June 13The Near at Hand
Bees, like us human insects, have little faith in the near at hand; they expect to make their fortune in a distant field, they are lured by the remote and the difficult, and hence overlook the flower and the sweet at their very door.
John Burroughs—“An Idyl of the Honey-Bee” (1895)
Burroughs, in this bit of introspection, is giving practical advice for the person looking to successfully locate a bee box in an effort to attract a colony to take up residence, but certainly he's hit upon something relevant for the entrepreneur.
To realize your dream as a self-reliant entrepreneur, you must learn to use these words: “No, thank you,” or it could be “Thank you, no,” or even just “No.”
You've intentionally chosen the priorities you need to move your entrepreneurial journey forward, and yet you find yourself taking on projects and tasks for fear that you'll miss an opportunity—or worse, because you lack the courage to say no.
Scan your current accountabilities. What should you shed right now? What should you delegate? Uncommit to? What goals no longer make sense? Drop them; it's gonna be fine.
Self-reliance requires wicked self-care, and that starts with protecting the fragile focus you must rely on in order to stay true.
Say no to something today for the practice of it.
Challenge Question
- What's one task you can delegate right now?
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