Will it Matter in 5 Years? How to Focus on What Matters Most

Ethan Butte (0:01)

We've tried some new things on The Brian Buffini Show this year. I'm Ethan Butte, Chief Ambassador here at Buffini, and my participation on the show is one of those things. Of course, we've heard from many of you about what you need, want, and love most from Brian on the podcast. So here's where we've landed. Our episodes open with Brian teaching mindset, motivation, and methodology straight from him. And then he and I go into a deeper conversation about it. Some weeks we'll revisit fan favorite episodes and even past events. And Brian will share with us the stories behind them. Once a month, he'll interview an insightful person from his vast network. Quotes, classics, backstories, big guests, Brian's bringing all of it. So if you've not checked out The Brian Buffini Show lately, be sure to check it out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or thebryanbuffinishow.com.

Brian Buffini (0:59)

Welcome to today's Blueprint. I'm going to talk about how to make a meaningful life more meaningful.

I'm going to talk to you about three things, which I always do. First, what matters most. You know, that was the title of a book I read years ago by a man by the name of Hiram Smith, later became a good friend of mine. Hiram Smith was the founder of the Franklin Planner Company. Did you guys ever hear about the Franklin Planner? They later merged with Stephen Covey and became Franklin Covey, went public. Whole other story on that one day. But Hiram talked about what matters most, and he really influenced me. And as a guy who was a little bit older than me, and he'd taken his company all the way to be in public, he gave me a lot of feedback, including whatever you do, Brian, never go public. So it was interesting to hear him talk about that in his message of what matters most, in going public, he lost all of what mattered most to him. And eventually a company got taken over, publicly traded, and then was split up and built and rebuilt and turned into a fraction of what it had been before. So it's always important for us as teachers to practice what we preach and learn from our own message. And that's why this one dynamic of what matters most, I want you to know, I'm the guy that has constantly had to put 10 pounds of sand into a five-pound bag. You know, I've had this great career where I love what I do, travel around the world, speaking and presenting. I got a podcast, and 25 million people have downloaded. I got six kids. I got four sets of in-laws. I got five, six grandkids. I mean, I got lots of properties, lots of real estate, horses and this and that and the other, and a business with 180 employees. So a partridge in a pear tree.

And as you go and as you grow, people go, man, you've got it all together. And what I find is every day that goes by, I have less of it together than I had before. So I constantly have to ask myself what matters most. And I have to constantly ask it compared to my schedule. And so, you know, it is a up at dawn, down at dusk, daily fight.

I get asked questions all the time in the past since, Brian, when you used to struggle, I was like, were you talking this morning?

Were you talking to Beverly?

So the fact of the matter is, all I can tell you about success is the quality of your problems improve. So 40 years ago, how am I going to pay $250,000 worth of medical bills? How am I going to, I had literally had no food in my home. I literally had no way of getting around, I had no transportation, and I had my leg in a cast. Well, those are not the problems I have today. So what I've done is steadily improved the quality of my problem. And during life's journey, what mattered to me 10 years ago, and 20 years ago, and 30 years ago, doesn't matter to me the same way.

I used to love acquiring, acquiring real estate especially. That was a feedback mechanism for me. I never met a piece of real estate I didn't like, or wouldn't buy. To me, that was like, oh, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. Today, I don't care if I own anything.

That wasn't the case. How much could I do?

When I talk about flying around the country in my own jet for 17 years was, how many seminars could I do? How many people could I reach? Now, I still love the idea of reaching people, but I'd rather reach them deeply than broadly today. And so, your priorities change. My whole world was built around my six kids. Beverly and I focused all of our attention and energy on developing those kids and being at their games and developing them as people and so on and so forth. And today, they're living their own life. Now, we're still there for them, and we're kind of invited in when they need it. Now, we do steal the grandchildren, but that's a different story on a different day, okay? So, first and foremost, when you're asking what matters most, what's your purpose? What is your purpose? And does my calendar and my plan align with my purpose? I want to make sure that my purpose is aligned. And so, my purpose hasn't changed, impacting and improving the lives of people. And now, I've made a commitment to do it deeper instead of wider.