Your Best Just Got Better

Your Best Just Got Better shows you how to tackle productivity and performance with the best techniques to help you work smarter, get more done and stay inspired.

Nike’s logo and slogan together make for one of the most iconic, recognizable brands in the world. The reason it’s taken the world by storm is that it’s much more than that. What if you truly lived by that motto?

Of course, we’ve all cited it to friends when we wanted to encourage them: “Hey, you know, do the Nike thing, Just dooooo it!”

But what if you went home, looked in the mirror and really asked yourself: “What does the ‘it’ mean to me?” For me, the ‘it’ is a business I can run from anywhere, which makes me financially independent from anyone, so I don’t have to rely on a few individual people to pay my bills, and that allows me to spend most of my time on meaningful work that matters to me.

That’s the thing I just have to do. Not going for it is not an option. I’d regret it forever.

Once you have that figured out, you can return to the mirror each evening and ask yourself: “What did I do today to bring myself closer to my goal?” It’s the ultimate accountability.

Figuring out what you want and holding yourself accountable to it is good – but you have to back it up with actions to make it matter. One way to make sure this happens is learning to really value your own time.

For example, when a lecture in school is cancelled, a meeting falls through, or you get a longer break than you thought you would, what do you do with that extra time? Do you adjust to it and use it? Or do you slack off and instantly switch to vacation mode?

Most people do the latter. If you really want it though, going for it means making every minute count. 15 minutes equates to roughly 1% of your day – doesn’t sound like much, does it?

But you can get a lot done in 15 minutes: it’s enough time to send a thank you note, answer a couple messages, glance over your weekly schedule, book an event online and come up with three headlines for an article. That’s a lot of stuff!

Don’t let the world suspend your momentum. Value every second, because you don’t have as many of them as you think.

We’re talking a lot about “Why?” here at Four Minute Books. It’s one of the most important words ever, I think, and the first thing I ask in almost any situation. But even if you lay out your…