The Steve Jobs Question

This morning I read a quote from Steve Jobs that hit me harder than a fourth cup of coffee.

It goes like this:

“I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

Now, I had been having a bad couple of days this week; nothing earth shatteringly awful, just a nagging sense of boredom and frustration at sub-par results in my business.

But here’s the thing: If you're in business for yourself, like me, and you find that you're bored or unmotivated by your work, it's going to kill your business faster than any competitor ever could.

So I looked in the mirror and asked myself the Steve Jobs question: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And ... I knew I needed to change some things -- right away.

So I did.

First, I put on some different background music in my office and promptly wrote a really good promotion for a client that I know he’s going to love. Oh, and, I finished two hours early.

Then I shaved and put on a clean shirt with a collar (two things I don't do a typical work day) and I recorded two promotional videos for my business. Now I would rather drink paint than shoot a video. But by making the videos, I forced myself to get out of my comfort zone and grow a little bit.

So, anyway here's the point of this piece: I want to challenge you to look at your schedule for today, then look in the mirror, and ask yourself the Steve Jobs question. “If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you're about to do today?”

The answer, yes or no, is probably true -- if you listen to your heart.

At the risk of sounding obvious, if the answer is no, make changes to your plan. Even if you don't have 100% control over your schedule, you do have 100% control over your attitude, which controls everything you do. And you can change your attitude by changing your surroundings: the music in your work space, pictures on the wall, conversations you have (or don’t have), the blogs you read (or ignore), the thoughts in your head.

That's my thought for today. It’s made my day today more productive than all of yesterday -- and it’s not even lunch time yet.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment below.

Meanwhile, if you want to put an end to "feast or famine" syndrome in your business, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. It's not some cheapo download -- this is a real business-building kit you can hold in your hands.

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