Done By Noon: How To Achieve More By Noon Than Other Entrepreneurs In A Full Day

COPYRIGHT © 2020 DAVE RUEL & MUSCLEMIND MEDIA INC.

All rights reserved.

DONE BY NOON®

How To Achieve More By Noon Than Other Entrepreneurs In A Full Day

ISBN: 978-0-9959977-6-9

Praises

Almost every entrepreneur has felt overwhelmed and burned out at some point in their journey. And with grind and hustle being the message of the day that contributes to this burnout, there is no better person than Dave to remedy the situation because of his ability to understand what ALL entrepreneurs go through, while helping them get more clarity and structure in their business so they can once again enjoy business and life. Dave shares a powerful message that all entrepreneurs need to hear.

Yuri Elkaim,

Entrepreneur and New-York Times Best-Selling Author

I’ve tried dozens of organizational systems in the past, but most of them have fallen short... Each time I used them, they all seemed to be either lacking what I truly needed as a busy professional, or they were too hard to implement. I’m now in perfect control of my quarterly, weekly, and daily planning.

Dr. Stephen Cabral,

ND & Founder Cabral Wellness Institute

Dave’s methods have impacted our businesses so much in such a short amount of time… However, it all boils down to this: what we implemented took our business from behind-the-scenes chaos that felt messy, reactive, and stressful to run, to one that is simplified, streamlined, and ENJOYABLE again. We can’t thank you enough Dave for what you’ve created with this system. It’s changed the way we run our business AND our team!

Jill Stanton,

Online Entrepreneur, ScrewTheNineToFive.com

... made for my brain as an entrepreneur. It keeps me focused on the outcome and impact I am looking to achieve.

Dr. Meghan Walker,

ND, Entrepologist

As a busy father and entrepreneur, I am always trying to optimize my daily routine and the systems in my business to allow me to do the things I love. If you don’t know Dave, he is a Jedi Master of creating systems and leveraging your strengths. And because of that, he instantly taught me how to leverage my skills to get the most out of my time and in turn has helped make me more productive and effective as a leader, content creator, and businessman. As a classic small business owner and procrastinator, I used to have a tendency to get overwhelmed with what I want to accomplish as far as growth and big goals are concerned. What you’ll find in this book has helped me clarify my vision and big goals and create a roadmap of smaller, bite-sized tasks to allow me to achieve the life and business of my dreams. Now, I’m able to work 5 hours per day and enjoy more time being present with my wife and five kids without having my mind wandering over to business issues any more.

Chris Lopez,

Online Entrepreneur

Introduction

As he handed me a fresh cup of coffee, he told me he was earning six figures a year from his fitness blog.

That was the first time I met one in person. It was like seeing a unicorn. Everyone talks about them, but no one has ever seen one. Except that this time it was real! A lifestyle entrepreneur in the flesh!

I always pictured myself waking up without the help of an alarm clock, enjoying breakfast with my family without having to rush, and working on things that I was genuinely passionate about without feeling under pressure. We’re sold an image of a lifestyle-driven entrepreneur who works from his laptop on the beach, and I wanted to live that life. You probably wanted the same thing.

In my early 20’s, I became obsessed with fitness. That obsession led me to compete as a physique athlete. That’s when I met a man who would become a great friend and my first mentor: Lee Hayward.

While traveling to his hometown for a show we were both competing in, Lee invited me to stay at his house. Lee and I knew each other from the regional circuit, but I didn’t know what he was doing for a living.

I’ll always remember a conversation we had one morning. We were standing in his kitchen, cooking breakfast.

He said, This morning, I have a few things to do, and I have to reply to a few emails, I should be done by noon. We can hit the gym early in the afternoon, and I was thinking about catching a movie at the theatre later, is that OK with you?

It was a Thursday morning.

As I didn’t know what he was doing for a living, I automatically assumed Lee was off work, just like I was. I said, It feels good to be on vacation, right? I wish every day could be like this.

Oh, it’s a pretty typical day here, he replied.

Mmm… What do you mean?

My work is pretty much always completed by noon.

What is it that you do exactly?

Lee explained that he was making a full time living from his bodybuilding blog that he’d been running since 1999. He went on to tell me he was making six figures every year selling bodybuilding and fitness information, programs, and products online. His wife Trish had also recently quit her day job to work with him.

At that exact moment, my life changed forever.

My fellow competitor had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, however he wanted.

Lee was living a life I thought was some kind of utopic vision...

I just couldn’t believe it! Someone was actually living the exact kind of life I had always dreamed of. More importantly, he was doing it in complete alignment with our shared passion.

From there, I traded my passion for fitness for an obsession with business.

Within just seven years, I developed an online health and fitness mini-empire. I sold over 100,000 health and fitness books published in multiple languages, started and ran a publishing and digital marketing agency, and grew a natural supplements company from zero to $3.2 million in annual sales.

By entrepreneurial standards, I was a success story. But in reality, I had become enslaved by my business, working up to 80 hours a week. It was far from what I’d envisioned when I started my business.

As you probably know, as glamorous as entrepreneurship looks from the outside, the reality is a different story.

Just like me, you probably thought that being your own boss would be different, right?

The truth is that you’re probably reading this book because the hopes and expectations you had for your business haven’t panned out. If so, you’re not alone. This is an all too familiar story for most entrepreneurs.

I think most entrepreneurs can easily relate to this: You were tired of working for someone else, you wanted to be able to make your own schedule, be paid to do what you love and spend more time with your loved ones; you wanted to be free to live life on your own terms and do something meaningful at the same time. That’s why you became an entrepreneur.

But what you didn’t anticipate was what came with entrepreneurship.

You got sucked into the dark side of entrepreneurship, always chasing more, losing sight of the very reasons why you became an entrepreneur in the first place. As time went on, you developed tunnel vision and ended up forgetting about the most important things.

Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, and no one prepares you for that.

Most of us eventually end up losing control of our workload. We end up drowning in a sea of tasks that keep pushing us down. We’re unable to focus on what will really make an impact on our business. Also, the lack of boundaries between our life and business takes a toll on our health and family life. We can’t stop thinking about work, and it feels like our business is taking over our entire existence.

We know that we’re capable of much more, but all we do is put out fires so we can stay alive.

It’s as though you’re riding a dragon. While others think you’re brave and awesome, you’re thinking How the hell did I end up on a dragon, and how do I keep from getting eaten? while what you genuinely want is to be there waiting for your kids when they get out of the school bus so you can make them a snack.

The problem with today’s entrepreneurial culture is that it promotes extreme work behaviors, with complete disregard to human needs or individual capacities. It glorifies the hustle and guilts those who want to live more. It’s a culture that says you’re less of a person because you want to live rather than just exist.

That’s what happened to me.

You see, when I started my entrepreneurial journey, I realized that fitness and business were not that different. I discovered that the skills required to be a performant athlete were strangely similar to those needed to become a productive and performant entrepreneur.

The structure I had gained from my years as a physique athlete became my ultimate advantage that quickly earned me success

Unfortunately, I got sucked into this world of excess. I ended up riding a 3-headed dragon that would have consumed me entirely if I hadn’t made some critical changes.

I realized that to fulfill my mission through entrepreneurship, I needed to change the way I lead my business, starting with myself. I needed to create a structure that still allowed me to perform and be productive, that gave me the space I wanted and also offered sustainability, respecting the fact that entrepreneurship is a long-term game of patience and consistency.

This is how the Effic company was born and why this book got written: to help entrepreneurs and small businesses increase productivity and performance by employing smarter, simpler, and sustainable working methods and systems while protecting their freedom.

We are now renowned internationally, teaching our methodology, systems, and frameworks around the world via our network of certified professionals. We’ve helped thousands of entrepreneurs from dozens of different countries.

The great news is that we’re here together today. And here’s some even better news: you are in control. Things might look chaotic now, but if you want your life and business to be back on track, there is a new path you can take. It starts today. You’ll discover a new way of operating a company that is aligned with what you want. You’ll learn how to perform sustainably without sacrificing what’s important while enjoying fulfilling growth in both your personal and professional life.

I will show you how to take control of your workload, schedule, and entrepreneurial life by implementing cutting-edge, proven techniques that free up your time, lower your stress, and multiply your productivity without sacrificing yourself or your family.

Here’s what you can expect to learn and implement with this book:

How to finish what you used to do in 40+ hours per week in half the time.

How to double your productivity by focusing on two daily tasks while keeping everything else on controlled autopilot.

Simple, proven, high-performance routines and rituals.

A system for swatting away external distractions and managing your overflow of ideas.

The complete framework that will allow you to optimally manage your time, energy, and attention to ensure you’ll perform at work and win at your personal life.

How to prioritize tasks to create the space in your schedule for what really matters.

The fireproof system where you never have to put out fires, deal with non-stop emergencies, or handle never-ending to-do lists.

But before you get too excited, I want to make something clear: if you’re looking for shortcuts or hacks, this book is not for you.

This book isn’t some kind of magic bullet that will instantly transport you to a hammock between two palm trees while money magically flies into your bank account. This is a fantasy, and I think we all know it.

But if your goal is to build a business that works for you instead of enslaving you, then this is the right book for you.

These strategies will transform how you operate, regardless of your ambitions or how many hours you want to work. It presents a new paradigm for entrepreneurs to lead themselves and their businesses sustainably.

So, if you’re ready to achieve more by noon than others in a full day, let’s get started.

I never made a conscious decision to become an entrepreneur. In fact—and this is something you might have experienced too—I never realized I was an entrepreneur until someone used the word to describe me.

Now, that was before the word entrepreneur was cool, and everybody wanted to be one. It seems that in today’s world, everyone calls themselves an entrepreneur before they accomplish anything, even if the label doesn’t fit what they do or who they are.

What makes entrepreneurs so special is that they are passionate about pursuing their dreams.

They are a unique breed of people. The world’s most successful entrepreneurs aren’t the ones who impulsively quit their jobs to chase a get-rich-quick idea. Entrepreneurs are interested in other things besides making money. They are the ones with a creative mindset that allows them to solve the world’s problems.

We have a unique mix of ingenuity, resilience, and a little bit of craziness that allows us to come up with big visions, identify opportunities, and be comfortable with uncertainty.

At the same time, we are all individuals. Each of us starts a business in different circumstances and in a unique context. For example, some of us are single, and others have families. We also have different levels of ambition. Some entrepreneurs want to build massive empires, but others are more attracted to simpler businesses.

We all start out with our own unique set of life and business experiences. Usually, we start a business based around a talent or skill that we’ve honed over time, and it shapes the work we do in years to come. We also all have different values and principles, and these underpin the way we operate our businesses and live our lives. For example, some of us value family and relationships above everything else. If that applies to you, you will run your business in a way that allows you to spend as much quality time as you can with your loved ones.

Yet despite our differences, we share similar patterns when it comes to the way we operate.

Every entrepreneur is a human being looking for fulfillment, meaning, and purpose. Entrepreneurs want to leave their mark on the world while living in alignment with their core values and personal vision. They aren’t content to build someone else’s dreams. They are proactive and strive to live an authentic life.

Before we dive more in-depth, I want to establish five truths about life and business as an entrepreneur. Some might already be familiar, whereas others will be new to you. But no matter what, you’ll face these truths along your entrepreneurial journey.

T

ruth#1: All Entrepreneurs Want Freedom

The engine that drives entrepreneurship is pretty simple and is something each and every one of us cherishes: the desire for FREEDOM. It’s what we all seek when we