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Find the Will to Win

transformation for the week: From afraid to confident / courageous
For Today: Finding the will to win

Do you have what it takes to win? Are you willing to do whatever it takes?

I had a terrible boss once. No, I mean REALLY bad! Combine that with my stubborn streak and what do you get? I became determined to stay at the company longer than he did. That vision, that mission, gave me the will to put up with a LOT of crap!

For many people, the ‘will to win’ is something soldiers or athletes need but you don’t need it in your role, right? Well, maybe! I hate to break this to you but every day won’t be a great day, in fact, some days will be downright terrible. But even those aren’t the days when you need the will to win.

When you’ve been working on that big pitch, trying to land that game-changing client, or working diligently to open a new store…then you lose! The pitch get’s accidentally deleted, the game-changing client goes with someone else. The new store has a new neighbor…your biggest competitor!

THESE are the days you need the will to win!

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Will You Be Happy If You Get Where You Are Going?

Do you know where the road you’re on will take you?

I ask this question a lot and most of the time the answer resembles, “Um, yeah…I guess.” You have probably heard most of your life that if you study hard, get good grades, get a good job and work hard that you can finish happy. The problem is, what about the journey?

See, the reality is that you can do all those things, just like the checklist tells you to, and still have a miserable trip only to arrive at an empty destination. Kind of like that Chevy Chase movie Vacation. After ALL THAT…the park is closed.

So if following the checklist is not what you’re supposed to do…what SHOULD you do? Well, I have good news and bad news… First, the bad news, you’ll have to wait till next week to find out! What and how to change your trajectory is our topic next week on 7 Minutes In the Morning (be sure to watch and listen).

Now for the GOOD News…there is something you can do right now to start the change. Over the weekend I want you to think for yourself, not what anyone else says…what YOU say success looks like to you. Big vacation every year? Maybe three or four mini-vaca’s every year? Private jet or just a nice car. Sky’s the limit here…just take some time this weekend to do this exercise…

Grab a piece of paper, at the top write, “I envision a time when…” then spend the next few days writing out some bullet points to describe what success looks, feels, tastes, sounds and smells like to you.

Bring that with you next week, and we’ll start working on making that plan a reality for you!

Have an awesome weekend.

Thom

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Have You Held On Too Long?

There’s a fine line between committed and crazy, have you crossed it?

I once coached a business owner who was frustrated by their lack of progress in bringing their product to market. When I dug into the details, he told me he didn’t really have the time to work on that product because he was so busy answering customer calls for another product.

He was so focused on one product that he was blind to the success that was right in front of him!

Knowing when to stay the course and when to pivot is hard, no doubt about it. We have to have a tenacious spirit and a willingness to do the hard work, but there is also something to be said for taking the outcome that is right in front of you and living to fight another day.

Every situation and circumstance is different and ultimately you have to make these kinds of decisions on your own. But a great place to start is by asking, “which option moves me closer to my goal today?”

The answer may not be the sexy one, but it will very likely be the right one.

If you need help finding your why or setting meaningful goals for your business or you life, send me a message, I can help!

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Keep Moving

How will you know you’ve ‘made it’?

It’s a pretty common question, especially in entrepreneur and business owner circles. So common in fact that we don’t really pay attention to what the question assumes…namely, that there IS such a thing as making it!

Too many business owners, leaders, and high performing individuals assume that the promised land awaits if they just keep their head down and soldier on. Do you feel that way? What if that’s wrong?

In my coaching practice, I’ve had the opportunity to work with several business owners as they were making an exit from their company. All but one of them looked back on their time owning the company with a perspective of failure, or at least missed opportunities. “We never really made the big time” kind of thinking. It’s not until I remind them that they did manage to keep their family fed, clothed, housed, kids through college, employees employed, suppliers supplying…that it finally dawns on them that they’d been “making it” all along.

So instead of seeing today’s trials and challenges as failing, or as Sir Winston says, “Going through hell,” consider it par for the course. These are the things that keep out the weak and give the strong the opportunity to shine!

So yes, if you feel as though you’re going through hell, by all means, keep going. You certainly don’t want to camp out there. But also consider just how bad today’s “hell” is…maybe it’s not so bad after all.

If you are having difficulty seeing the value in the journey or you’re just feeling the weight of ‘failure’, DM me…I can help!

Enjoy the journey.

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Will You Answer the Call?

Would you answer your phone the next time it rings if you KNEW the call would change your life for the better? What if it MIGHT change things for the better?

Many people, maybe even you, look at an opportunity as a single big-thing delivered with a bow on top and a card with instructions. The outcome is guaranteed, just plug it in and the world is yours!

But just like many a birthday or Christmas present, the reality of that present is much different than what you’ve built it up to be. Oh yeah, it’s awesome to rip open the paper and see the gift you’ve been hoping for. Then you open the package and the dreaded “Some Assembly Required” or “Batteries Not Included” annotation that you overlooked on the outside of the box becomes painfully real.

So now that gift that you wanted more than anything else just lost a bit of its luster, work is required and now, maybe, you want it just a little bit less.

It’s hard to turn on the television, scan through the YouTube feed, or read through entrepreneur forums without finding a title similar to, “Looking for the next opportunity.” You’ve even seen it on LinkedIn “Between Opportunities.”

The problem is too many people are saying opportunity when they really mean gift. They want a plug-and-play solution when the reality is…it’s not that simple!

You are uniquely gifted, talented, and placed to do work that matters, and that work will call to you. Ever had an idea that just wouldn’t go away? Maybe it was a product idea. Maybe it was an open-ended offer to join a startup. You may find a career and income, maybe even prosperity without it, but you’ll never find fulfillment and the joy of knowing you are answering the call!

Whatever yours is, it is calling to you because THAT is YOUR work that matters. If you’re not answering the call, it’s not too late (remember yesterday! You’re not a tree!) If you’re not sure what that nagging emptiness is, I can help! Just ask.

Will you answer the call?

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How to Create Happy Customers – Start With Yes

Have you ever had a request from a customer that was just completely ridiculous? Did you do it anyway?

The only thing that makes any request ridiculous is our perception of the request. If you run an ice cream food truck and someone comes up looking for coffee…you might think that’s ridiculous. For whatever reason, that lost customer didn’t think it was ridiculous… hhmmm. So adding a coffee pot, that’s pretty simple. Adding an espresso machine, not so simple.

Since our job is to solve problems for other people, it stands to reason that the more problems we can solve the more customers we will have. Now, we have to balance cost/benefit for sure, but the more times you say YES, the more happy customers you create…and the more happy customers you create, the better your bottom line will be.

Don’t get hung up on “that’s not what we do here, man” kind of thinking. Make your business about solving problems rather than ___. And if that scares you, good! Real growth only occurs outside your comfort zone! So get out there, say yes, and enjoy the benefits!

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How To Deliver World Class Customer Service

When was the last time you experienced bad customer service?

See how easy it was to remember that time? I recently read some stats that said 1 in 3 BAD customer experiences get shared with friends and/or social media but only 1 in 14 GOOD experiences. So it stands to reason that we have to create many more positive experiences to get the same “credit” from our customers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQedV5WcdIQ

Piggybacking on yesterday’s topic, it’s the little things, done over and over, day after day, that create positive customer experiences. You might buy hundreds of things off eBay…then you get that one thing that doesn’t live up to its pictures…

And tying in the concept that you can really only have one priority at a time, the only real, long-term priority any business can have is making customers happy! Because without customers, there’s no need for anything else, right?

When everyone on the team is focused on how they can serve the customer, how THEY can solve problems for other people…that’s when it all just works. Now, YOU as the business owner/leader owe the team something as well…but we’ll save that for another day! (Be sure to like & follow if you don’t want to miss the answer!)

when everybody takes care of the customer every day, it just works. focus on your customer and everything else works out.

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How to Make Happy Customers

Are your customers happy? Are you sure?

When you are running a business, it’s easy to slip into a way of thinking that your customers should be happy…just, well, because they are your customer. “I mean, they wouldn’t be my customer if they didn’t like my product, right?” Well, not necessarily.

Customer satisfaction is not a thing or a department… it is something everybody does every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybrhngJrcU

So how do you make customers happy? Solve their problems! Bonus points if you can make them feel special as you do it!

If you can find a way to set your own pride and need for confirmation aside and put instead put your customer first…you will win!

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Our Time Management Secret

A few months back I surveyed my entrepreneur friends to ask what their most pressing time management questions were. I mean, we are all torn between working on the business and actually enjoying the time freedom that comes with being our own boss, but my favorite response, by far, was this one…

“When are we supposed to sleep?”

It can feel that way sometimes, and with both my wife and I being business owners, it can be even more demanding. For us, something had to be done! So, we came up with a plan!

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/kS1p6j-1F6Q” width=”480″ height=”320″]

A few years ago we decided to dedicate some time each year to getting our priorities straight for the next year. For us, this takes the form of a weekend get-away, disconnected from most of the rest of the world, to spend time together planning the coming year. We’ve tried it at different times but it seems to work best for us the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Here are the three biggest benefits we’ve found from taking time away together to plan

Benefit 1: Time Away (obviously)

Technically (and practically I suppose) we could do this at home but…

  • There are always distractions at home
  • People still expect you to “do what you do”
  • We love to travel!

So, we take a trip. Now it doesn’t have to be much. Last year, we went all the way to Decatur, AL (30 minutes from home). It was far enough away that we could call it a trip and close enough that we could take all the stuff we needed to take.

Whether you decide to hit the road or not is entirely up to you. You can create the same outcome at home, just find a way to filter out all the day-to-day distractions that might make it more difficult. (FWIW, travel together is one of the things we value, and it shows up on our plan a lot! This is one way to check a couple of checks with one trip!)

Benefit 2: Having A Plan

I’m pretty sure it was General Patton who said, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Do you think that ever led him to question the need for having a plan? Probably not. See the value in having a plan is not so much the plan, although it can be valuable, but rather in the planning. Thinking about the possibilities and deciding on your response to them in advance! Without a plan, life, and your business, will happen TO you instead of FOR you!

In fact, I really like to call this an annual strategy rather than a plan. A strategy give guidance, takes specifics into account, and generally guides our progress toward an outcome or result. Think about it this way… if you’re going to drive cross country, from say Atlanta to Los Angeles, when you set out your choice of roads doesn’t really matter. As long as it heads west, you’re in good shape. So your strategy is to head west toward Los Angeles. Leaving Atlanta, I-20 is probably a good choice.

Along the way you will inevitably run into road construction or an accident that will slow, maybe even stop your progress. Does that change your strategy? No, probably not. Does it change your plan? Maybe. If the bridge ahead is out completely, then you’ll have to find another route heading west.

As you approach California your strategy for reaching Los Angeles is on track but you’ll need to narrow your plan to guide you north or south to your ultimate destination. Now your road choices begin to matter more and have a greater impact on your ultimate outcome.

In the same way, having a strategy and a working plan for the next few months can be a real benefit for you, your business, and your relationship with your spouse.

Benefit 3: Being A Team

This one may be a bit more subtle but powerful none-the-less. I’ve had my own business for a long time and for the vast majority of that time I tried to keep some kind of barrier between work and home (especially hard when you work from home!). The thought probably had something to do with that whole work-life balance myth but it never really worked.

Then it happened. One of my ventures didn’t exactly turn out as expected. It was spiraling down at almost terminal velocity and there I sat, consumed by the coming demise of my business, consumed by how to explain this to my family, all alone. THAT my friend, was tough.

A good friend of mine at the time was a pastor and we happened to go to a wedding he was officiating (beautiful wedding by the way, and only 19 minutes long! But I digress…) Anyway, one of the things he said really resonated with me that day.

“When you’re married, your burdens are cut in half and your joys are doubled.”

See, I wasn’t protecting her from anything, I was actually making it worse for both of us. She had no idea what was going on and I had no one to share the burden with. She was frustrated and had no idea how to support me. And I was just all alone! Teamwork is about playing to each other’s strengths to mitigate the weakness of the team…I’d been missing the point!

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So now that we (ok, “I”) have figured that out, bring in the strategy weekend! It gives us a structure for talking about what went well this year, what we still need to do, and what we want to do next year!

What Would Your Spouse Say?

If you watched the video above (seriously, you didn’t watch it? go watch it now, I’ll wait right here!) Vickie’s reaction to my first suggestion that we do this was, “Please don’t make me!” That video was completely unscripted by the way and that answer cracked me up, that’s so like her. But as the weekend progressed, she totally bought into the program and now, can’t wait for that weekend every year.

Guys, just trust me… she’ll love it!

Ladies, just tell him you’re ready for his help planning next year, he’ll be all over that.

Either way, talk to them about it. You may be surprise at the answer you get and you will definitely have a stronger year next year, working together toward your joint vision of success!

PS – GREAT NEWS! This year we are going to pull back the curtain on our planning process and invite a few couples to join us as we plan for next year! If you are interested in finding out more about how to get an invitation, just drop you info in the form below and I will be in touch!