Minute With Mallon: Divest to Invest!

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Something I Taught:

I was working with a client recently who is in the middle of a big campaign. High stakes, lots of moving parts, a ton of opportunity—but also a lot of noise.

As we talked, it became really clear what the issue was. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t that he lacked effort.

He was just doing too much.

Too many conversations. Too many commitments. Too many things pulling at his attention.

At one point in the conversation, he said something that really stuck with me.

Divest to invest.

That was his phrase.

He realized that if he wanted to step into the next level, he couldn’t just keep adding more. He was going to have to start letting some things go.

And that’s where clarity started to come.

If you want to go to a higher level, you can’t just keep piling things on. At some point, you have to divest from distractions so you can invest more fully in what actually matters.

Too many leaders are overcommitted. They say yes too often. They stay busy with things that feel important—but aren’t the most important.

And over time, all that activity starts to crowd out their real purpose.

I’ve seen this in my own life.

Back in 2009, Sandy and I moved out to California for a period of time. We left Georgia and took only two carloads of stuff with us. We lived in a small apartment in Mountain View, right down the street from Google.

And you know what we realized?

We didn’t need most of the stuff we left behind.

That’s where we came up with the phrase, “less is more.” And we’ve tried to live by that ever since.

The same is true in leadership.

More activity doesn’t equal more impact.

In fact, a lot of times, it’s the opposite.

The leaders who make the biggest difference aren’t the ones doing the most… they’re the ones focused on the few things that matter most.

So I asked him a simple question:

“What is one thing you need to divest from right now… and one thing you need to invest in?”

That’s the question I’ll leave you with as well.

Where are you overcommitted right now?

What are you saying yes to that’s pulling you away from what matters most?

And on the flip side… what deserves more of your time, your energy, and your focus?

You don’t need to do more.

You need to do what matters—more consistently and more intentionally.

Sometimes the best way to go to the next level… is to start by letting something go. 

Something to Ponder:

Every “no” you say creates space for a better “yes.”

RM

Something I Learned:

I came across something recently in the book, "If You Want To Walk on Water, You Have To Get out of the Boat," by John Ortberg.  It really made me stop and think.

The way you think is shaping your life more than you realize.

Psychologist Archibald Hart said that your thought life influences every part of who you are. Your attitudes, your emotions, your behavior—even your health—are all affected by what consistently goes on in your mind.

In other words… everything flows from how you think.

And when I read that, I couldn’t help but connect it to something else I’ve been thinking about:

If you want to get out of the boat… it starts in your mind.

Before you ever take a step of faith, you’ve already made a decision about what’s possible.

If your thoughts are filled with fear, doubt, or “what if this doesn’t work,” you’ll stay right where you are.

But if you begin to think differently—about who you are, what God can do through you, and what might actually be possible—you start to move.

Your life will rarely rise above your thinking.

So here’s something I’ve been asking myself:

What thoughts are holding me back right now?

Because before I ever step out… I’ve got to believe that stepping out is actually possible.

How about you?

Something I Saw:

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Hope you have an incredible week! 

Robert