I am running my own business for some time now and I feel all I am doing is treading water. How can I become more effective, efficient, stay focused and feel inspired each day?

A few of the primary keys to becoming successful in business include having a clear intent or purpose, a truly inspiring vision, a grand message to share, a genuine social calling and a targeted niche to serve.

From these initial basics arise the primary strategic objectives you would love to accomplish or achieve and a plan for their implementation. But before these objectives can be met, the mastery of the mind is to be initiated.

True business leaders are those who are congruent and integrated and who can organise and lead their inner parts purposefully. Once leaders govern themselves, they can govern others.

If you slow down, your mind starts thinking about all kinds of doubts, insecurities, fears, and worries about what’s happening and what isn’t happening. Such dead time can zap your energy and confidence levels and distract your mind from your purpose.

Any time or space that’s not filled with high priorities tasks often automatically becomes filled with low priorities tasks.

Have you noticed that when you’re busy, you often accomplish and create much more? The more intensely you’re focused and active and the longer you maintain such a focus, the faster your accomplishments (time x intensity = results).

Time spent on doubt, fear, or low-priority actions slows down your accomplishment process. When you take your mind off your focus all you see are obstacles. When your mind is focused on your dreams, you don’t have time for the many self-doubts that block them.

Anything you do consumes time. To maximize the value of your time, prioritise your interactions. People who seem less busy and want to consume your time may think you’re being rude when you say no to their invitations, but busy people understand immediately that you’re just choosing to prioritise and wisely manage your time.

People who don’t value their own time want to take up yours with small talk and if you keep associating with people who talk small, you could end up with a small life.

You’ll find out what kind of people they are by putting a fee on your time and raising that fee regularly. If people really value your skills and time, they’ll pay for it.

Often when you perform a service for less than you feel you deserve, you lower your worth and enthusiasm and slow down your business. Even though you may be working like a ‘dog’, it’s neither efficient nor effective.

Any aspect of your work that pays less than you truly feel you deserve can become the weak link of your business. In addition to undermining your motivation, inefficiency and ineffectiveness can also reduce profit margins.

When you or your employees perform effective actions in an inefficient way, ineffective actions in an efficient way or ineffective actions in an inefficient way, your business becomes undermined. Your worth can be determined by how efficient and effective you are at performing high-priority actions.

Business masters are those who love what they do, do what they love and work efficiently and effectively. They delegate everything else to those who desire to do the same.

How can you streamline the actions you take in your business? Ask yourself, “What can I delegate?” You’ll be far more productive, energized and inspired at the end of the day when you can stick to actions you deem to be high-priority. Unless you value your time, neither will the world.

From Entrepreneur