How many times a day will you have to listen to someone telling you how busy they are? Often this becomes a competition with each party working to showcase a more frenetic schedule to earn the (non-existent) accolade of “Busiest Person.”

In the end, however, it is not an excuse for not making progress on our vision. Any business or entrepreneurship book worth its price begins with a chapter on the importance of vision—after all, if we don’t know where we are going, nothing else really matters. Helen Keller put it this way: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”

Once we establish our vision, we cannot allow our busy schedule to keep us from moving toward it. Time and time again, we hear about the busy life of the teacher-who-is-also-a-parent-who-is-also-a-spouse-who-is-also-the-coach. In the end, however, many of the things that keep us busy are things we are choosing to do.

This is perhaps one of the most important concepts we teach in entrepreneurship programming—we can choose how we spend our time and if we choose wisely, our time is invested. What better investment of time than time spent working toward the fulfillment of our vision?

If we don’t have a super-sized goal we’re working on, then the first step is to create one. If we do have one, however, then we need to be making daily progress on that goal. If we allow ourselves to be caught up in the whirlwind of the everyday, that goal will simply go on the shelf of rejected dreams and add to the weight of regret we will carry around for the rest of our lives.

The entrepreneurial mindset rejects this style of goal setting in favor of taking action. And often taking action starts with taking control of one’s schedule. Where are some areas where we can say “no” in order to say “yes” where it really counts?

Thinking of Starting an Entrepreneurship Program at Your School?

Say “Yes” to the CHCA Entrepreneurship Symposium

Mark your calendar for March 7-8, 2024, and be sure to attend the CHCA Entrepreneurship Symposium to see first-hand how impact this style of programming can be not just for your students but for your entire school community.

How can growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking help transform your school from the inside out? Email Stephen Carter to find out.

[email protected]