When your world catches fire, do this


You cannot help it.

You pay yourself last.

You are the last monkey in the queue.

Don’t believe it?

Well… let’s check.

You have your day planned out.

You're going to be strict and responsible.

You’re going to do what you're supposed to do and not get sidetracked.
You’re going to wake up early.

You’re going to have a proper breakfast, hit the gym, work without allowing interruptions.

You’re going to leave at a certain time, and come home without looking at your phone until the next day, but...

​
But… oh.
You get up.

You check your phone.

3 unexpected emails, 5 notifications…

The message from your boss, or a client.

A new presentation to be delivered tomorrow.

The guy that was going to help you is sick.

The other lady you were expecting to review her job didn’t have the time to delivered it.

​
And then…

You cancel the gym.

Start working from home with just a sip of coffee and leave two hours late.

Work, work and work and cling to your phone until bedtime, which, of course, is three hours later than it should be.

You tell yourself silly things like you'll sleep tomorrow or that you need some time to unwind…

​
Did you get it?

Your discipline is weaker than the ideals of a politicians in front of their donners.

​
Your discipline is, as for most people, an illusion.

Just a small piece of advice that you didn’t ask for.

Next time that someone call you with something urgent use one of these two techniques:

  1. You ignore it
  2. Ask someone to pick up the phone for you and pronounce these words: He can’t come to the phone right now... he’s working.

That’s your statement of intent.

And if you think that your boss or your client will fire you… you’re wrong. Nothing that send more authority to and calm more the other than knowing that you are busy and working hard.

So, next time that your world catches fire, remember: you can’t come right now.

For more tips, just join my mentorship in the link below:

​Join my mentorship - Only $24.90 - LAUNCHING PRICE​

PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day.

PD 2: If somebody has sent you this email and you want to receive emails like this yourself, visit vicentevalencia.com

PD 3: If you want unsubscribe, click the link below.

Vicente Valencia

Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇

Read more from Vicente Valencia

If your team spends more time on format than content… Your company… Your project… Your leadership… Has a problem. A big one. “Not professional.” “Not following the brand guidelines.” “My boss will not approve it.” “My client will not approve it.” Trust me. A well-written, well-structured memo in a blank Word document with no logo can do maravillas. The fanciest PowerPoint with no substance only does one thing: It extends useless meetings at a rate of 6 minutes per slide. Minimum. The excuses...

I haven’t been involved in disputes or claims lately. I gave that up. Entirely. The reason? Nobody wins. No matter how well you do it, one side ends up unhappy. Sometimes both. And unhappy endings are not my cup of tea. I prefer to focus on preventing misunderstandings, disputes, and nasty claims before they happen. Because it is possible. It is feasible. And in many cases, you can create those conditions by design. How? By understanding the good, the bad, and the ugly. What works. What...

Some people are working in a disaster project. But they don’t know it. Because they have never seen a good one. They think delays are normal. Claims are normal. Meetings with 23 people and zero decisions are normal. A contractor sending 17 notices before breakfast is normal. A client changing its mind every Thursday is normal. 50 notices being exchanged at 4:50pm on Friday is normal. A SPV board asking “where are we with this?” every month is normal. No, my friend. That is not normal. That is...