We have all been conditioned to be busy. I suffered from this so much that I felt guilty if I wasn’t doing something all throughout the day, especially during “working hours.”

For some of us being busy makes us feel productive, important, and valuable. I think at times it probably is good to be busy, but for the most part I don’t think we should be burning our days with nothingness that makes us feel like we are doing something.

What I mean by that is filling our days with stuff to do just because it’s our daily habit.

I remember when I first met my friend Lior from Israel, everything he did was so slow for me. He walked, ate, and toured a few theme parks with me at a snail’s pace. My “American” conditioning had me wanting to rush through everything, to haul a** to accomplish as much as I could each day.

Lior would speak to me in the evenings about taking my time…That “stop and smell the roses” type of advice. My respect and admiration for Lior made me try it, I consciously slowed down my pace. After a while I noticed that I liked taking my time, it became something I valued.

It took a while, but soon I found myself throughout the day doing nothing, going outside with some coffee and just thinking about what I was looking at. Taking a nice long nap at  1 in the afternoon or hitting my local wine bar in the middle of the day.

I became a believer in Pareto’s efficiency, the 80-20 rule; which is a principal developed by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. He noted that in 1906, 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. This mathematical anomaly is true for a lot of other things as well in business and in nature. Pareto also noticed that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

This idea can be used as a tool in your own life to get rid of a lot of the wasted time and energy in your day. It is likely that 20% of your activities are yielding 80% of the results you are looking for. By focusing on the 20% of good, positive, fruitful actions, you can eliminate about 80% of what is causing you to be busy.

The concept is less is more…So that you can do less. Schedule some “nothing” in your day.

Hakuna Matata – It means no worries, it’s the problem free philosophy. Taken from the movie “Lion King,” but often mentioned by me when doing business or talking with friends.

I encourage you today to slow down and feel every moment that you are alive.