Gustavo, thank you for this well written and incisive piece.
By: Roy Cook
Tags: Goals, Success, Happiness, Values

Gustavo, thank you for this well written and incisive piece. I zeroed in on “2. Focus on What’s Essential”. I hope you don’t mind if I add something. I’ve been using this approach for 26 years. And it works!

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and books recently about how important it is to do less, to do the right thing, to develop the right habits, etc. How do we pick the right thing?

That’s pretty much the only thing that I have focused on since 1993. And it’s just about the only thing I blog about on this site.

I think we all can agree that Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett had a great idea when they said to learn how to say “no”. I think we can also agree that habit is more important than determination or willpower. Once one has developed a good habit, he doesn’t have to think about it anymore. And most agree that doing less and doing the right thing is best.

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” Warren Buffett

“…When you think about focusing, you think, well, focusing is about saying yes. No. Focusing is about saying no.” Steve Jobs

But what is the right thing? How do we know? Is the same right thing right for you and me and others?

In 1993, my partners in a national New York-based marketing company asked me to do something unethical. I couldn’t sleep after that. I had panic attacks and thought I was going to die.

Initially no doctor could help me. I finally saw a psychiatrist who discovered the root cause: my current partner asked me to do something unethical. That had a terrible effect on me because I have a deeply held core value of integrity.

I had been working on those values from 1990 to 1993. Hyrum Smith and his partner Stephen Covey had been teaching this to thousands of people throughout the world. After studying what they had to say and reading a number of books, I discovered my 11 core values.

What are core values? Deeply rooted fundamental beliefs. Guides that dictate your behavior and actions. The foundations of what is driving your decisions. Ingrained principles that help you declare who you are and what you stand for. Dawn Barclay, Personal Coach

So I now compared my current job to the only other option I could think of at the time, becoming an entrepreneur and starting a national marketing company that specialized in what I had learned over the past 30 years.

It wasn’t even close. I quit. From then on, I wanted to make my own mistakes!

Five years later I had developed a company that exceeded $10 million in sales and six years after that I retired, having exceeded my lifetime financial goal. I credit this result completely to following my core values.

And that’s the answer that I learned from these gentlemen on how to select the things I did. Every decision every day was based upon whether or not that particular thing that I would work on, that particular goal, that particular idea was consistent with one or more of my 11 core values. If it wasn’t, I did not consider it.

And I follow that procedure today. If the blog, book, podcast or magazine article is not consistent with one of my core values, I don’t read not listen to it. I say “no“.

Hyrum Smith taught when one lives their life according to his core values and makes all decisions based upon whether or not that decision is consistent with one or more of these values, that person will have a fulfilling life with peace of mind.

Your inherent core values are closest to your heart and tell you clearly what really matters in your life. They help you pick your career, your boss, your life partner, your friends, the things you do, the way you spend your spare time and every other decision in your life.

Think about it. Doesn’t it make sense to base all of the things that you do, everyone of them, upon the values that are already inherent within you, those closest to your heart?

Have you noticed that you’re different from everyone else? Does it make sense that the things that are right for others might not be right for you?

That’s the problem with lots of advice that may be correct, such as do less, do the right thing, say no to most things, etc. There’s nothing wrong with that. There is one critical element left out: how do you determine what to do and what not to do? Each of our lives are different in simple and complex ways.

I have found that the answers are within. And have been there waiting. Discovery your personal inherent core values. They can’t be selected. They can’t be recommended. They are already there.

Life becomes much simpler. You will do less. Most things you will say “no” to.

The answer lies within.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates

Here’s the acid test: does this approach help me find the right thing for me? I know of no goal-based system or life hack that will do that. Those things help after we know our values.

You have 10–20 core values but could pursue thousands of goals!

Values are who we are. Goals are what we do. And goals should never precede values. Otherwise, life will frustrate.

Say tuned. I’ll be writing about how to discover your core values on this site.

“You become a person by knowing what your values are…” Peter Drucker

“Align your direction with your innate nature.There are broadly two ways to live well. You can be achievement-oriented, or you can be presence-oriented. While we’re all flexible and incorporate a mix of both, different people are programmed for different things. You should know your place on the spectrum before choosing your goals.” Ray Dalio, author of Principles

“Fulfillment is more important than achievement. Values takes care of all issues about how to spend your time.” Tony Robbins