Here’s one thing I know for sure; if you don’t master your time in business you’ll never make the money you want to make and you’ll never achieve the lifestyle freedom you’re looking for. 

The problem most people have with time is that they’re leaking it all over the place. Most people are walking around like human sieves with pieces of valuable time leaking out here and there and wondering why they’re constantly feeling like there’s not enough time in the day. 

(People are doing this with money too by the way which is why, when you plug your time leaks, your financial situation invariably improves.) 

But the biggest time leak of all is working against time rather than with it. 

Working against time looks like this; we don’t pay attention to our surroundings (our surroundings in business being our community and the marketplace). We don’t trust the rhythm of commerce. We think productivity looks like producing the same output 24 hours a day, 7 days a week rather than something that ebbs and flows. We waste time trying to control things that can’t be controlled. We don’t pay attention to our customers and clients and so we launch at the wrong time, pushing ahead like the Titanic when everything around us is telling us to slow down, reflect and re-group. 

[Tweet “When you embrace the feminine in your business you work in flow with time.”] You don’t work against it. 

Think of a surfer. Every single world famous surfer fully embraces feminine energy in their sport. They have to – mother nature is a formable force that they know is well beyond their control.  

They know they can’t force a wave to be a certain way and while they definitely look for the best waves on any particular day, they know:

(i) that it’s a waste of time to rage against the conditions of the ocean and

(ii) that when the surf is poor, better waves will eventually come their way, 

so they make the best of the conditions they find. Sometimes that means not surfing for a few days. Sometimes that means finding ways to have fun on small or inconsistent waves. Sometimes it means trying a surf break they don’t normally surf. 

Whatever the conditions, when they’re in the ocean, they’re always working with the motion of the wave, because they know one thing for sure; their power comes from working with the wave, not against it. They also know they’ll get hurt if they’re not receptive and attentive to its shape, speed and movement. Most of all they know that to win a competition, they need impeccable timing. They need to get up on their board and moving at the right speed when the right wave comes along in order to have the best chance of demonstrating their prowess to the judges. 

So it is in business. The best businesses are receptive to the movement of the market. They know their power comes from working with it, not against it. They understand their strengths. (In surfing there are big wave surfers and regular surfers. The best businesses know which they are and they don’t try to ride waves they’re not equipped for.) They’re masters of timing. They’re always watching the market – understanding that things move in cycles. In down cycles they use their time wisely. They prepare. They’re ready when it rises again. 

Bad businesses are too egocentric to work with the market. They want to dominate it. They don’t understand that mastery comes from working in harmony with it. Bad businesses learn tactics to trick the market. They’re focused on minor tactical manoeuvres when they should be focused on understanding the people they’re serving.

Mastering the market by working in harmony with it, requires a deep understanding of timing and rhythm. It’s not something you learn overnight. It takes practice and attention. It takes humility and persistence. It requires patience and it’s incredibly helpful have other people supporting you along the way. 

You must become a master of timing if you’re going to succeed in business. The place to start is with the way you manage your time each and every day.