Read Online Jolt! by Phil Cooke - Free Book Online

when one of my wife’s best friends had a baby. She was a dedicated career woman who decided after a few nervous months at home that she would hire a nanny so she could go back to work and resume her career. Everything seemed fine for a while, until one day she came home from work to hear the excited nanny cry out in joy, “Guess what? Today the baby walked for the first time! You should have seen it!”
    At that moment, the mom froze in horror. For the first time since her baby’s birth, she realized that by going back to work, all the “firsts” in her child’s life would be experienced by someone else. That jolt was like an explosion. She dropped her briefcase, called her boss, immediately resigned from her job, and never looked back.
    At that moment she understood her priorities. She thought her career was number one in her life, but that day she realized her real priority was her family.
    Certainly not everyone can afford to stay at home with his or her children, and each situation is different. But the point is, once you realize your priorities, everything naturally finds its proper position of importance in your life.
    Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes.
—KENNETH HILDEBRAND, WRITER
    Take out a sheet of paper and write down all the things that are important to you. Perhaps it’s family life, personal integrity, your relationship with God, a new boyfriend or girlfriend, your reputation, or your career. Perhaps it’s being a caregiver to a loved one in need, personal health, staying in shape, or personal relationships.
    Don’t get your priorities confused with your goals. Goals are what you want to accomplish. Priorities are what is important on the way to achieving those goals. For your life to change and your goals to matter, your goals must exist within your priorities.
    For instance, if your goal is a career that requires a great deal of travel but your family life is a high priority, then the two might not be a good mix. If your goal is to be financially successful but your priorities are to spend most of your time hanging out with friends, then you need to reconsider one or the other. Or if a personal priority is honesty/integrity but your boss is trying to influence you to lie on a report or to “adjust” some numbers on the accounting statement, then you’re going to have a problem.
    What are your priorities? Let me show you a list to get you started. I’ve divided the list into two categories—personal priorities and business priorities. There are many more than these, but the list will help you understand what we’re talking about.
PERSONAL PRIORITIES:    
BUSINESS PRIORITIES:
honesty
consideration of employees
integrity
responsibility
trust
leadership
creativity
innovation
independence
product quality
spiritual commitment
promptness
financial security
teamwork
physical health
ethics
raising children
attitude
having a strong marriage
speed
love
work accuracy
education
financial accountability
compassion
 
generosity
 
confidence
 
    There are plenty of others, and you’ll no doubt have some that aren’t on this list. I’m not as interested in your specific personal priorities as much as that you realize that the sooner you understand your priorities, the sooner you’ll be able to move forward with real change.
    Now that you have your priority list, use that list to filter all the changes in your life. Every job, every project, and every task you want to accomplish should fit within the framework of your priorities. Think of it as the boundary of integrity that surrounds your life.
    Why? Because it keeps you focused on your goal and eliminates the time wasters in your life.
    MANAGING YOUR PRIORITIES MEANS MANAGING YOUR TIME
    At the highest levels of American business, time is valued more highly than money. That’s why CEOs of major corporations have private jets standing by at the airport. With