4: TIME IS A FLAT CIRCLE

TIME

Time. Time is my greatest issue. I am constantly fighting it (and I never win). I am of the opinion we should never be in a rush as it means we are not present and putting our best foot forward in the right here right now. But that is not the case, I am always fighting time (but is it even about winning?). 

So let's break it down; overall in a week, trying to manage these key life ‘dimensions’ is how i break down my time:

• Career
• GAA (physical health/recovery)
• Connection
• Create
• Personal Development

------------------------------------

• Rest/Recharge/Recovery
• Adulting (eww)

So now let's delve into just the career dimension… I split my time into; 

• Product
• BMS (Brand Marketing, Sales)
• FInvest (Finance & Investment)
• IP/Legal
• StraAdMan (Strategy, Admin, Management)
• Learn (Research/Upskilling)

All these parts interlink and are essential to run a business, but for my current stage, I spend most of my time on BMS. And even within that, my effort can be further broken down… Social Media, Content Creation, Ambassadors, Retail Partners, Digital Marketing & Old School (Road Sales etc.). 

So when some people ask me what is it you do all day.. Or what have you been doing - EVERYTHING. Trying to distribute these four evenly is proving to be an enormous challenge (especially when you decide to try to play golf in every county around Ireland… in 90 days  - more on that later). How the hell do you balance all this? Not even asking for a friend - asking for me!

Even writing this it sounds overwhelming. But, I FCKN LOVE IT. I love being busy, I hate standing still. I can’t sit on a beach (to my detriment sometimes I feel). Ambition, growth. Up the walls. Time is always a struggle and will always be our greatest resource. 

Time is a flare circle. Our dream is collapsing. 

BELIEF

A lot of the time people don't believe in you or say you are going to have to pivot. 

I agree I don't know what is going to happen or if it will work and maybe I will have to pivot. But saying I will NEED to pivot before I’ve even tried… that basically tells me you don't believe in the concept. That’s okay - this is a rant btw. Prompted my someone telling me to  switch to junior golf apparel… Only four months in. Nothing to do with my idea or strategy (a saturated market, not globally viable) - maybe one day it could be an option to add that to the product line, yes, but doing instead of SiO!? Why the hell did I start this in the first place - to build something. To solve a problem. To realise an idea.  The angel I’m getting at is… you’ve got to believe in yourself or no one will. 

“Most startups fail because they don't focus on one single scalable idea.”      - Rob Fitzpatrick 

This has always stuck with me. And I really struggle not to get side-tracked (like right now at this exact moment as I write this I am meant to be doing sales calls), or go off and build the next thing. But you need to see your idea through (I write this to remind myself). One idea first. Don’t half ass it. I do think there is a healthy amount of freedom to explore other stuff (and when you feel inspired to do something, do it in that moment) otherwise it gets put on the dreaded to-do list. Listen to your intuition, even if it doesn't make sense right at that time. Steve Jobs has a great story to encapsulate this. But I intend to see this idea and thing through - for better or worse. I believe in the problem, that it exists and that we can contribute positively to society. Not everyone has to or will, but focus on those who do. 

Jobs is also the main man to talk to about belief. And self belief. And persistence. It’s tough but is that not what makes persistence, persistence?