ACTION POINT

Design Your Spaces to Suit Your Geniuses

A key to measuring your money at every level is to create a rhythm to manage your time and money that is aligned to your genius; energizes, engages, and keeps you in flow; and assigns value to the spaces of other geniuses.

We all have a bit of every genius in us, but we have one predominant genius that is our path to success. For my Dynamo Genius, my path is using my creativity, but following that path does not excuse me for inexcusable behavior when it comes to the other geniuses inside me. In other words, a Dynamo like me can’t say, “Well, I am creative so I don’t have to do anything but create. I do not need to speak to anyone or worry about numbers.” Yes, I do.

I am at Blue Level of the Wealth Lighthouse today, and I know this more than ever. I know that if I don’t set aside a little bit of Steel time with my finance team every week and month, then I am going to miss something somewhere and lose the rhythm I have created. When I step into my “Steel” space, I become “Steel Roger.” While this is not my natural genius, I can tap into the smaller Steel Genius in me, with high standards in my attention to detail and low tolerance for madcap thinking. I only need an hour, and in that hour, I understand where the numbers are in all my businesses everywhere—because the hour is set up that way.

Now, you have most likely tried some time management techniques, and one may still be working for you. One of the biggest problems I encounter, however, is people who constantly try to squeeze too much activity into too little time.

The trick to shift this is to realize it isn’t just when you do things, it’s where you do them. Our environment is a much bigger factor in our lives than we realize. Too many of us have created stress and are overwhelmed in our lives by mixing up our energies. Sitting at a desk to try to study your finances, getting interrupted by phone calls, and then going back to your spreadsheet is like trying to freeze ice and boil water all in the same place. An enormous amount of energy is spent simply trying to switch from one state to another. Of course this is going to cause stress.

At my resort in Bali, I have designed five different pavilions that create five different types of energy. Depending on whether I have creative activities, where I am adding the What?; or people to speak to, where I am connecting the Who?; or plans to review (When?); or data to analyze (How?); or my vision to reflect on (Why?), I set times of each week and each day when I will physically move into the best space for the energy I need.

Take the time now to design your week using the five frequencies we discussed in chapter 1 (aligned to the four geniuses and the fifth “spirit” frequency that unites them all), then decide on the place and time to do each and stick to it. Place your natural genius frequency as your Wednesday, so it anchors your week, and then flow from there. So, for example, if you are a Dynamo Genius, make Wednesday your Dynamo Day, then Thursday your Blaze Day, and so on. Here is how it works for me:

Dynamo Space: This is your space to brainstorm, write creatively, come up with new ideas, and answer the question, What? Make it a place where you can pin things up and see the big picture. Don’t take phone calls here or text-message or use any kind of social media. Don’t get stuck in details or distracted by others.

Blaze Space: This is your space to have conversations, answer emails, take phone calls, and answer the question, Who? When you step into this space, you will have everyone’s contact information close at hand, photos of people who are important, and Post-it notes of conversations and threads to follow. Make this a space of conversation, where there is no room to daydream or procrastinate.

Tempo Space: This is your space to be calm and grounded and to sit with team members to plan or with clients to listen. This is where everything has a When? and Where? This isn’t a place to promote or sell, but a place to provide care and service and take care of smaller people-related activities. Don’t let any overly positive or overly negative energy into this space.

Steel Space: This space allows you to concentrate on the detail, get quiet time, and focus clearly on the How? This is where you keep all your finances and spreadsheets and where all your detailed files can be easily accessed. Keep out all interruptions, and have no phones, emails, or distractions in this space. Be willing to be critical and to take criticism from here.

Spirit Space: This space inspires you and allows you to reflect on your higher purpose and bigger mission. This is where you get to breathe and bring out your inner smile. Every morning I begin in my spirit space and ask myself eight questions to begin every day (see the Action Point following chapter 8).

What are the productive environments that you can create to redesign the standards you set for your mind, body, and spirit each day? Even if you have a full-time job or have your hands full with children, there is always a way to reorganize your time and space to bring out your best self. Once you have your spaces, design your schedule and keep to it. Hold yourself to a standard by which you aren’t late to a space because you became caught up in the space before. Just as I won’t want to make someone wait for me because I’m late for an appointment, I won’t make my Blaze Roger wait for me because my Dynamo Roger is hogging my time!