“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.”
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!
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!
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!
What dream do you have that is so big, so crazy, so ridiculous that you hesitate to share it with anyone else…but you just can’t let it go?
Last week we talked about fear and the role it plays in reaching your dreams, this week we’re talking about boldly pursuing your dreams. This week, we’re gonna jump start your journey to reaching that dream by creating some clarity around what you want and building some confidence behind your ability to do it!
Lately, the word desire seems to have taken on a negative connotation. The reality is that the desire of your heart is there for a reason. You are uniquely gifted, talented and placed to have an abundant life and play your part in the bigger picture. Desire is that calling…that aching that continuously draws you into the role you are uniquely qualified and able to fulfill.
As we make our way through this week, I want you to focus on the big dream, that BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal)…today, work to define it, refine it, and put it into one powerful sentence. Something you can say to yourself every time the going gets tough and you want to quit. Something you can share to rally others to follow you. Something that will light a fire in your belly and keep it blazing until you make it a reality!
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!
Are you the best at what you do? Are you willing to say so?
I will frequently talk with business owners and leaders and have fantastic products or services but downplay their own effectiveness or impact! Heck, I’m even guilty of this (and my grandmother would be proud!).
The problem is that if you don’t express the confidence you have in your product or service…who will? Exactly nobody!
We think that we’re being humble or avoiding speaking ill of others…but the reality is that people, including your customers, want to know that you are confident in your capabilities! Would you rather want the brain surgeon who was “pretty sure he could do it” or the one that “knows what to do”?
Take a few minutes right now and think about the leader in your market. Do THEY say they’re the best? Then you DEFINITELY should!
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!
