“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless” ~Jamie Paolinetti
Have you ever seen a scary movie or had a nightmare? They use your imagination to create obstacles to your actions. And we don’t need the movies to do that, we’re plenty good on our own. Most people are pretty good at looking at a set of circumstances and letting the potential NEGATIVE outcomes prevent them from acting.
Well, let’s turn that on its head today. What if you use your imagination to see the potentially POSITIVE outcomes in a set of circumstances and use that vision of what could be to pull you into action?! What could you accomplish TODAY if you CHOSE to see the positive potential in every circumstance?
And if you get stuck, you’re in a circumstance that you just can’t see a positive in, remember the words of Chief Tecumseh, “When you rise in the morning, give thanks…for the joy of living. If you can find no reason to give thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.”
What do you do when you’re faced with a difficult decision? Keep working (or work harder) on the business…or shut it down? Stick with this problem employee…or let them go? Sell the 30-year-old family business…or refinance?
These are just a few of the questions business owners and leaders face every day, and they’re tough! And if this is your first time in the entrepreneurial pool…then can be even tougher.
On today’s installment of 7 Minutes in the Morning, Thom will wrap up the week and talk about how to make difficult decisions!
Have you ever had that feeling that maybe this just wasn’t meant to be? Even though I’ve worked really hard at it, for a long time, I should just cut my losses now?
The good news is, everyone who has ever tried something new, difficult, and/or worthwhile has felt that way…so you’re in really good company. The BETTER news is…well, watch or listen to the podcast…I don’t want to give it ALL away here!
Are you ‘almost’ ready to start your business or next project…just as soon as you ___? That attitude will GUARANTEE your failure! There is one easy way to overcome that obstacle and it is required of EVERY successful project! Do you know what it is? Then stay tuned!
Every business owner and aspiring entrepreneur has a laundry list of things they ‘want’ to do. The difference between those that succeed and those that fail however is that the successful businesses START! “But Thom, you don’t understand, I just need to know ___!” Whatever words you choose to fill in that blank, I’ve heard them…and they’re all excuses! Stop making excuses and start taking action!
Now, of course, there are materials to gather, plans to make, intel to collect on the enemy, um, competition…so how do you deal with that AND start? Simple…you simplify on a timeline! (not guaranteed to be easy!)
First, you simplify with the MVP method. MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product…what is the least amount of product (or service) that my client will pay me for? That’s your MVP.
Second, you develop your MVP on a timeline. You don’t have an unlimited amount of time to figure out what your MVP is, you time-box your decision making then at the end of that time-box…you start…no matter what!
Will your decision be perfect? Unlikely. Will you have to modify or adapt your trajectory? Very likely! Will you be ahead of the competitors that are still reading books and watching videos? Definitely!
And as we talked about yesterday, being out front is PARAMOUNT! (Here’s the link in case you missed it: https://www.thomrigsby.com/thelatest/2020/01/leadership-as-a-business-strategy-confidence-to-go-first/
Look, I know this is scary, but the best way to gain confidence is to start! And with momentum, you can actually gain speed and make the work easier the faster you go.
And it all begins with starting!
If you’re stuck and not sure how to get started, I can help. Take 90 seconds right now and visit www.ThomRigsby.com/coaching to schedule a time for us to talk! Start the ball rolling RIGHT NOW!
Is your business a leader in your industry? Are you considered a thought leader regarding your industry? Do you even consider these questions important to the strength and stability of your business? … You should…and here’s why!
In any race or contest, it is a simple truth…if you’re not in the lead, then you are playing catch-up! In business, if you’re not leading your industry segment, then YOU are behind and playing catch-up!
Personally, I’d much rather feel the nip of the competition on my heels than be running desperately, fighting off the other competition to close the gap with the leader.
Sure, some business owners will comfort themselves by pointing out that they’re not last in their category, maybe there are even competitors ‘following’ their lead…but that’s just a compromise. It’s an acknowledgment that they’re not first and they never will be! They’ve already lost the game, they just haven’t given up yet!
When you are the leader in your segment, your words have power. Your actions have consequences, and your choices move markets! When you are not the leader, you are being overpowered, moved, and whip-sawed…subject to the whims of your leader.
As a business coach, I see it all the time, the newly minted entrepreneur working diligently to focus on the goals they’ve set but working in a vacuum, completely oblivious to the market in which they play. No business operates on an island, immune to the influences of the others around them competing for the customers’ attention and money! If you accept that premise, then you must also accept that the businesses that will find success are those that direct and influence that market.
So what can YOU do to be a leader in your market? Here are a couple of ideas: – Be Vocal! – Speak out about what’s going on in your industry, share your opinion. Yes, you will alienate some, but you will also galvanize others behind you! – Challenge the Norm! – If you’re just like everybody else, then you’re only competing on price, and that is a losing game. What are you doing to be different and challenge the mediocre masses? – Take On the Leader! – Even if you don’t win right away, take on the leader, challenge them, call them out, make them work for it! Yes, you MIGHT make some headway by supporting them…but how many others are doing the same thing. Once again, you slip into the quiet masses!
As our Quote of the Day from Rick Krug says, if you don’t have followers you’re not a leader, you’re just going for a walk. What will YOU do today to create followers and take your position out front?
If you’re not sure what to do next or how to implement leadership as a business strategy, I’d love to talk and help you create a plan to make it happen. Just click on https://www.ThomRigsby.com/coaching and schedule a no-obligation Discovery Session right now!
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!
Question of the day: What do you want to do but believe you are unqualified or unable to do?
Have you ever known someone who constantly believed they were falling prey to the latest malady in the news? Cancer from styrofoam cups? Yep! Flesh-eating bacteria? You know…my arm has been itching a lot…!
There is a medical condition known as hypochondria where your mind convinces you that you have a condition…so your body begins to act like you have that condition! It becomes a self-reinforcing condition!
So here’s my thought…if you mind is powerful enough to make you sick…why can’t you mind be powerful enough to make you well? Or in the context of your work or business…if your mind can prevent you from being successful, why can’t your mind assist you in being successful!?!?
You’ve probably heard the old axiom “fake it till you make it,” right? Well, there’s definitely a bit of truth in that. In EVERY successful endeavor, the first person you have to convince that it’s going to work…is YOU!
How many times have you seen a great opportunity but passes on it because of {insert your weak excuse here}!
STOP Doing That!
Instead, find the reasons why you should jump head-long into that opportunity and make it a winner. Remember, there are a million reasons why not, only one great reason why!
Drop a comment below and let us know what opportunity you are going to move on today! Make a commitment then take action to make it real! It’s the only way to change your future!
Did you share your dream with the world yesterday (see yesterday’s podcast)? If you did I have one question for you…is it big enough?
Let’s just say I’ve been coaching and helping people unleash their pent up potential for well over a decade and in that time I’ve learned many truths about coaching and getting the best out of people. Here’s one of them…if you shared your big, hairy, audacious goal with the world yesterday…there’s a VERY GOOD chance that you held back! Yep, I said it…you held back! Here’s why!
Even if you feel like you put it all out on the table…walked through the food court at the mall in your underwear (sorry for that visual but it works!), fearful as you may have been…there’s still more. See even if you laid it all out on the table yesterday for the first time, you’ve had that dream stored up for so long that you’re just not used to talking about it!
And if you did share it all, your dream bucket is exposed to the world, what kind of coach would I be if I didn’t challenge you to stretch!
You’ve already come this far, you’ve exposed your hopes and dreams this much, WHY NOT think bigger! Want to make $1 million? Why not $2 million? 100 new customers, why not 200? Hire a new technician, why not 2?
See, once you’re over the hurdle of sharing at all, it is time to REALLY share what the REAL dream is! So go ahead, update your dreams and BHAG’s in the comments!
Are you living at your full potential? Is your business, your work, and your life as good as it could be? Even if the answer is “almost” then you still have work to do! Read on…
When energy is stored (like in a spring or a battery) and not used it is called POTENTIAL energy…potential because it is not being realized. You have the potential within you and it is stored in the form of a big, hairy, audacious goal…a BHAG…a dream that is so big and crazy that, until today, you have resisted even telling anyone else about it!
Well, today is the day you are going to share your big dream with the world. Here’s why…
Potential does nothing for anyone until it is released…but it can degrade. Over time an unused battery will lose its charge. A spring will be sprung (yep, that’s really what it’s called!) If you don’t begin releasing your potential TODAY you will begin losing it TODAY!
If you’ve been tracking with us all week, you know that Monday I challenged you to refine your BGAG into a clear concise sentence…Well, today is the day to share it with the world and what better place to start than right here!
Within the Thom Rigsby community you have people just like you, similarly situated to you, ready and willing to support YOU! Everybody here has a crazy, non-conformist dream, I just want you to be an UNASHAMED non-conformist!
So go ahead, drop that powerful sentence in the comments and let the rest of the community know what you will pursue and make a reality!
What is the one thing that you keep coming back to, time and time again? It keeps calling to you and you just can’t get it out of your head? Have you ever wondered why that is?
Because you are uniquely gifted, talented and placed to have an abundant life and do work that matters, you are like a puzzle piece, uniquely shaped to fill a given spot in the masterpiece. That means you have at least one matching piece out there somewhere…and it is calling to you! Unless you answer that call and do you part, there will always be a gap, a hole, an unfinished piece! You don’t want that do you?
Someone needs to benefit from your contribution. They need the product you offer, the service you provide, they need to hear what YOU have to say!
But answering that call will lead you into the unknown, the unfamiliar, and therefore will be at least a little bit scary! But hey, what great accomplishment comes without risk!
Indeed, as Emerson said, everything you want is out there and it also wants you. Like two magnets you will be drawn together to create something much greater than either one on your own can produce. Just think what great things you could do if you redirected your focus away from maintaining the status quo and toward success!
Go forth boldly today, with confidence, and pursue that which you desire…it’s trying to find you too!
