Back when I was in school I learned in science that leverage could be applied as a mechanical function. If I wanted to move something that was too heavy, I could use a lever or a pulley system to move it.
Websters defines leverage in a general financial context focusing on gains and losses. You leverage your finances when you finance a project using little or none of your own money and borrow the rest.
More recently, the TV show Leverage took the concept of leverage beyond finance or mechanics to mean having a strategic advantage — using your assets/resources to benefit your situation.
I like that broader meaning of leverage.
The resources you have a change every day as you learn and grow. Your listing of assets is endless because they change every time you learn something new or meet a new person.
In fact, you could even have something that you considered a liability that could change into an asset if you simply change your focus.
Take my son's iPod as an example. My parents bought it for him for Christmas a few years ago. I originally thought it was just something for music or gameplay. I was not completely thrilled that they got it for him…
Today I sat down with him and watched him as he was working on his journal homework. Every time he came across a word that he was not sure how to spell, he would ask his iPod! Google would then pop up a relevant entry with the word and the definition.
Some would say that my son is “cheating” on his homework. I say that he is effectively leveraging his resources and his teachers agree. As I have watched him use this technique, I realized that he will often stop and ask me if I know a definition of a word — gotta test mom — and he is learning in the process.
It is working smarter, not harder.
Some questions for you to ponder:
- Where are you stuck in the “old” way of thinking that is keeping you from using your resources because you feel it is “cheating?”
- What aspects of your business do you have to be a part of in order for them to get done? How many of those things do you really need to be doing?
- If you could free up your time, using leverage of some kind, what would you do with it?
- What projects have failed recently that you could leverage that failure into blog post or a new product or a new way to help your clients?
- What assets/resources do you have — knowledge, technology, people, etc. — that if you put them to work could make a big difference in your business?
- What are business processes do you doing manually that could be automated to give you a bigger and better reach?
Is it time to leverage your brilliance?
Until we talk again,
Live Fully — Love Openly — Laugh Often — Leverage Your Brilliance — Connect Authentically — Get Your Message Out — Serve with Impact — Prosper Everyday
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