Speaking to business owners over decades, you recognize patterns.
Some are valid, some are not.
Most business owners suggest their product, service offering or team are their greatest asset.
While admirable – they’re wrong.
Unless you are Apple, your product or service is not so unique. Competitors are in most markets and new players may enter in the future.
Your team, while great, will come and go. Modern day workforces are transient. Talent retention isn’t forever.
So, what are your 2 greatest assets?
The first might surprise you and most likely be taken for granted.
Health
Health is your greatest asset, because without it you have nothing. Health allows the body, mind and spirit to deliver business deliverables successfully and sustainably. Customers, employees and suppliers need you healthy to sustain. Your family, friends, network and infrastructure need you healthy to thrive.
Treat your health as your greatest asset. Don’t treat it as a future priority for when you reach your peak or slow down. Invest in your health and treat it as your greatest asset. While it isn’t on your Balance Sheet, it is priceless.
Adopt practices around your health to ensure you have maximum impact.
Agency
The second greatest asset in your possession is also not talked about.
Agency is one of the invisible assets we go into business seeking. Agency is the ability to do what you want to do, when you want to. It is the power to make independent choices without permission or restriction.
Factory workers don’t have agency. Site-workers don’t have agency. Retail workers don’t have agency. Nor do most office workers - even senior white-collar workers. These people are on a conveyer belt requiring them to be in a certain place at a certain time, working on certain tasks. They will argue they have choices and to some degree they do. However, 80% or more of their role is dictated to by their environment and other people.
In business, you have real agency.
Want to start working on your next big thing? Start today!
Want to implement change? Start tomorrow!
Want to watch your kids sporting event during the week? Go!
Don’t want to do business with someone? Don’t!
Need a freshen up? Take a long weekend.
I hear the objections from business owners stating they can’t get away from operations. I’m not suggesting you have agency 100% of the time, because we all have deliverables within our business. But we do have choice within our business in shaping our working life.
Agency is about having the flexibility and independence to make key choices on our terms.
Agency is powerful and invaluable.
After health, leverage agency.
Express gratitude for your health and agency regularly. Respect the power of health and agency and optimize them in your hierarchy of needs.
Use health to present the best version of you.
Use agency to make choices for greater impact.
Your 2 greatest assets are in your hands.
Invest wisely.
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