“All progress takes place outside your comfort zone.”
Michael John Bobak
Have you ever been on a lazy river ride? You know, you sit in the inner tube and the water just moves you around the “river.” That’s one of the only places I can imagine where it takes little to no effort on your part to make progress…that is, if you consider going around in circles progress.
The truth is that real progress (movement toward a goal) requires YOU to get outside your warm, comfy cocoon and make some new calluses. Of course, blisters come first and those blisters can be quite painful, but if you want to find success as an entrepreneur, business owner, or just in life…you need the blisters.
Situations like we’ve been going through for the past couple of months really emphasize the need for planning and stress testing the business, and that stuff is not fun. But if you don’t do it in planning and learn from the mistakes of preparation, then your only choices it to learn in real time…and THAT can be fatal to your business.
Take a few minutes right now and think about two or three things that you’ve been putting off till “tomorrow” and make completing them today a priority!
Have you ever set a goal for yourself and then felt overwhelmed at the size of the goal? Maybe you’re really clear on what you want but not sure what to do first to make it a reality. Transforming dreams and goals into actions and why the small things matter is what we’re talking about today on 7 Minutes In the Morning. Stay tuned!
Business owners and entrepreneurs have big dreams and make big plans…it’s just what we do. But sometimes the end goal or outcome is much easier to see that the next three steps we should take.
The key to beating overwhelm and making your goals a reality is to keep breaking them down into smaller and small pieces. Goals become projects. Projects become tasks. Tasks get scheduled and done! And when you do the tasks that complete the projects…they accomplish your goals!
Don’t ever let the size or the scope of your dreams keep you from starting. And similarly, don’t ever scale down your dreams because they seem too big and unobtainable. The Wright brothers LEARNED TO FLY because they had a dream! Yes, that was a Big Hairy Audacious Goal and they crushed it! Did they stumble along the way? Have set-backs? Of course! But they made their dream a reality, and you can too…with a little bit of planning!
If you’d like to talk about your plans or maybe you need help putting your plans together, don’t hesitate to reach out, I’m here to help! Just go to https://www.ThomRigsby.com/coaching and sign up for a confidential, no-obligation call to see where you are, where you want to go, and the next steps you need to take to turn your dreams and goals into actions and reality!
Video Transcript
Hey there, everybody. Good morning. Welcome. It is time for another installment of seven minutes in the morning. Today, I wanna talk to you about doing the little things, doing them right and why they matter, State, tend.
We’re gonna hit that right after this.
[0:17] This is seven minutes in the morning where five days a week, You get tips and hacks dedicated to helping business owners and leaders just like you find and break through the one thing that is preventing your success.
And now, here’s the host of seven Minutes in the morning. And your results, Coach Tom Rigsby.
[0:43] Hey, look at that. We’re back. Good morning, everybody. My name is Tom, and this is seven minutes in the morning show where we talk about a start growing. Enjoy the benefits of business ownership. Do me a favor. When you get here. Go ahead and leave a comment. Say hi. Hello. Good morning.
Let me know that you are here.
Uh, just as Joe and Katherine have done already a glorious day love saying that little things do add up to big differences.
That’s what we’re going to talk about today. That’s one reason I was running a little bit late because I have graphics today, actually.
Yeah. Good. I did start with the right one.
This is a neck, sir. I’m just jump right into this because I’m a little excited to talk about this topic.
[1:25] Throughout the week. We’ve kind of been talking about gold setting, even back in the last. We were talking about goals, and, um.
[1:34] Some of the issues around an associate with setting goals.
Well, today I want to show you kind of line.
This is important. And this is ah, outcrop of, um, of this program have been talking about the outcomes based framework for success.
This is part of a modified part of what we talked about there.
So in the graphic, you can see if you’re listening.
I’m sorry you have to come watch the show, go to YouTube and look up, Tom Rigsby, Do the little things matter, But on the left, we have goals there.
The big things, the goals. Those are words. They are, um, how the the things we want to create.
We’ve talked about smart goals, specific, measurable aligned related are relevant.
And time box, those air. Our goals.
Well, sometimes those goals can be pretty big and daunting. And we look at him like, Oh, man, that’s yeah, especially, you know, for talking about a big, hairy, audacious goal, man, that’s at the lot.
[2:41] Um, I’ll start on that tomorrow and then tomorrow never comes. We never start on it. It doesn’t happen.
So this is a continuation of the process and has kind of been working through some things for, um, another project I’m working on.
Um, there’s this challenge that we face very often about transforming the ideas and the goals into daily activity.
So this is kind of the ideas is what got me on this topic today.
[3:16] So if you take the goal and you break it down into projects and then you break the projects down in the tasks,
like you, if you’re watching, there’s the light back there you can see on my white board behind me, those air, all tasks there, little sticky notes. They’re the things that need to happen.
So you break goals down into projects, projects down in the tasks that helps it seem less daunting. But that’s not why doing the little things right is important.
It’s important because of the next graphic I’m gonna share with you if I can get that work right.
Yep, There it goes, because when you finish those task, you complete projects and the projects complete your goals.
That’s why it’s important I can break it down into tasks and put it on little sticky notes on the white board all day long and not finish anything, not even start anything,
but alone create any kind of result.
[4:19] It’s on Lee, through the execution of those tasks that the projects get completed and the completion of the project’s lead to achievement of the goals.
That’s why the little things matter, right?
And when you’re when you’re when you’re talking about doing this stuff, those are the kinds of things that you look for in people that are going places and going to achieve things.
They’re they’re able not just to decompose the big goal into the daily activities that need to occur.
They’re also able and disciplined enough to execute on those things so that they actually accomplish or complete a project so that they can accomplish the goal.
[5:06] Joe says. One question. I always ask, Is this the right gold to achieve the outcome than I desire?
Absolutely. That’s the, um, or that’s the are in the smart goals acronym.
Is it relevant? If I finish this, does it even do anything right?
A. Is aligned with the outcome. The vision that I want to create so as we’re setting goals, is this goal aligned with that?
You know, is it is it in alignment? But then or I can be in alignment and still not move the ball, so that’s a great point.
Joe, you have to ask that question. Is this the right?
Is this not just the right goal? Because as um, well, it applies in projects here in the graphic we’re looking at, it might require multiple projects to achieve one goal.
That’s okay, but does does this work?
And look if the goal is aligned with the outcome and the projects are decomposition of the goal in the tasks or decomposition of the project? If you just do the task, you’re going to get the outcome.
[6:18] It’s it’s mathematically impossible not to.
[6:24] Uh, Katherine says, you have to find a way to break the gold down into bite sized little bit. She’ll never be able to do it all at once. Absolutely.
When I’m talking to people about using, let me hide that so you can see.
Actually, I’ll just go back over to this view when I’m talking to people about doing the sticky notes on the board or defining these tasks,
Um, they have to be one day or less worth of work.
[6:55] Preferably even less than that, Uh, half a day if we can get to that. But no more than one day.
If the task that you define as part of this goals to projects two tasks If the task is longer than a day or requires more effort than a day, it might take more than a day to finish.
That’s okay. But if it requires more effort than a day, you need to break it down into sub test. There’s a real possibility you don’t have it broken down. Finally enough.
But, you know, maybe it’s true. Maybe one step toward reaching a goal is to, you know, work out five days a week, or you need five. Task one for Monday, one for Tuesday, one for Wednesday.
So but yeah, you’re right. If you If you don’t break it down into small enough bites, then you still have the same problem, right?
It’s still too big the knockout.
But I can. Okay, I won’t go to the gym today.
All right, All right. I can drink a glass of water first thing today or I can call 10 people today.
Then tomorrow 10 people gets a little bit easier by the end of the week. Maybe you’re calling 15 or 20 Great.
I mean, that’s that’s kind of the idea.
[8:13] Taking the purposeful and intentional step is the fuel that ignites possibility up like that.
Saying the right goals is just is important to setting goals. Absolutely.
And one of the things that I work through with my client’s frequently. And if if you need help with your projects you’re planning, this is something that will d’oh!
[8:33] Is this task necessary? Is this task necessary? If we don’t do this, what happens if we don’t do that? What happens?
You gotta be relentless and pruning down the work to just the work that needs to get done because a lot of people will throw in.
Look, this happens all the time, so don’t feel bad if you’ve done this.
But a lot of people will throw work in that they feel comfortable doing so that they can have busy work to avoid the things that are uncomfortable.
[9:05] That’s why you have to be relentless and keeping this prune down to the minimum.
[9:10] Not really the M V p, but the minimum necessary task list.
[9:17] Yeah, so Catherine says I deal with a lot of mothers. Breaking them down to 15 minutes or less makes things manageable.
Yeah, whatever. Your unit of availability is one of the things that I talk about.
Ah, lot is using the Pomodoro method, which is 20 minute blocks.
Um, but yeah, whatever. Whatever your unit is, break it down into that.
And look for those people that you’re working with, Katherine, that that’s that’s a great plan, right? Because if that 15 minute block is what they have. But they’re tasking is at 30 minute levels.
Then they’re not going to see the progress that they need to maintain momentum and encouragement.
They need those tasked to be 15 minutes so we can see him being finished. I can see them being crossed off the list.
[10:06] Ah, Joe says I always ask, Do I have the resource is and knowledge that I need to accomplish this task.
If not, who or what do I need to move forward?
You know, that is a very insightful question to ask as well, Joe, Um, one of the things that I teach him a really strong advocate for is Do what you do best and hire the rest.
And there’s when you do that, you should spend roughly 85% of your time doing what you do best, right? So there is time in their toe, learn and grow and do do the things that only you can. D’oh.
But when you do that, when you adopt that as a philosophy, you will find that there are things that you just don’t know how to do, and it doesn’t make sense for you to learn how to do them.
For example, if you’re not starting an accounting practice, don’t teach yourself accounting.
I mean, learn management accounting. So you know how to read and interpret the documents. But you don’t have to, you know, sit for the c e. P es justo have a business.
[11:12] All right, so There are times where the resource you need, you know that some outcome needs to happen. We need to update the website, but I don’t know how to do that. I guess I’ll have to watch a bunch of YouTube videos and teach myself a sir.
Don’t do that. You know the outcome you need to create. Now’s a great time to hire a resource, to bring a resource and to help you.
Maybe that’s with marketing. Maybe it’s with H R. Maybe it’s frequently it’s with finances.
Maybe it’s just with the planning process, right? So whatever that resources, that’s what you need to go look for.
And conveniently, that’s what we’re working to put together for you.
A network of resource is that you can draw upon no matter what. The need is that you can get the help that you need, building the business that you need to have the life and lifestyle that you crave. All of that.
There’s exciting progress being made on that, and in fact, I’m gonna go ahead and tease it here a little bit today and tomorrow, and then we’ll get into some really good stuff about it next week.
If you have a business plan? All this stuff we’ve been talking about planning is useless if you don’t put it into into execution.
[12:28] If you have a business plan that you wrote at some point and you haven’t looked at it lately like I mean, it’s January. You should’ve You should’ve already rewritten the thing, right?
[12:40] For 2020. But if you haven’t looked at it lately, I’ve got something for you.
We’re gonna have a workshop where we go through your business plan, help you update it and and do this type of break down. We break down the plan into goals to projects, the tasks of it.
You know how to transform this idea that you have into tasks that you need to do on a daily basis in order to create that result.
As I said much more on that coming up next week. Do stay tuned for that.
I am pretty excited about that. Okay, that’s it for today. Way over on time. But I hope that that’s been helpful.
If it was helpful for you and you got any benefit today out of our conversation, I would appreciate the old heart. Stars thumbs up likes whatever is appropriate in the venue where you’re watching or listening.
If you’re listening, head over to YouTube, Dom rigs and just search for Tom Rigsby or Google. Tom Rigsby you to get, There’s only one.
I’ll get you to the right place and you can watch today shows. See all the graphics on kind of understand what we’re talking about.
[13:43] There’s also somebody in your network, maybe two or three people in your network that need to hear today’s storing today’s con description. Be sure and share. Click on the old share button that is underneath this video or audio.
Send it to them right now. Before you go and do anything else, they will appreciate it. I will. Do you guys have a fantastic Thursday?
We’ll be back with a red Friday installment of seven minutes in the morning tomorrow. Until then, you guys take care.
[14:14] Music.
Why do you work? Can you clearly articulate the end-state you are striving to achieve?
It’s a simple enough question but one that will probably stump you. I’ve asked this question to hundreds, maybe thousands of people and the most common answers they have given fall into one of two categories: 1) to pay bills, or 2) um, because I’m supposed to.
It is exactly this lack of goals, absence of vision, that lead over 70% of employees to be mentally and emotionally disengaged AT WORK! They just don’t care.
Among business owners it’s slightly better…but not much. In a recent Reddit thread the question was posed, “Why did you start your business?” and the majority of answers centered around what the job allowed them to escape, not what it was providing for them.
So whether you are an employee or a business owner, it’s really easy to get trapped in the “it’s what I’m supposed to do” way of thinking. That’s not intentional thinking and will NOT produce the results you’re looking for!
The reality is, if you don’t have a clear vision of what YOU call success, you will just wander around, doing whatever looks interesting and never really reaching your full potential!
So instead, why not give this thought experiment a try. Grab a piece of paper and finish this sentence, “I envision a time when…” What are the criteria you will use to decide if your journey has been successful?
Not only will this make answering the WHY question easier, but it also gives you a great decision-making tool! Use it when you face a choice and ask yourself which option moves me closer to my vision of success…then choose that one! Over time, you just might get there!
What are you not trying because you don’t feel qualified or ready?
I love this quote from Bruce Lee because it calls it perfectly…greatness is present in everyone, even the average person, but it requires effort to achieve.
With all the opportunity for distraction available to us…literally in the palm of your hand…we often fall prey to Distraction Over Action. We know that the next task or project is going to be taxing, stressful, or lengthy so we opt for a “quick” distraction. That quick distraction turns into a long one, the BAM…off your game.
One of the best ways I’ve found to defeat DOA is with block scheduling. Schedule a block of time, say 20 minutes, to focus on one task. Turn off all your notifications, don’t check email or answer the phone…just focus. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish in a short period of time.
How do you avoid DOA and get that To Do list knocked out? Leave your best tip in the comments!
I find myself asking this question a lot at networking or other meetings where I’m running into people I know. It’s a pretty common greeting. Do you know what answer I get frequently? “Well, I’ve been pretty busy!” (or some variant of that)
While we’re taking a little break from the daily grind this week at the beach, I wanted to remind you that busy does not equal effective. In fact, it is a terrible measure of how things are going. The hamster is busy, and not moving an inch.
In my live workshop Making Time for Success, one of the key concepts addresses the mistaken idea that time management is about efficiency. The efficient use of time is to get more done is the same amount of time. This is wrong.
What you really want is the more effective use of your time…getting the right things done in the allotted time. This requires some hard decisions!
Right now, how many items are on your to-do list? I want you to take an honest inventory and identify everything on that list that, if you NEVER did them, nothing adverse would happen. You are probably like a lot of people that use a lengthy to-do list as a crutch to help you feel better about not getting anything done…but you’re busy!
I want you to go through your list and pick the five most important things on your list. The items you pick should all take less than a day to complete (if they are bigger than one day, break them down into day-sized chunks).
Now, armed with your next five moves…pick the one item that will have the greatest impact on your life if you do it today. That item is now your priority. Get that done first, then knock out the other four. Then tomorrow…rinse and repeat.
This is the P+4F method at work. You can find a video explaining it in more detail on my website (link in bio). Use it and it will change your life. Keep doing what you’ve been doing…and you’ll keep getting what you already have!
Building a business or expanding your career is hard work…and serious business. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while you’re doing it! In fact, you SHOULD have fun…it will make it a lot more enjoyable while you’re doing the hard stuff!
Now I’m not saying that if you don’t have a ping-pong table or foosball table you’re doing it wrong. You can have fun without all the toys or games…in fact, it may even be better that way. When you lean on the games to bring the fun, then you’re not really putting in the effort to find the fun in the business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr5goKcfG2Q
I really love this quote from Einstein, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” It really emphasizes that it’s the process we should focus on and not rely on making it to the “finish line” before we get to enjoy ourself.
If you’re not having fun with the work you’re doing, take a quick time out and think about ways you can make it more fun and enjoyable. Can you make a game out of the work, maybe even pull your whole team into the brainstorming process!
How are you making your work fun? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Yesterday we talked about boundaries… and I’m also a fan of pushing your limits. So how do you reconcile those? It’s really not as hard as it sounds When you start with personal responsibility!
As an individual, you are only responsible for your decisions and outcomes, then there are modifiers. Parents take on responsibility for their kids, entrepreneurs take on some of the burdens for their employees and customers…but there’s a limit.
About 18 months ago, my adult son died from the effects of alcoholism. In spite of our best efforts, he still made the choices that led to his demise.
You only have responsibility for others to the point of their freewill choice. You can’t make the decision for them, that is where you have to let them beat the weight of their own burden.
Focus on what you can control, make the decisions that are within your purvue, and do everything you can to let the rest go.
It’s easy to talk about your neighbor violating boundaries, but what about you? Today let’s talk about how boundaries help YOU stay focused and in your lane!
Especially as a business owner or leader, it’s super easy to drift…to “expand” the business into new areas where there seems to be a need. But what happens when you do that too early or with faulty research. Suddenly you find yourself in unfamiliar territory and, perhaps worst of all, the original business can fall on hard times due to your lack of attention.
Having and abiding by boundaries lets you focus your time, energy, and attention to create a result!
Establish boundaries early on. Create mechanisms to check yourself when you begin to drift and exercise the discipline to stay inside the lines!
How often do you say no to requests that don’t lead to your success or help you meet your goals?
Saying no is easier for some than others, but if you have any hope of living the life you crave, you must become a master of culling the invaluable. And THAT begins with knowing what you want.
So how do you KNOW what you want? Is it possible to be sure? To have no doubts?
I’m just going to go ahead and say it, you WILL have doubts along the way! It’s a long road full of hard work. Of course, you’re going to questions your choices. And that’s not the point! Questioning doesn’t derail you…quitting derails you. When you have doubts, that’s the most important time to say NO!
Saying no to others is always easier than saying no to yourself! Why? Well basically because you can rationalize anything to yourself…it is not until you have to say it out loud…to someone else, that you get slapped in the face with how weak it really sounds.
This is one of the three key values to working with a coach to achieve your results. You are uniquely gifted and talented and so was Michael Jordan…and he needed Phil Jackson to help him win!
If you have been considering working with a coach, or maybe you just have a difficult time getting the results you’ve been longing for, send me a DM. I will be happy to have a no-cost, no-obligation chat with you to help you find the best path forward!
Remember, your path to success will be a winding one. No one gets to walk a direct route. So stay the course, keep your eyes on the prize, and ask for help when you need it. THESE are the keys to taking back control and living the life you crave!
Quick, name one thing that is preventing your success or keeping you from reaching a goal.
Don’t dwell on the answer, just blurt it out! Now ask, is this something within my power to change?
Regardless of what your blocker is, the answer is YES, you can change your circumstances and remove any obstacle!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Jh-uRZb6g
All too often we allow negative self-talk to rule out day. And when that’s not giving us the excuse we want, we turn to comparison shopping for progress. You know, “THEY are farther along than me…”. And don’t even get me started on believing in the “shoulds.”
You are a unique combination of gifts and talents and you are positioned in time and place to make a difference. And the reality is you are making a difference, the only question is, is it a positive or a negative one.
Just because you are talented and gifted doesn’t mean you don’t have to put in effort toward the outcome though. Pick any great athlete, they still had to put in the work to achieve greatness, and so do you!
Just like the tree in this picture, don’t let any fence stop you from following your path to success. Yeah, you might have to go under or around and it might not be the prettiest…but it will be yours!
You may look at a fence or a wall and see an obstacle, something that will influence you to change your course. Instead, see it as an opportunity to overcome something that would stop a lesser person, someone who will have to settle for mediocre while you enjoy the fruits of your effort.
When you get stuck and need a hand seeing past your next fence or wall, DM me. I can help. And join me for a bit of daily inspiration, watch or listen to my daily video podcast (link in bio).
