 24% [i].
As entrepreneurs, we usually start selling a product or a service. When we begin to have more demand for that product or service, we then decide to build a team and a company. Usually, we start with a simple configuration. Very soon, if we are lucky, we have more work than we can manage so we need to hire more people.
Goals are a very popular topic. We read advice on how to set them and then how to achieve them. There is less talk, though, about what happens once we get to our destination. Perhaps this is because the likelihood of achieving those goals is not guaranteed. Nevertheless, eventually, with enough effort and knowledge, you will arrive at the point of success.
Once you have accomplished a long-held objective, the moment may be great. It may, however, not be everything you hoped it would be. The results may not feel like what you anticipated. Moreover, after that, there is always the question of what happens next. Do you fill the void with another project? You will have to consider whether you go on with a new phase of that project or if that one is complete, take on a different one.
Time is one of our most precious resources, and we often wish we had more. Often, it feels like it is slipping through our fingers like sand, and since we, unfortunately, cannot create more time, we instead must prioritize and focus on what matters most.
We each try to work as best as we can with the time we have. We all have our methods, which inevitably include schedules and building routines as well as hopefully, time off to rest and recharge. We may also try to be as productive as possible so that we do not waste any of it.
With everything that we balance regularly, it can often feel like time is moving too quickly. Like many other parents, I sometimes look at my daughters and cannot believe how fast they have grown. Time flew. All I can think about during those reflective moments is that I must make every minute count because time will not stop.
At the point when we are choosing how to spend our time, a million possibilities are available. The path is completely open because, at any given moment, we can choose anything. The catch is that once the choice is made, the moment is gone. The time has passed, and we can’t go back. The key is to choose wisely and to choose what matters the most.
I always love the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. It is a chance to look at and drink in all the accomplishments and growth from the prior year. As always, not everything will have gone as planned. But as I look back, I try to learn from everything, the good and the bad. And I often find successes which are unexpected—these are my favorite ones.
It is also an opportunity to plan for the next year. The new year is always promising; it represents hope and something fresh, which I think is why it is the most popular date for making resolutions. Of course, these dates can come and go, just like any other date in the year, but you can use them to launch your new project or start a new routine.
Writing is a wonderful practice — whether you choose to publish your writing or not, the simple act of putting your thoughts and ideas to paper will help you grow as a person and a professional. We often view writing as means to an end. But writing in itself has many benefits that go beyond getting information across to others.
I started writing four years ago, first in spurts and then eventually consistently. I didn’t realize how beneficial writing is to the author before I began, which was an unexpected gift for me. Now it’s a regular part of my routine and an important part of who I am. Through writing, I get to express my ideas and clarify my thoughts with others and am enriched by their feedback.
Creativity is a strange animal — you could almost say it has a will of its own. You may have had the experience, as I had, of sitting in the middle of a meeting talking about an unrelated topic. And then suddenly, you have a flash of inspiration about something you have been grappling with for a year. Other times, you may struggle with the solution to a problem– perhaps you can’t find it, despite trying everything.
We all have our methods for inspiring creative thought. Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most brilliantly creative minds humanity has ever produced, famously left many of his works of art unfinished. He would start work on one piece and then leave it incomplete. On commissions, he would take more time than what was originally allotted. Those who hired him would try to force him to complete his work with punitive clauses in contracts, but it wouldn’t work.
I recently received the best compliment I have received in a long time. I was talking with one of my company’s service providers, who said that she trusted our company implicitly. She is aware of how we manage the company, along with its processes and systems, and knows that she can rely on us to take care of our common interests.
As an example, she mentioned our many years of working together without any issues. She recalled a payment we were scheduled to make a year after a completed service, about which she had forgotten. Even though we did not receive a bill from her, we still called her to drop off the bill and pick up her check. We made the payment because it is a part of our process.
Our responsibilities as company managers are many: we must build a great team, structure our organizations in the best way possible, make sure the company is achieving its objectives, and plan for growth. One of the challenges we also face is infusing the company with a sense of trust. Organizations that inspire trust in every direction run more smoothly, and in the end, trust can make the work more enjoyable, too.
Our careers are a progression. As our careers develop, our work with all the experiences it involves as well as our colleagues and counterparts can be some of our greatest teachers. We grow through our work because it forces us to confront our fears (e.g., fear of failure or public speaking) in a way that no other activity would. There is no choice; we have to get to the other side of our fears because we might otherwise damage our careers. By letting go of our reservations, we discover new inner strengths as well as other perspectives in life. Over time, we learn and grow with our career.
Along the way, we also inevitably make mistakes. It is part of what we sometimes must experience to learn. We regret some mistakes, and often we would rather forget them because they sting, but we all make them. If you are on an upward journey and working on areas you have never worked on before, you cannot know everything there is to know about them, and you will make mistakes. They are a part of our path.
The Only Handle It Once principle, otherwise known as OHIO, is a useful model that will help you improve your productivity. The idea behind it is that once you start working on a specific task, you work on it completely from beginning to end. That is, once you touch an activity, you do everything related to it until you finish.
This approach is especially useful for shorter tasks, like a quick email or phone call. Instead of letting it take up space in your inbox or to-do list, you take a few minutes to take care of it. The task doesn’t even ever have to make it to your to-do list. Of course, it is not always possible to do everything at the moment. If you cannot work on the incoming task immediately, set a reminder at that moment to work on it in the future.
Defining the right structure for your company is one of the most important areas in which you can invest your time as an entrepreneur. It is a significant undertaking, especially if the company is already operating under an existing configuration. Nevertheless, your organizational structure will determine how everyone operates within your company. How well it fits the company’s tasks and internal dynamics as well as the external context that it inhabits can make a significant difference in the company’s performance of up 24% [i].
As entrepreneurs, we usually start selling a product or a service. When we begin to have more demand for that product or service, we then decide to build a team and a company. Usually, we start with a simple configuration. Very soon, if we are lucky, we have more work than we can manage so we need to hire more people.
Goals are a very popular topic. We read advice on how to set them and then how to achieve them. There is less talk, though, about what happens once we get to our destination. Perhaps this is because the likelihood of achieving those goals is not guaranteed. Nevertheless, eventually, with enough effort and knowledge, you will arrive at the point of success.
Once you have accomplished a long-held objective, the moment may be great. It may, however, not be everything you hoped it would be. The results may not feel like what you anticipated. Moreover, after that, there is always the question of what happens next. Do you fill the void with another project? You will have to consider whether you go on with a new phase of that project or if that one is complete, take on a different one.
Time is one of our most precious resources, and we often wish we had more. Often, it feels like it is slipping through our fingers like sand, and since we, unfortunately, cannot create more time, we instead must prioritize and focus on what matters most.
We each try to work as best as we can with the time we have. We all have our methods, which inevitably include schedules and building routines as well as hopefully, time off to rest and recharge. We may also try to be as productive as possible so that we do not waste any of it.
With everything that we balance regularly, it can often feel like time is moving too quickly. Like many other parents, I sometimes look at my daughters and cannot believe how fast they have grown. Time flew. All I can think about during those reflective moments is that I must make every minute count because time will not stop.
At the point when we are choosing how to spend our time, a million possibilities are available. The path is completely open because, at any given moment, we can choose anything. The catch is that once the choice is made, the moment is gone. The time has passed, and we can’t go back. The key is to choose wisely and to choose what matters the most.
Pamela Ayuso is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Celaque. She is a real estate entrepreneur and developer who has executive leadership experience in two of the most successful real estate developers in Honduras — managing operations at Alianza and leading Celaque. Celaque develops office and residential buildings and manages a broad portfolio of properties. Pamela’s focus is on growing Celaque into a model for the 21st-century company.
In addition to her role as CEO at Celaque, Pamela is a writer that offers practical business and personal development insights for other entrepreneurs and business leaders on her blog and LinkedIn. She published her first children’s book in 2019, Alicia and Bunnie Paint a Mural.
Join our mailing list and receive our free Time Management for Busy Business Owners e-book.
Pamela Ayuso will use the information on this form to be in touch with you and provide updates. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at pamela@pamelaayuso.com. We will treat your information with respect. We use cookies and similar technologies to run this website and help us understand how you use it. For more information, read our Privacy Policy.
Pamela Ayuso is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Celaque. She is a real estate entrepreneur and developer who has executive leadership experience in two of the most successful real estate developers in Honduras — managing operations at Alianza and leading Celaque. Celaque develops office and residential buildings and manages a broad portfolio of properties. Pamela’s focus is on growing Celaque into a model for the 21st-century company.
In addition to her role as CEO at Celaque, Pamela is a writer that offers practical business and personal development insights for other entrepreneurs and business leaders on her blog and LinkedIn. She published her first children’s book in 2019, Alicia and Bunnie Paint a Mural.
Pamela Ayuso is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Celaque. She is a real estate entrepreneur and developer who has executive leadership experience in two of the most successful real estate developers in Honduras — managing operations at Alianza and leading Celaque. Celaque develops office and residential buildings and manages a broad portfolio of properties. Pamela’s focus is on growing Celaque into a model for the 21st-century company.
In addition to her role as CEO at Celaque, Pamela is the author of Amazon best-selling book, Heptagram: The 7-Pillar Business Design System for the 21st Century. She offers practical business and personal development insights for other entrepreneurs and business leaders on her blog and LinkedIn. Her husband and her three wonderful daughters inspired the story of her first children’s book, Alicia and Bunnie Paint a Mural.
Join our mailing list and receive our free Time Management for Busy Business Owners e-book.
Pamela Ayuso will use the information on this form to be in touch with you and provide updates. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at contact@pamelaayuso.com. We will treat your information with respect. We use cookies and similar technologies to run this website and help us understand how you use it. For more information, read our Privacy Policy.
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