Building your personal board of directors

It’s often said that our greatest enemy in life is ourselves.

We are our own worst enemy, our worst critic.

We tend to get in our way.

But what if you and I could change that, what if instead, we became our greatest ally, and took care of ourselves like a person we are responsible for helping?

How much would your life change if you stopped getting in your way?

The next question, is how do we get there, how do we get out of our way?

My answer, is the personal board of directors, a group of individuals that give you different perspectives, and allow you to take actions that you may have otherwise not thought of.

Here’s how I created my personal board of directors

1. I have 5 board members total, including myself. 1 is dead, 1 is fictional, and 2 are living.

Here are my members. In parentheses, I have their most important trait relevant to me.

• Me (Board Chair)

• Marcus Aurelius (Stoicism)

• Mark Driscoll (Faith)

• Chris Williamson (Curiosity)

• Mike Prince (Strategy)

2. My board members advise me on long-term plays, strategy, tactics, and tough situations. It allows me to constantly ask this one question, what would X do?

3. Thinking from a different perspective, but one that I know I trust, allows me to be more flexible in problem-solving, and more adaptable to change. 

4. I know that my inexperience can be a weakness, so I form mental projections of how these more experienced members would approach a situation and why, thus allowing me to develop a greater understanding of the members, but also how the world around me works.

To build your personal board of directors, I would recommend choosing between 2-4 members and highlighting their most important characteristics.

To utilize your board, I use meditation, closing my eyes, and visualizing my board members sitting in a conference room with me at the head, as we go through the agenda.