This morning, I had a call from someone I’ve known for a long time.

He’s busy. Business, family, life. So when he finds the time to call, it always brings a smile.

Often we talk while he’s driving. Maybe you do this too.

There’s something about being in the car, on the way to a client or a meeting, that creates a rare window. Half an hour. An hour. Sometimes longer.

Time to pause. Think. Reconnect.

Because of where he is in the world, the signal regularly disappears.

We’ll be halfway through a fascinating conversation and suddenly. Silence.

I used to find that frustrating.

Now I smile, wait for the signal to return, and we continue.

Because I’d rather have an imperfect conversation with someone I value than no conversation at all.

And something he said this morning really landed.

He’s at capacity.

He has a successful business to take care of. A family to take care of. Commitments. Responsibilities.

There isn’t much spare time.

There isn’t much spare capital.

And yet, if he wants his life to look substantially different two or five years from now, something has to change.

That’s the paradox I see with so many successful people.

You’re so busy running the life and business you’ve created that you have very little space to create what comes next.

It made me think about the satnav in the car.

You can be travelling efficiently. Making good progress. Doing everything right.

But if the destination in the GPS isn’t where you actually want to end up, being more efficient simply gets you to the wrong place faster.

At some point, you need to create enough space to ask:

Where am I actually going?

And then:

What needs to change now to make that future more likely?

Not simply thinking about it.

Putting the relationships, actions, resources and team in place that can build it over time.

That’s a large part of what I mean by Strategic Alchemy.

Creating the conditions where the right people, ideas, opportunities and actions come together. Where one plus one can become far more than two.

So perhaps take ten minutes today and ask yourself:

• If nothing materially changes, where will I be two years from now?
• Is that genuinely where I want to arrive?
• What am I currently tolerating because I’m simply too busy to change it?
• What would I create if I had more time, capacity or support?
• Which relationships should I be investing more time in?
• What am I doing personally that someone else could own?
• What opportunity keeps returning to my mind that I haven’t acted on?
• Who could help me see something I’m currently too close to see?
• What is one decision I could make this week that changes the direction of travel?

And perhaps most importantly:

Do I need to work harder. Or do I need to change the coordinates?

If that question lands, let’s talk.

StrategicAlchemy.com

Creating the extraordinary.

Much love

Simon
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