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Lessons From A Serial Entrepreneur

By Will Turner

Do you ever have trouble getting everything done? Juggling all the balls in your work and personal lives can be a struggle. Heck, for some people, finding balance seems like an unreachable pipe dream. It’s tough enough for most of us who have one job or one company to manage. What if you had four or five companies that you owned? Is there something to learn from those who do?

Last week, I was inspired by a presentation at a For Entrepreneurs Only meeting given by Litt Thompson. Litt is a serial entrepreneur from Richmond, Virginia who buys and sells companies. He always seems to have two to five companies that he owns which he has a knack of making more successful. On top of that, he manages to take 12 weeks off a year to spend time with his wife and three sons. So, Litt’s advice hit me hard. Here’s a guy who has figured out a way to find “true” balance and live the life he wants.

Litt is a simple man. I mean that with great respect, because he distills simple wisdom. And simple wisdom is the best kind. Litt has figured out what’s important, how to do it and how to keep it simple. So in my mind, simple is equivalent to brilliant. His process for finding balance is so easy that anyone can do it. But we all know that having the process and implementing it are two different things; don’t we?

Before I give you Litt’s simple process, let me briefly explain how Litt got there. You might relate to his old life. Litt sold a company and was looking for another one to buy. He ended up buying two companies, including one that was about 90 miles away. So, Litt’s life included running up and down the interstate and dealing with the crisis of the day at one or both of his offices. The phone was always ringing and his employees were always in need of his help. He was being pulled in a million directions with no end in sight. Does this sound familiar?

Well, Litt decided that he couldn’t go on like this. He was worn out. He wasn’t enjoying work and he had no time for a personal life. So he literally took a “time out.” Instead of going into the office one morning, he called in and said that he would be in after lunch. He was surprised when his receptionist didn’t question him. Up to that point, Litt believed that his employees expected him to always be there – first one in the office and last one out deal. A revelation dawned on him at that moment – he was the boss, so he could do what he wanted.

So he found a quiet spot in a cubby at the local law library and he sequestered himself for four uninterrupted hours. No cell phone, no laptop – just a pen, a legal pad and time to think. And then, he developed his “time out” process.

On the top of the first page, he wrote out his most pressing concern in the form of a question. Then, with single-minded focus, he answered his question. He stayed on task until he had exhausted all the possible answers to his question. (He later discovered that it is often the 12th or 20th answer that is the best one, even though that particular answer may seem outrageous at the time.)

After he had all of the possible answers, he reviewed each one and prioritized them. He learned to take his answers and ideas deep. He realized that at each step in the process, more questions would arise. He spent time answering those in the same fashion. Ultimately, he would work out a detailed plan based on his efforts to come up with a workable answer to his problem.

There are a few things to keep in mind to make this process work for you and get you unstuck:

• Shake up your environment. Don’t do this process in your home or in your office. Familiar surroundings will not foster your creativity and give you a fresh perspective. In addition, you will be more easily distracted if you don’t get away from your daily clutter.
• Think deep and long. This process won’t work if you do 20 minutes here and 10 minutes there between phone calls and life as usual. You will uncover the best answers to your challenges when you allow 3-5 hours of “quiet” time. Make sure that you come up with 15 or 20 answers or more to every question. Let’s face it, if the solution was obvious, you probably would have thought of it already.
• Be bold. Don’t be afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. Instead of succumbing to accepting why something can’t be done, figure out a way to make it work. Your ideas may seem wild and crazy at first and that’s okay. Don’t accept the “it can’t be done that way” mentality. Instead, it’s your job to figure out how to make it work.
• Take your most pressing concern. Ask yourself, “What is the one thing that will have the biggest impact on my life/work?” And focus all of your energy in answering that question. Prioritize your questions and your answers and attack them one at a time.
• Repeat the process. This exercise should not be a one-time deal. Go through this process with different questions as often as necessary. How would your life change if you did this once a week?

If you’re like Litt, your life would change dramatically. More balance, more fun and a life that is designed on purpose could be yours.

Your challenge: Do it. It works. The morning after I heard Litt speak, I was scheduled to be in the office to catch up on some things. I decided that a better use of my time would be to find a quiet space and start Litt’s “time out” process. I borrowed a friend’s conference room and took three uninterrupted hours to think and plan. I filled 12 pages on a legal pad. I’m on my way and more excited than I’ve been in months. I challenge you to do the same and I invite you to share your success with me.

Will Turner is the Founder and President of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group, an international sales training and consulting company. Will is a sales expert with 25 years of sales, marketing and sales management experience. Will created the Sales Magnetism program and co-authored Six Secrets of Sales Magnets. He can be reached at or 804-254-4122.