I grew up in a small town in East Tennessee. Both my parents and grandparents grew up on farms. So, even though I didn’t live on a farm, I spent a lot of time on farms. I have cut tobacco, put up hay, fed chickens, slopped hogs and even milked a cow. The old way to milk a cow included a 3 legged stool called the milk stool. It was an interesting design that if you broke one leg, you could not balance yourself on the milk stool. All these years later, I still have to use that 3 legged stool, milk stool to run my national life insurance agency. No, I’m not milking cows every morning, but I do have to balance my activities.  In order for my insurance agency to be successful, I have to balance my milk stool. Let’s explore my three legs.

The first leg of my milk stool is an obvious one. I have to work “in” my business. Meaning I have to call and set my insurance appointments,  run appointments, recruit insurance agents, train insurance agents, deal with underwriters, submit applications, deliver life insurance policies, build presentations and work with insurance compliance. In other words, I have to do the things that make me money for today. This is the milk stool leg that is very obvious. Without working the “in” leg of my insurance agency, I am out of business.

The second leg of my milk stool is working “on” my business.  A lot of insurance agents miss this leg because they get too busy working” in” the business, they neglect working “on” the business.  This milk stool leg is important for the long term of the insurance agency. Working “on” my business includes marketing my insurance agency, advertising my insurance agency, using social media channels properly and profitably, joining networking groups, attending my Mastermind group for new ideas, and researching new trends and products in our insurance industry. Without working this second leg of my milk stool, my insurance agency will not last over the long term.

The third and finally leg of my milk stool is to work on me. For most of us insurance agents, this can be one of the toughest legs to balance. We can get so busy working “in” the business and “on” the business it is hard to take the time to work on ourselves and have ourselves to grow as much or more as our insurance agencies. I will admit by the time I sit down to relax in the evening before bed, it is really hard to sit and read a book of self help and not fall asleep from exhaustion. The way I really try to get in my “work on me” leg of my milk stool is to purchase audio books. Whether it is on CD, or digital formats, I listen to my favorite books every minute I am in my car. I found turning off the radio and listening to my audio books, I can accomplish a lot while driving to appointments and meetings. You will not miss the radio. You can only listen to those same songs over and over so many times and the news is too negative for our own good.  Another way is too listen while I am out for my walks or while a person exercises. Now you are growing both mind and body.

As you can see if you break just one leg of your milk stool you and your business will be out of balance. It is just a matter of time before you lose your balance and fall on your butt.

“If you’re interested in ‘balancing’ work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable.”—Donald Trump

yourfriend4life.com

Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.