In Canada, our personal income taxes must be filed by April 30th of each year. So last week, I gathered together all of my tax information and went to my accountant to have him do all of the paperwork for me.
Of course, I could have taken the time to read all of the tax information that the government releases. And I could have filled out all of the paperwork for myself. But doing this sort of task doesn't interest me. I wouldn't find it rewarding to do it myself and because of my lack of interest and enthusiasm, I might be prone to making an error.
I find that when it comes to filing my taxes, I prefer to pay an expert to handle it for me.
Last week I also installed a new fence around my back yard. This involved digging the holes, setting the posts in concrete, assembling the hardware, stretching the chain-link fence and attaching the gates.
Of course I could have paid an expert to do this for me, but in this case I found the work to be quite rewarding and satisfying. I am not an expert at installing fences (this was my first time doing it), but because it was important to me, I took my time and made sure that I got it right.
I'm sure that there are those of you who, if you were in my situation, would have preferred to do your own taxes and hired someone to install a fence. But that's the point of my message today - do what you enjoy and have someone else look after the other tasks that need to get done.
How many of us spend time doing things that we don't want to do? Of course things need to get done - but if something isn't part of your core competency, or doesn't enrich your life in some way, then have an expert do it for you.
In my "Mortality Manifesto" I point out that we should strive to ensure that our every action moves us in the direction of our dreams. This week I suggest that you look at all of your tasks and think about which ones truly move you in the direction of your dreams and which ones could be "outsourced" to an expert.
ENJOY NOW!
