Habit 3: Putting First Things First

I am good at saying no. Sometimes this makes me look like a selfish, un-supportive, B*&%$, BUT it's because I live by my principals AND I implement Habit 3: putting first things first.

I have known many people throughout my life who are "YES-men" (which reminds me of a cute movie I saw recently called Yes-man with Jim Carey. You should check it out, add it to your netflix). Saying 'yes' has allowed them nothing but opportunities to distract them from Quadrant 2 work, or important-non urgent, things. Because these friends of mine are seemingly incapable of saying 'no,' they end up either avoiding things they really wanted to say 'no' to, or they do them with horrible attitudes. Saying 'no' is hard. It takes practice to do graciously and lovingly yet unapologetically as Covey suggests. Saying 'no' risks looking like a meanie-pants but in reality it keeps you in line with your mission and your principals in life.

Saying no is absolutely vital as a musician. Typically musicians have more than one, sometimes more than 4 jobs at one time. If I were not good at saying 'no' I would be overextending myself preventing me from being fully present, fully available to each one. Sometimes it's a matter of saying 'no' to an unpaid, time-consuming gig when you need the money. But other times, it's saying 'no' to taking a job that is not in line with your principals or one that will keep you from giving your full attention to another important job. Sifting through when to say 'yes' or 'no' again, takes practice and deep, firm convictions of what really matters to you.