A Lesson from Love

It’s no secret that I love all things productivity and success. It’s why I study it, teach it, and experiment with it all the time. But, one of the most important lessons I learned was from love – and in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’d like to share it with you.

A Lesson from Love

Back in my mid-twenties, I had freed myself from a bad relationship and found myself a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of dating and finding, “The One.”

At the time, my parents were the only parents I knew who weren’t divorced. Not only that, my parents were (and still are) genuinely happily married. So, I decided to ask my mother for some advice. I asked her how she knew my dad was, “The One,” and I’ve never forgotten what she said.

“I was looking for three things,” she started.

But, before I share with you what those three things were, let me take a moment to share how stunned I was with this statement. At the time I had a 100+ point checklist of what I was looking for in a date… tall, good job, well educated, dress nicely… Honestly, I can’t even remember what was on the list – just that is was LONG. Perhaps you can relate?

So, when my mother stated she was looking for only three things, she really got my attention.

Her three things were: 1.) someone who was kind, 2.) someone who didn’t drink too much, and 3.) someone responsible. Sounds good, right?

The Strategy

The biggest difference in my former strategy and my mother’s strategy was the clarity of priorities. She knew exactly what was most important, and wasn’t confused by the 97 other points that I was trying to incorporate into my dating search.

Oh, the beauty of simplicity and clarity! I decided to give her strategy a try. I got clear on my top three priorities and I’m happy to report, it worked like a charm. Shortly after, I met a wonderful man and we had a lovely relationship. ♥︎​ 

The three-point strategy worked so well, I started implementing it in all areas of my life – health, education, money, work, relationships, etc. It works on all fronts.

The reality is, we live in a world where if you don’t have clear priorities and stay focused on them, you will get lost. It’s a jungle of distractions and shiny objects out there. They come disguised in the form of FOMO, poor boundaries, other people priorities, opportunities, good ideas, guilt & obligations – the list goes on and on.

When you’re crystal clear on your priorities in life and in business, it makes it simple to decide where to invest your time, energy, resources and focus. It’s the prerequisite to productivity.

That’s the first lesson love (and my mother) taught me about productivity and success.