Jeff Lerner says you gotta stop focusing on what you want and instead focus on becoming the type of person who would hit that goal no matter what. It’s about being the person, not obsessing over the result. Jeff and his Entre Institute members do this by mastering the three Ps: physical, personal, professional. This blueprint or framework, if you wanna call it that, makes success inevitable without hurting other areas of your life. So you can become a millionaire, for instance, without neglecting your kids.
Physical is about building, optimizing, and maintaining mind and body. Personal includes all relationships involving direct connections and impact. Professional would be relationships involving indirect connections and impact aka your value exchange with the world. It’s important you understand they go in that order: first physical, then personal, and last, professional. Back to that millionaire example. You’re more likely to get there, Jeff says, if you take care of your body first.
Same goes for any other goal. A better marriage, being a more involved parent, whatever it is. You’re more likely to get there if you take care of your body (and mind) first. It really comes down to managing energy. You can’t outthink or outperform or out-anything your energy level. That’s why health has to come first. Personal comes next because if you can’t manage your relationships with your family and friends (if you can’t control how people feel when they come into contact with you) you don’t deserve to be successful professionally.
“If you can’t deliver value to positively impact, let’s say, seven people that are close to you,” Jeff rants, “how on earth are you gonna impact seven million people all out there in the world? It’s literally illogical. If you can’t tend to the home front, I don’t think you’ve earned the right to want value [money] in exchange for what you do on the market front.” Jeff’s three P framework really began when he watched his wife’s parents tragically get cancer and waste away. No amount of money could change the outcome. Physical first.
It’s all easier said that done, Jeff admits. You’re gonna constantly be hit with reasons to put one or more Ps on the back burner. Oh, I’ll skip my workout today because I really need to close this deal, you’ll reason. Or I’ll work all weekend and ignore my kids; once the money comes, I’ll spend way more time with them, you’ll think. When that happens you have to step back and look at the bigger picture. If you’re tempted to take shortcuts it’s generally because you’re too zoomed in.
But, when you think about it, if you’re playing the long game in life, there’s never a good reason to shortchange yourself physically, personally, or professionally. Okay, all that said, how do you optimize all three? There are three basic steps. One, you need to eliminate blockers or things that keep you from doing what needs done in each area. Two, you need to break each P down into its core components so that you can work on each one individually. And three, you gotta develop KPIs for each component.
From there, it’s all about execution, tracking your key performance indicators, and making the necessary adjustments when you inevitably fall behind a little. You can check out Jeff’s YouTube video for more of the nitty gritty. It’s cool to see a guru who recommends a holistic approach to entrepreneurship. Because he hustle-your-face-off approach will end in burnout for most; a bigger bank account with lots of unwanted side effects for some; and sure, maybe there are a few Gary Vees out there who can work eighty hours a week and still love life, but they’re the exception.
