Alusine Barrie - Where did my time go? - A successful week is planned!

Once you are clear about where you are headed, your time will become 10X more valuable

Am I spending time on the right things?

Someone asked me the other day what they should do to make the best use of their time and deal with their fears. Let's focus on how to make the best use of our time first as this is extremely important. 

Once we become aware of the amount of time we waste every week, it is difficult to not feel guilty about it. The amount of time we spend scrolling through Facebook, traversing WhatsApp groups, watching movies (of other people becoming successful), chatting about mindless matters etc. is time stolen from us and the kind of people we really want to become. 

But how do I have a great week this week?

The first thing I would like you to do is consider the previous week and make a note of the major activities on which you spent most of your time on. Is it watching movies, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, video games, chatting about mindless matters with your 'friends' over things that don't really add value to you or them? You owe it to yourself to know where exactly your 168 hours (that's the number of hours in a week!) went. The truth is, our lives will be headed in the direction of the activities we are most engaged in. Once you do this, then ask yourself these questions:

 "Is this what I want to spend most of my time on?", "Are these activities benefitting me or the people I am engaging with?" "What kind of person do I want to become? [and] Are these activities taking me closer to this person or are they a barrier keeping me from becoming my best self?" Try to answer these questions as honestly as you can - at the end of the day you're your only judge, so judge well!

Once we are clear where our time is and checked whether this is what we desire deep down, we can now talk about having a successful week. To have a successful week, you need to have an aim for the week. Take 15 minutes (that's all) to consider your three biggest goals and ask yourself "What three things  can I do (one for each goal or however you want really) this week that will help me drive my most important goals forward and bring me a step closer to becoming the person I want to be? Have a notebook, find a diary if you  can. Once you've decided what activities you want to spend your time on, decide which day and at what time, you'll engage in each of the activities. The more specific, the better.

Once you do this, your time will become 10X more valuable. People see you and say why do you move so fast, it seems like you're always rushing to somewhere. That's what you ideally want, you're on the path to becoming your best self, all the time.  

Pro tip: spend as little time as possible doing mindless things. If you enjoy chatting about football/watching movies fine, but make sure to put a time to do that and discipline yourself!

Now go plan your week, and let me know how it went. Wish you a wonderful week!

Best regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

Alusine Barrie - Build your career through skills and expertise first - then optimize through networking

Bonus: the people who end up recommending you for opportunities will be proud they did so.

With our culture of 'sababu' (as we call it in Sierra Leone) - getting jobs, career opportunities or getting your way primarily because you have ties with someone wielding the decision making power can have the tendency of making young people optimize for the wrong thing. And of course, this also creates a dynamic that discourages young people from becoming skilled professionals, contributing to their communities and the organizations they're part of, especially those whose families are not necessarily 'connected'. We teach people from a young age get that if you are not 'connected', your chances of succeeding remain bleak at best. 

Getting recommendations for new opportunities from people who know your skill set and competencies is not a bad thing, you just don't want to be given an opportunity despite the fact that you're not the qualified person for the task. Although this may be nice in the short run, in the long run it leaves us vulnerable. Furthermore, poor accountability and toxic loyalties build up in organizations as people are obliged to be loyal to the people who gave them the 'opportunity' rather than serving the needs of the organization/its clients. 

What often happens is that when people rarely dedicate themselves to doing the job well, instead they get busy trying to please the person who gave them the opportunity. It's easy to see why this is the case, they didn't get the opportunity because of their skill and competence. But what happens if this person falls out of favour? Or you don't want to be loyal to them if it goes against your values? What happens to the organization/people we are serving? What happens to our own peace of mind? What happens to your continued career growth? Maybe these questions don't matter to you, then this post is not for you.

Don't get me wrong, people who love and want to empower you will push you for opportunities when they are convinced you are the best person for the task, but never (just) because you're their brother/sister or former school mate. People who do this are not doing you a favour, they're simply filling their egos through you.

Foundations for a successful career are built on professionalism and a strong skill set. What you want to do is develop a strong set of skills on which you want to build your career and once you do that then you can seek opportunities to apply them. Optimize your skills first and then and only then your relationships (or 'network' as we say).

If you do this, build strong skills first before using your network, we will all benefit  - the net effect is positive for you, your organization and your community (through the people you serve). In the short run you may have to put effort into developing those skills, but the benefit and peace of mind is so much better. In fact, the harder the skill the better. You will thank God someday that you chose to do this rather than the easy way.

Best Regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

Alusine Barrie: First Impressions Will Not Take You Far _ Be Professional, Don't (Just) Look It

I would like to start by stating that there is something to be said about looking professional. Especially for young people entering the job market. After all, 'first impressions go a long way' is a well known piece of wisdom preached to young people (and rightly so). Studies have shown that in the first few seconds of interacting with us people make a an impression of us based on how we look or carry ourselves, until those impressions are caused to change.  

In situations where someone has to make a judgement about your character or capacity and you don't have a chance to demonstrate your inner powers, it is critical to make good first impressions. In your early interactions with other people (in your job search, or first days/weeks at your workplace) you want to look professional - dress professionally and carry yourself in a way that communicates expertise, professionalism and maturity.

The challenge with first impressions is that, they are like perfume, the effect eventually wears off. Through experience, we have learnt that first impressions of others are not very reliable measures of character and of your capacity to contribute to an organization's growth and success. They are just tentative. Once people make impressions of us, they are constantly comparing us now against the impressions they made of you the first time they interacted with us.  

So rather than (just) looking professional, why not do both? Dress appropriately, but more importantly get to work on time, do your work with diligence, contribute to your team's success and deal with clients respectfully and kindly.

First impressions may work to get you a job (if you are lucky), but they are surely insufficient to help you keep your job and succeed as a professional. So, choose to be professional.

Regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

 

Alusine Barrie: You Need New Glasses - Never Believe A Prophecy That Doesn't Empower You

Many of us navigate the world based on the theories others developed. 

GENIUS, this is a dangerous word. I consider myself somewhat stubborn in telling everyone I get to meet - friends, students, trainees, peers, colleagues etc. to never call anyone a genius because that is the easiest way of telling ourselves that what they did/are doing is 'impossible'. 

The danger is that the moment you 'believe' something is not possible, you give up all power to drive yourself to try and to persevere in the face of challenges. Now, when you try something new and it's difficult (especially in the beginning) you use the image of this person you have labelled 'GENIUS' to give yourself permission to give up on what you're aiming for. Not a good idea.

From the dictionary, the word belief "(in something/somebody) [is] a strong feeling that something or someone exists or is true;". If our beliefs are what we consider to be true (at least for us) and that they are strong feelings, and we agree that what we feel strongly about affects our day-to-day decisions, then it logical to infer that our beliefs control and shape our lives. 

Beliefs are not a bad thing on their own, they become so when they are the thing that is holding you back from reaching your dreams and goals. I am a Muslim and I fervently believe in God, but I try to use that belief each day to empower me to go after my goals and conduct myself in the world in a way that leaves as happy and fulfilled as possible. Someone else can use the same belief in God to explain why they should forever be stuck in poverty or where they are. It's all about the perspective you choose to take. 

Interestingly, if you take a little time to think about why you believe in the things you believe in you will realize that most of what you consider your beliefs are actually not your own. The beliefs established around you are not truths, they are shortcuts developed by other people to deal with their own circumstances and desires that they have passed on to you. There's no one out there like you, so sometimes (especially with your beliefs) learn to build your own theories about how the world works using your own judgement.

Transitioning to more empowering beliefs is like navigating the world with a new set of glasses, just that this time they are clearer glasses that give you power to reach your dreams. Once you change your beliefs, you'll realize you've been looking at yourself, what you are capable of and the world with they wrong glasses. 

Don't know if you need to change your beliefs (a.k.a your glasses)? It's simple, if you feel stuck and progressing in they way you deeply know you can, then there's something holding you back. You may not see it clearly yet, but it's there. Once you figure it out (which is the first step), work to change it. You can do this by talking to trusted people, reading books - especially autobiographies/stories of people who had similar circumstances as you but worked to achieve things similar to what you are aiming to achieve.

Any other beliefs, if they don't empower you to reach your highest self, get rid of them, they're not true...

Wishing you the best in your journey of transformation. I shared this post because someone reached out to me asking how they could reach their dreams (not like I've reached my but anyways)...

Have a blessed Sunday,

Alusine Barrie.

Alusine Barrie: Truth Is Discovered In Action - What We Say We Want And What We Are Truly Committed To

Hi,

Permit me to discuss an important issue. This is something I've had to grapple with a lot, because in many ways I consider myself a big dreamer, the people I've been around think so too:). Having big dreams is great, it's the important pre-requisite, but it's not what changes things. I was reminded of it when one of my students shared his big dream with me the other day. So as I'm advising you, I'm also advising myself.

These days it's as easy as opening your eyes to meet people (young as well as old) who dream of changing the world or who hope to become the next big name in something. Actually it's always been that way, we find it easier to say what we want to do/be rather than actually being in the process of doing or becoming those things we dream of. Talking about things we want to do is so easy, doing them on the other hand is a whole different game.

However, this is by no trivial matter, especially for young people with all these big dreams and ideas. You think you have lot of time to wander around aimlessly, telling everyone about your grand dreams and schemes while doing nothing to bring them to fruition. When you are young is the time you have the energy and space to act on your goals and desires. Ideas are great, after all everything around us - the computers, mobile phones, the places we work, the cars we ride in, the restaurant we go to, everything we admire and gain value from was once just a dream in someone's head. However, at some point they had to take action to bring that dream into fruition.

A the end of the day, the way you spend your time and the things that hold your attention often tell the truth about what you are really committed to. If you say you would like to start your own business or found your own organization but spend the best hours of your day on things not aligned with the goal or that are by nature mutually exclusive with your goal and ambition, you need to re-assess yourself. Do you really want to pursue this thing that you say you want to pursue or are you just enjoying talking about it. 

We don't get get rewarded for the things we dream to do/become someday, so pick up your axe and cutlass and get to work on your dream. That skill you have always hoped to develop, it's not going magic its way to you, you have to study it, work on it, practice it.

If a friend tells you about a big dream they have, pat them on the shoulder and tell them (in a kind tone of course;) "Everything we enjoy and admire today was once just someone's dream, but they did the work and brought that dream to life, so go do the same". Once the dream/goal/destination has been established, execution should follow; no time to waste.

At some point you just have to start working on your big idea. You don't have to start big, start small. You may not do it right first time, there may be starts and stops and road blocks etc., but none of these should stop you from taking the action.

At the end of the day your thinking will not produce any benefit for you or the people around you. But your action, not matter how little can have an impact. So develop an action bias, take more action, daily action, the path will get clearer the more you do. And of course, the feedback you gain will be invaluable...

At the end of the day, our actions will always speak louder than our words. 

Regards,

Alusine Barrie. 

Alusine Barrie - Doing The Minimum At Your Workplace: Here's The Problem

You may know the colleague who always strives to do the minimum. Whatever task he/she can dodge they dodge. They always turn work in late. They have the mentality of 'now the cat is a away, the mice can finally play'. They are always behind deadlines. Someone has to do their work. And of course there's always a  neat excuse. Let's just say they have perfected the art of doing very little to be of use to their employer and teammates. Et cetera, et cetera...

Does the description remind you of anyone? Maybe it's you, that certainly was more of me not too long ago. The challenge when we strive to dodge doing our work with diligence and quality is that we become too costly to our managers/teammates and  lose value in their eyes. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind...

Reduce the cost of managing you - when your manager constantly has to keep an eye on you and has to chase you to get your work done, you're costing them more because every minute spent chasing you is a minute they cannot spend doing the work they're supposed to be doing. You should strive to make sure your employer spends the least time possible chasing you to get your work done. 

Your value to your employer is a function of the benefits you bring and the costs you reduce - position yourself such that you are always working to increase the benefits your team/manager derives from working with you and or reducing their costs therein. Remember that value means what is valuable to your employer/team, not (just) what is valuable to you. If you optimize to be this kind of employee, you'll automatically strive to do the maximum rather than the minimum.

There's no security in doing the minimum - The thought process when we do the minimum or procrastinate on our work is often that we are being smart or gaining from the experience. However, the results are almost always on the contrary - doing the minimum hurts you. Your manager struggles to trust you to do your work without being policed, they are afraid to put you up for new opportunities, you will be micro-managed, you'll be paid the minimum etc. 

Remember “Folks who never do any more than they are paid for, never get paid more than they do” Elbert Hubbard

It's simple, strive for excellence at all times, whether or not your manager is around.

Regards,

Alusine Barrie.