Recently, I wrote about the importance of having reserves–that virtual storehouse of tangible and intangible items that no entrepreneur can do without. When you have abundant reserves, you can make decisions more thoughtfully and strategically, as opposed to desperately and irrationally. Tangible reserves are things like money, clothes that fit you, a home you like to be in; intangible reserves include support, love from family, and boundaries of personal integrity. In the last post, I promised to add to the Reserves list, so here are some more items you need to stockpile as you build your entrepreneurial empire.
1. Reserves of Self-Care & Energy: This is very tangible and you can tell instantly if you have enough reserves in this area. Here are some signs that your reserves are lacking: You feel wiped out at the end of a work day with no energy left for fun; you feel like someone has their boot on your chest (or on/in some other place on your person); you crave sugar, fat, caffeine and carbs; you have aches and pains galore; people say, “You look like you been rode hard and put away wet.”
On the other hand, if people are saying to you: “Darling, you look mah-velous“; if you can’t remember the last time you were sick; if your last vacation was less than six months ago; if you get a massage, manicure, pedicure (you too, guys–you have not lived until you have had a pedicure) on a regular basis; if you tolerate nothing negative in your life (that goes for people, your surroundings, everything); then you have lots of reserves of self-care and energy.
This makes complete sense, does it not?
One of my role models of abundant reserves is my daughter, Jane, who is an actress. She doesn’t have reserves of everything yet (like money, for example) but she has most of the intangibles down. She needs to or she can’t do her job. Imagine Jane having a ton of internal conflict, physical pain and anxiety coursing through her body as the curtain goes up on a stage play she is starring in. The audience will see it in a millisecond. The same is true for you in your business and your entrepreneurial life. If you are not where you want to be in your building reserves in this area, sit down and write 10 things you can do–will do–before the week is out to fix the problem.
2. Reserves of Time. Is time tangible or intangible? Don’t know! Don’t care! But you need plenty of reserves of time, and space. How do you know if you’re deficient in this area? Are you the guy 10 feet behind me doing 70 MPH? Are you always late for appointments? Do you have a closet full of clothes you haven’t worn in five years? Do you allow yourself to be interrupted all day rather than staying on task with your agenda? All of these are symptoms that you don’t have the time and space you need to be an effective entrepreneur. How can you be creative, reflective and relaxed when you are scrambling? You can’t!
What can you do to fix the Time/Space Reserve problem? A lot. How about coming up with a daily routine you love to do, and doing it every day. In fact, come up with 10 Delicious Daily Habits that you do, every day! Start with what you eat for breakfast. I eat the same breakfast every morning (banana, organic peanut butter, honey and Grape Nuts in a whole wheat wrap–messy and yummy). It gives me real pleasure and I take my time with it…even though it grosses out my wife. That’s one of my daily rituals that helps me slow down and gives me a sense of abundant time/space reserves. If your breakfast is a Bavarian Cream donut, think of a healthier delicious daily habit to get you started.
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If you are thinking of leaving your corporate job to start a business, nothing is more important than having Reserves. I am talking about a great big virtual warehouse filled with tangible and intangible items. If you don’t have them when you start your business, your engine will soon fail. If you run out along the way, you’ll be stalled on the side of the road in the blazing hot west Texas desert sun with no water, like that guy in 
