“No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another. Thank you.” Joseph Addison
We’ve seen them in the press, the Personal Assistant or EA dutifully next to their principal, celebrity, CEO, ready to act to ensure that every matter is handled. But unless you happen to be a celebrity or on the millionaire (or billionaire) list, how does having a PA make any difference? Yes, a PA will allow you to focus on the ‘important’ tasks. (From business through to family time). But are they really worth their weight in gold?
It was a defining moment in my life, when I realised that my working life had overtaken my personal life. My son had just turned 2, and I was sat on a beautiful beach in Majorca. As I looked into the azure waters and watched my son and husband play, I realised that I had missed a number of wonderful moments of his growth.
Now I’m not one for regret, and in my working life, I’ve built various companies. My most recent company, about to reach the same age as my son, was doing exceptionally well, with growth and development in all the right places. My journey to working success was not easy, and I knew the path ahead was still a rocky one – but I felt a great deal of contentment with the knowledge I was on the right path.
So what was Missing?
I love technology, I remember calling Apple when I was 21 and asking the friendly call centre man when they were going to bring out a smart phone. He said they had no plans. A few years later the Apple iPhone was launched and I bought my first iPhone from a Las Vegas mall. And thus the personal assistant in my pocket was born. At the early stages, Apple was limited, so I quickly cracked the phone to download apps which would allow me to manage my time and diary in the way I needed it.
My time was always valuable, but I recognised that I needed to put the time in to build my business. But when does one put time into life and personal relationships. Surely, if I can build a successful company, one should put as much time into relationships and family?
Surely, if I can build a successful company, one should put as much time into relationships and family? Click To TweetRecognising the Need for Change
So as I sat on the beach, looking at the waters, and wondering what emails I might have on my smart phone, I recognised the need for change. On my return from holiday, I set about the first steps into the change. It was time to hire a personal assistant to ensure that my valuable time was better spent. I considered the things that I craved – time to run and exercise a few times a week, lots of family time visiting new places, travel with my family and time spent working on personal projects.
Millionaire Personal Assistant
When I searched for a personal assistant, I recognised very quickly that one shouldn’t settle. There are countless people who tout themselves as a PA. They might be suitable for low level, or office based work. However, a personal assistant for myself needed to be flexible, responsive, reactive and most importantly take ownership.
They shouldn’t be emailing me asking if they should purchase a new office chair to replace the one giving me back ache – they should be just doing it. And they shouldn’t be asking if they can clear my diary for a few hours to allow me to go for a run – they should just be doing it. They should understand that I want to do less emails, less social media, and free my time to focus on my family, my new ideas and innovation. So I didn’t settle, instead, I hired a millionaire personal assistant.
Gold-Dust Qualities of a Personal Assistant
With flexibility and focus on change, my millionaire personal assistant has radically changed the way I approach work. My personal assistant deals with emails. And although I still use my work emails and personal emails, they are dealt with before I have time to read them – with important or time-sensitive tasks flagged for my attention. The diary is managed, my diary is cleared and I’m able to focus on what I deem to be important. My millionaire personal assistant is adaptive and learns with every new situation arising, and values feedback and direction – but most importantly has the initiative to get the task sorted. The respect goes both ways.
The Journey Ahead
The new steps into a new focused life is an exciting one. For those thinking about it, I cannot recommend it enough. Jump in with both feet and start to interview and find your millionaire personal assistant. After all, you may not ever be a celebrity or on the rich list… But you can certainly improve the quality of your life and time to play and explore. And as Lord Mancroft once said. “Happy is the man with a wife to tell him what to do and a secretary to do it.” Now I have a wonderful husband AND secretary doing exactly what I want! 😉
Lucy Challenger CEO