Rule your results.
In science it’s called “cause and effect.”
Boy kicks ball. Ball rolls.
Exercise and eat less. Weight loss.
Sell stuff. Make money.
Alabama crushes Texas in the BCS Championship. Everyone’s happy.
When you know the outcome you want [effect] and you ruthlessly pound your plan [cause] – you are ruling your results.
Leading into 2010 we’ll look at five laws that literally can change your life. They will change your business without a doubt.
Rule Results: Law #1 – Control Your Time; Control Your Destiny.
Become compulsive about time. You’re not getting it back. It’s finite and none of us knows how much of it we have.
One person may have 60 more years and another 60 more seconds. You can’t accurately value time because the amount is unknown and unique to each person.
What we CAN do is control the time we have.
My son, Steven, controls his time.
He knows exactly how long he will play a video game before starting homework. He knows how long his homework will take. He knows when he will do both. Rarely does he miss his mental numbers. It’s strange, but fun.
(And the kid is an athlete, which makes his time obsession odd.) 
But maybe he got it from me. I’m definitely time irrational.
Controlling your time allows you to get more done, faster and more accurately.
It’s 5:38 am, Saturday, December 19, 2009 as this is being written.
I began at 5:30. I’ll be done at 6 am and headed to Cracker Barrel for a great southern breakfast with a friend.
I’m controlling time right now. I’m controlling destiny.
In the short-term this article will help all who apply it. In the long-term it will bring more customers. Which means more income. Which means helping more orphans.
How do you control your time?
First, what amount of your time is FIXED?
Someone else controls it. Someone else commands it.
Write down how much time of the week you have no influence on, it’s already planned for you.
Second, everything that remains is FLOW time. You control the flow of it. You determine what to do with. You decide how to use it.
Flow is where people waste the most time because they usually don’t control it. They’re haphazard.
Instead, become decisive about time.
If you have 60 minutes a day to devote to your online business then DEVOTE it. Don’t allow anything to interfere. Be relentless. No excuses.
Average online entrepreneurs kiss even their flow time goodbye. They spend time surfing around. Spend time in forums with folks who have no clue, but act like they do. Tweet their life away 140 characters at a time.
Get time conscious and time focused. Become acutely aware of when and what you do and shape it. Mold it like Michelangelo.
Control your time; control your destiny.
Success is NOT an Accident!
Paul
Paul, excellent post. Something I’ve learned a long time ago, yet applying has always been a challenge. So thank you for sharing this valuable nugget once again. Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Joe
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Paul,
I plead guilty. I agree with all of the above 100%. The problem with a lot of us, including myself, is that we are new to the business and are suffering with information overload. We’re going in ten different directions and accomplishing nothing. Just spending hours in front of the computer reading emails and sales letters for the next best great thing to make money. At some point we have to realize that we just can’t buy and do all this stuff at once. Stop buying stuff and FOCUS on one thing that we already have. And do it ruthlessly and relentlessly like you said. Thanks for the tips.
Stan S.
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Paul Evans Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Cool, Stan.
Focus is right. Traffic. List. Offers.
Peace,
Paul
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Boy do I need to learn this!
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Paul Evans Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
You can do it J!!
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Well said Paul! I wish I was a morning person (which you apparently are) but I’m not.
Time most definitely has a way of slipping away. You’re at your computer just working away and before you know it, hours have passed. Thanks for the reminder.
I bought a new planner that I’m hoping will help this year. Rather than the typical planner, this one has five columns so I can use one for scheduling, one for business planning, one for health, etc. It’s called the BusyBodyBook and no I’m not an affiliate. You can get it cheaper at amazon than at the BBB website.
http://www.amazon.com/2010-Busybodybooks-Personal-Family-Organizer/dp/0979973775/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261238912&sr=8-3
Thanks!
Glennette Goodbread
Premium Web Development LLC
2814 Reeves Ln | Albany GA 31721
http://www.premiumwebdesign.com/
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Hey Paul,
Your right on about time. I’ve been working in a haze the last few weeks while combating bronchitis…man it steels your energy big time. I refused to stop working at my computer or using up my insurance deductible by visiting a doctor. After coughing my lungs out for weeks I finally broke down and saw the doc and got some antibiotics that cleared it up. This morning I got on the treadmill to whip the body and mind into shape. It paid off…it’s the first time I could work for 3 hrs straight without falling asleep.
I’m also guilty of trying to do too many things at once instead of focusing and finishing one task at a time (unless it’s eating:-) My 2010 determination is to focus on one task for at least 30 mins before moving on. Thanks for your post.
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Paul Evans Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Herman,
No doubt that sickness can really move us in the wrong direction. It’s tough to have any control when your ill.
Glad you’re well!
Peace,
Paul
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Paul,
Thanks so much for this focus.
The idea of “flow time” is new to me, but makes so much sense. In money terms, we call it “discretionary” spending.
Putting it over into the time area, makes me think, “discretionary….that means discretionary, I can decide…or I can let others decide!
Again, thanks for the focus.
I’m choosing in 2010 to use my “flow” time for greater impact.
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Hi Paul,
I’ve been looking to get into internet marketing for over 3 months and to be quite honest, my head is buzzing with emails sent by gurus. You can get mind overloaded by spending hours just reading pages and pages of sales letters and “why hav’nt you joined yet” emails. You are right when it comes to “surfing” for hours,my 2010 resoltion is to focus on my time, hopefully picking my route to success, which one I dont know yet,
Thanks for resetting my mind.
Russ
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Paul, This hits me in the head like a sledge hammer. You are such a clear thinker and your clarity fuels a spark in me to be like a bulldog with my time.
Thanks for the wakeup call.
Bev
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Hi Paul,
Good Stuff! When the student is ready the teacher will appear.
Thank You,
Hazel Batts
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Paul,
Like you I get up early, meet the same walkers on the oval every morning, (lapped two today, very happy) and then by 6.00 am have the computer going.
I have been thinking about time management and what I’m not doing for the last week so it was with great pleasure that i read your article. It was the simple straight forward talking to I needed today. Thanks.
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Three years ago I got involved with an internet business and was overwhelmed with reading materials both on the net and in regular mail. It cost me over $3000 plus more down the road and only made a $50 rebate not to mention the interest charges after putting that ‘investment’ on my credit card. I DO NOT and WILL NOT have a credit card after that experience. Your suggestions on time management are right on and know they work from past experience also. I just let other distractions get in my way at that time. This time I will be following your “daily” lessons in that area of business planning, scheduling, discretionary spending and investing (without credit cards). I hope the latter part can be done as I know most businesses seem to build their foundations on them….But if I don’t have the money I’m not borrowing it. Betty
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Paul, really good post here. Writing my time down (fixed, etc..) allows me to see that I have more time to “spend” than what I thought.
I’m excited about the next 30 days. I KNOW what I want to get done! And this year I can finally see the possibilities of it actually happening for me. Keep up the great work you’re doing!!
Blessings,
Jackie
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