As a business owner, it’s all-too-easy to fall into the pattern of prioritizing the growth of your business above all else. After all, you took the risks as an entrepreneur and worked hard to build your business to where it is today, so learning to focus past your business can be challenging because of the habits you developed early in your entrepreneurial career.
But your business isn’t the only aspect of your life that needs attention. And, though it may seem counterintuitive, prioritizing other parts of your life can actually be very good for your business. To find true harmony between your business and your other relationships, you have to get your priorities straight.
This week’s guest on the Elite Entrepreneurs podcast is Tommy Breedlove, a bestselling author, coach and globally respected keynote speaker who knows too well how putting business above all else can have a dramatic and negative impact on your life. At age 36, by all appearances Tommy was on top of the world. He was a junior partner at a thriving firm, he was wearing expensive suits and was managing millions of dollars in accounts. But inside, Tommy was crushed by stress, anxiety and doubt, and he realized he urgently needed to change his priorities. He walked away from his corporate career and found a new level of balance as well as a new realm of personal and professional success.
Get Your Priorities Straight
Tommy firmly believes that your business shouldn’t be your first priority in life. If you really want to get your priorities straight, your business should come third. First and foremost, you should prioritize personal development, because your business can only grow as much as you yourself grow as its leader. Then you must focus on the relationships you have developed with the people around you, because a truly effective business leader must learn to keep others in focus.
Tommy says that putting his mindset and development first and putting his relationships second in his life brought him a new level of balance, because everything fell into place on its own. As he grew as a person and a leader, he was able to more effectively “show up” and be the person he needed to be for the people that matter to him. And then, by working on his relationships with his family, his team and his clients, he was able to build a level of trust that greatly serves his business.
Mindset and Personal Growth First
Tommy believes that we must feed our brains the best possible nutrients if we want to unlock our full potential. For Tommy, this has turned into a daily routine of cutting out sources of negativity such as social media, TV, and the 24-hour news cycle. He then replaces those things with positive influences including quiet time for reflection and time for journaling intentions, goals and gratitude.
Tommy sees the incredible power of personal development, and so one of his key priorities is to surround himself with people who can either make him happy or make him better. Tommy says that small changes can have a compounding effect on your life. It’s all about getting intentional about who you are, who you want to be, and how you want to get there.
To learn more about Tommy Breedlove, you can click here to visit his website. And to learn more about his remarkable Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling book “Legendary”, please click here.
