That’s a quote from Herb Brook’s, played by Kurt Russell, in the movie Miracle. In the movie, Kurt was the coach of the 1980 US hockey team, and Kurt uttered those words as the team took the ice against the far superior Soviet hockey team, in the gold medal game. See link.
Over your life, you probably have experienced “your time” moments, whether it was trying to close a big deal; presentation to the CEO; or very difficult situation with your kids, any time that you needed to rise to the occasion.
NOW is Your Time
Now is one of those times. Now that you are in your 50s and see the lines on your face, the gray hair, as you look in the mirror, you realize have lived most of your life. With that realization comes the fact that if you are going to do something in your life, such as start a business, the time is now. This is your time. But it goes beyond just deciding to start a business. Its time to look at all aspects of your life and determine how you want the next 20-30 years to be.
Decisions, Decisions
As you get older and become an empty nester, it is easy to just settle for what you already have, your activities, your way of life. We get comfortable and let life come to us, without much thought the huge array of choices before us. But if you are intentional about your life, you have a lot of choices and a lot of decisions. Let me explain.
You Don’t need as much Money as you Think
If you have been reasonably prudent with your money, there is either money set aside in a 401k or some type of company or public pension. In addition, Social Security will provide some income. With the kids having grown and are out of the house, your financial responsibilities may have been reduced and here is where the options come in.
Take a look at your Finances
Often people will start a business and determine their income needs based on their current financial needs (e.g. I need $10,000 a month income to sustain my current lifestyle). But this may not be the case.
If the kids have moved out, there is no need for a house. There may be emotional ties to your house, after all, is this where you raised your family. Put aside a moment the memories and the emotional impact it could have if you sold the house. A house is a place to live. That’s it. The memories are what occurred with your spouse, significant other, children, friends, pets. The house is simply where it took place. Do you really need to keep this house and the mortgage, the taxes, the upkeep? Comedian George Carlin once said, “That’s all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house. You could just walk around all the time. . . Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore.”
What are your Financial Alternatives?
Are there alternatives? Could you sell your house now, when the real estate market is fairly good. This is a lot better option than having to sell when the market is down, because you need the money. Could you lease a place, or buy a smaller house and reduce your monthly income needs? Could you move to someplace less expensive and then start your business?
Do you really need all the things that have collected in your basement over the years? Could you donate them or sell them on eBay?
So how much money do you really need to live on?
We only have so much time
As I have gotten older, I realize how much time I can waste online. I blog, I follow my friends on Facebook, and follow various items on Twitter. I hadn’t spent a lot of time on social media, until I got hooked on Twitter.
My Big Time Waster (is it yours?)
There was an organization that I was involved in a few years back and there was corruption that took place at the time I was involved, unbeknownst to me (as well as others). Some of the former members started checking in to the finances of the organization, including mortgages, LLCs and even expense accounts of executives. There findings revealed questionable financial maneuvers and potentially fraudulent schemes. Investigative reporting took place and I was finding articles in the paper, on blogs and especially Twitter concerning happenings at the organization. It was like a soap opera, people getting sued, people getting fired and I was glued to my phone for all of it. Checking Twitter many times a day see who was doing what to whom. Who was getting fired, what tawdry episode happened next; I couldn’t put down my phone. And then it hit me.
I Woke Up
I was wasting hours and hours a day on something that was meaningless.
I mean, I wasn’t part of the organization anymore, so what was happening had no effect on me. I couldn’t get my money back from the organization, so while it turned my turned my stomach at the thought of having wasted tens of thousands of dollars, I couldn’t do anything to get it back. I couldn’t influence any of the power plays that were taking place. Many of the people I knew had left, so I didn’t personally know any of the people still involved. So why was I spending my time reading all the tweets on Twitter?
In following to torrid tale there was nothing being said that was uplifting. In fact, it was demoralizing to see the depravity of man.
Social Media was a Waste of Time for me
Nothing being said were insights I could use for my business. Nothing being said that would encourage me toward my goals. Nothing being said that would motivate me to be a better person. Nothing uplifting. There was no benefit at all.
How many times have we went on the Internet to research something and because we saw one interesting link that we clicked on, that led to another link and then another, and all of a sudden an hour has passed and I didn’t research what I went online for in the first place.
Cal Newport
I realized that it didn’t make sense to spend hours and hours following this saga on Twitter, IF I wanted to purse my goals. I had a choice. Waste time on Twitter or take action toward my goals. So, I quit following the saga on Twitter. I quite cold turkey. Soon thereafter, I happened onto a book by Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism. Cal is well-known for his book Deep Work, which makes the case for allocating dedicated thinking time. A time that is free of distractions.
In Digital Minimalism, Cal discusses how we get addicted to our phones thorough social media and that addiction drives our lives. We like that someone has retweeted one of our tweets or they have “liked” what we have posted on Facebook. We feel good when someone does this; it affirms our sense of wellbeing. We like being “liked”. So we post something else and feel good when we are “liked” and don’t feel good when our post is ignored. Our self-esteem is wrapped up in social media.
Cal encourages people to think about how they are using the social media tools. Don’t get me wrong. Social media can be used in a very positive way. For example, I can set up news feeds (blog posts, etc.) that send me information based on what I want to see. It pulls social media information into one location and I can decide when to read it. This way I am proactively determining how I will use social media.
Slaves to our Machine?
But often, when our phones ping, we instantly pick it up to see if we have a text; if someone “liked” our post; if someone tagged us in a photo. And we end up depending on it for our validation as a person, because we like being “liked”. And by doing so, we get addicted to our phones. So how can we use social media to benefit us?
Actions:
- Take note of how much time you are spending on social media and how many times a day you are interrupted by social media.
- What are the social media apps you use and why?
- How much time do you spend on social media?
- Think about how you can use social media to enhance your life and not be controlled by it.
- Does social media help you achieve your goals?
- If so, how? Detail out how it helps you. And if you can’t make a strong argument for the use of the app, consider eliminating it.
- Make a plan of what apps you will use and how.
Remember, the clock is ticking.