Succeeding despite your constraints

I enjoyed this post by Tim Walker last month about succeeding under constraints, and this quote pretty much sums it up:

"You will never have unlimited time, money, energy, or help to achieve all the projects that are most important to you. Never, ever.

But the experience of great creators — in the arts, in business, what have you — tells us that you don't need all those resources anyway. You need to work with what you DO have, and use your constraints to drive creative, practical, do-it-now solutions.."

I found that I was most creative and driven during the five years when I was running my nonprofit and working full time for someone else. I had very little free time and very little funding, so I was extremely motivated to get a lot done in the time I did have, and to recruit volunteers and board members who were committed to moving the organization forward, limitations and all.

During one three-month period, I was running my nonprofit, running my coaching business and running another business. I sure did get a lot done in those days.

I'm probably at my most laid-back right now, as I only have one job and seemingly all the time in the world. That's not to say I'm not motivated, but when I compare my accomplishments over the past year with what I was doing ten years ago, I could be getting a lot more done.

I have a client right now who is on the verge of becoming a really great speaker. She feels confident about her delivery and content, but her visuals are lacking, and it's going to take some time to redo them and make them outstanding in a way that matches her personality and enhances her workshops.

She's very busy and is almost completely overwhelmed with work and projects. But she's finally made a commitment to prioritize this as she realizes how much of an impact it will make in her presentations. She can't make excuses about her constraints; she has to use them and make her time more efficient.

Are you blaming your constraints or making progress in spite of them?

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