WEBVTT - Preserve time for possibilities

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to preserve time for possibilities. Create some space

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<v Speaker 1>in your schedule where you can welcome new ideas and

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities into your life, and new ideas and opportunities are

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<v Speaker 1>more likely to come to you. Today's tip, like some

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<v Speaker 1>other upcoming ones, comes from my new book, Big Time,

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<v Speaker 1>A Simple Path to Time Abundance. A core strategy I

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<v Speaker 1>share in that book is to be open to serendipity,

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<v Speaker 1>the unexpected, wonderful experiences that the world has to offer,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're paying attention to them. These are the things

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<v Speaker 1>that make time and life feel exciting, rather than one

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<v Speaker 1>long list of to-dos. One of the best ways to

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<v Speaker 1>welcome possibility into your life is to leave open space

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<v Speaker 1>in your schedule. When we are overscheduled, we tend to

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<v Speaker 1>feel like we can't take on anything new, and we

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<v Speaker 1>don't follow the threads that come into our lives. But

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<v Speaker 1>open space alone is often insufficient. Open space tends to

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<v Speaker 1>become a backup slot when things go wrong elsewhere in

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<v Speaker 1>a schedule, which is good. but not exactly what we

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<v Speaker 1>are getting at here. So instead, actively schedule a block

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<v Speaker 1>of time for possibility. What that looks like will be

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<v Speaker 1>different for different people. But here are some ideas. If

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<v Speaker 1>you have lots of people who want to talk with

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<v Speaker 1>you about ideas, you might schedule an hour or two

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<v Speaker 1>on Friday mornings as possibility time. During this time, you

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<v Speaker 1>can schedule those calls or meetings, and you don't start

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<v Speaker 1>weighing these against all the other things you have going

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<v Speaker 1>on in your life. This is time for possibility. And

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<v Speaker 1>so this is where these speculative things go. If it's

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<v Speaker 1>not meetings, but it's interesting emails, you can flag those

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<v Speaker 1>for review during this time. If people are proposing new

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<v Speaker 1>things or ideas or projects, You can think about them

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<v Speaker 1>and follow up on these things during this window. If

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<v Speaker 1>you tend not to have people pitching you ideas, then

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<v Speaker 1>you can go seek out possibility yourself during this window.

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<v Speaker 1>Read that interesting article all the way to the end

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<v Speaker 1>and see what it suggests. Watch that TED talk on

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<v Speaker 1>a topic you find fascinating. Poke around with some software

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<v Speaker 1>that you think might be helpful for your work. Follow

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<v Speaker 1>a thought leader you saw mentioned elsewhere and watch a

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<v Speaker 1>few of their videos or read one of their articles.

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<v Speaker 1>This curiosity might not lead to anything, but it might.

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<v Speaker 1>You might see a connection to something that you are

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<v Speaker 1>working on. You might get a new idea. You might

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<v Speaker 1>think of someone to reach out to. And that can

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<v Speaker 1>create its own magic. If we don't protect time for possibilities,

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<v Speaker 1>our time is likely to get filled up with other things.

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<v Speaker 1>And there won't be room for other people's good ideas

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<v Speaker 1>or for us to pursue curiosity ourselves. Over time, this

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<v Speaker 1>makes us less likely to be innovative, creative, and open

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<v Speaker 1>to new opportunities. So even if you are busy, perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>especially if you are busy, consider scheduling time Possibility time.

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<v Speaker 1>Create space in your life for the wonderful possibilities that

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<v Speaker 1>you didn't even know you were looking for. And those

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<v Speaker 1>possibilities will start to find you. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening. And here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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<v Speaker 1>favorite shows. Thank you.