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  • Hey there, it's Marie Forleo and you are here watching MarieTV, thank you so much,

  • because this is the place to be if you want to create a business and a life that you love, I'm hoping you do.

  • This is Q&A Tuesday, we do Q's, we do A's.

  • Today's Q is from a woman named Angela

  • and Angela writes:“Hi Marie, I love your videos so much and always get so inspired.

  • Here's my Q: I have work that pays my bills

  • and then there's all this other work I wanna do that never seems to get done.

  • When my clients need me, I drop everything to get that work done because it's my job,

  • but then everything else suffers. For example, I have a blog but I'm not consistent.

  • I wanna write a novel and I want to volunteer,

  • but at the end of the day I never have enough energy to get to the things that I dream about.

  • Every night when I go to bed, I always think,

  • "Tomorrow will be the day that I start blank, but it never happens. Any ideas to help? Thanks, Angela."

  • Angela, you are so not alone.

  • Millions of people have a secret or not so secret unlived creative life that feels just out of their grasp.

  • Now, the good news here is that you can break this pattern and make all of your dreams come true.

  • So there's a lot to say on this topic,

  • but today I wanna focus on one simple strategy that will crack this whole thing wide open for you.

  • And I think my friend Stephen Pressfield said it best when he said:

  • I'm keenly aware of the Principle of Priority,

  • which states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important,

  • and (b) you must do what's important first. What's important is the work.”

  • This is the whole damn thing, Ange.

  • This is the thing that so many people miss and it kills them.

  • So many things in life can feel urgent, but they're not. So a few examples:

  • checking email, answering calls or texts, even from clients, and social media.

  • Urgent things demand our attention now,

  • and they can get really addictive because we all want to feel wanted.

  • Now, many of us also like a little hit of drama and adrenaline,

  • which email and social and texts and things like that happily deliver.

  • And, finally, things that are urgent often relate to other people's goals, not our own.

  • But important things are different. Important things are quiet.

  • There's no alarms, there's no drama.

  • Important things often relate to our own goals and dreams, not other people.

  • And, unfortunately, it requires us to be self starters and important things are often easy to blow off.

  • Hey Marie, are we still hanging out today?

  • She's busy, sorry.

  • Ok, pick you up tomorrow. See where you're at

  • We'll see. We'll see about that.

  • Uh, we have stuff to do. Umm... first order, business. Let's check Twitter, right?

  • Now, Angela, I know you've got clients to attend to and work that pays the bills,

  • and sometimes, yes, that is urgent.

  • However, you do have enough time to create your art and reach your goals

  • as long you work on what's important first and save what's urgent for a little bit later.

  • Here's how to do this now.

  • Before you get going each day I want you to take a look at your to do list

  • and you're gonna mark each task with either an "I" or a "U".

  • "I" is for important and "U" is for urgent.

  • And then work on all the "I" stuff first and save the "U" stuff till later.

  • Now, you've gotta remember, the urgent stuff is always gonna get done because it has to,

  • but this method ensures that your important tasks don't fall to the wayside.

  • And unless somebody is seriously hurt or your house is on fire,

  • if something urgent tries to take your attention,

  • ignore it until your important work is done for the day.

  • That was my A to your Q Ange, I really hope it helps.

  • Now I would love to hear from you.

  • Have any favorite methods to make sure you focus on what's important

  • when so many things can feel urgent?

  • As always, the best discussions happen after the episode over at MarieForleo.com,

  • so get over there and tell me all about it now.

  • Did you like this video? If so, subscribe to my channel,

  • and, of course, share it with all of your friends.

  • And if you want even more awesome resources to create a business and life that you love,

  • plus some personal insights from me that I only talk about in email,

  • come on over to MarieForleo.com and sign up for email updates. They rock!

  • Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams

  • because the world needs that special gift that only you have.

  • Thank you so much for watching and I'll catch you next time on MarieTV!

Hey there, it's Marie Forleo and you are here watching MarieTV, thank you so much,

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