Circumstances Do Not Dictate Outcomes!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your circumstances?

You may have heard me say that opportunity is just a set of circumstances…facts or conditions that surround you. But is it possible to have so many opportunities or circumstances that we get stuck and can’t make ANY progress? Well, sure, it’s possible…so what do about it?

When you are feeling overwhelmed by circumstances, it is rarely the volume of opportunity that is causing the problem (that doesn’t change very much over time). Rather, it is the relative weight you are assigning to the opportunity or the outcome.

Sometimes, the weight is appropriate…get out of the street or be hit by that truck…but more often than not, the weight is arbitrary, just something you made up. If you made it up, you can change it!

In my life and business coaching practice, I see this a lot around goals (or expectations of outcomes). You start a business and expect million dollar results in the first year…then when it doesn’t happen, or it’s slow, you start looking at everything you need to do to improve…and there’s a lot…and BOOM…you’re overwhelmed!

This is one reason I came up with the P4F model for planning and GSD. It will help you find the five most important things to focus on today and prioritize them to create results.

I’ve made a short video about P4F and how it works. You can find it on my website at www.ThomRigsby.com/P4F. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a 6-minute breather and watch the video…it will change your life!

The Secret to Work Life Balance

Have you found work/life balance yet? Neither have I and there’s a good reason why…it doesn’t exist! [read more]

You have been sold a bill of goods, a pig in a poke, whatever axiom you want to use. The idea that work goes in one box and life goes in another, then somehow, if you are PERFECT they’re supposed to balance out, is just a bunch of bunk!

Okay, so if work/life balance is a load of…um…fertilizer, then what SHOULD you expect?!

Here’s the deal…you need to work. There is something deep in your soul that wants to enjoy the reward and the value you get from seeing an accomplishment of your labor. And that work is just part of your life! Get it? There’s no work-life balance, there’s just life, and work is a big part of it!

When most people say they want more work-life balance, they’re really saying they want more life and less work! Is that you? If it is, that’s fine, just be honest about what you’re asking for!

The reality is that you are uniquely gifted, talented, and placed to do work that matters, and when you’re doing the work that matters TO YOU, you will enjoy it. Don’t compromise!

Are you doing the work you are gifted and talented to do? Or are you doing the work that will make you the most money? Just something for you to consider before you read that next book or watch that next video promising to give you something you already have!

You Have Everything You Need

Are you waiting for ___ (fill in your own blank here) to be successful? Well STOP waiting and start working!

I hear it all the time, an aspiring business owner will give me the run-down of everything they have to get figured out before they can launch their business. The vast majority of the list is spot on, then they come…I call them the boulders!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgiXzgSwiv4

The boulders are completely unreasonable, logical fallacy arguments against launching. For example, trying to build a process or a system that will “work at scale” when you haven’t found the first customer yet. Trying to negotiate bulk pricing to bring raw materials down 1-2%…these are just excuses to stay warm and cozy in your comfort zone!

The truth is that you already have everything you need to start! You are uniquely gifted, and talented, and placed to make this a reality! YOU, and ONLY YOU are the one that will make it work?

Others may have the idea, the resources, the leads or connections…but YOU, oh your unique combination of time, talents, and resources will make you a success…IF

…IF you will take the first step! All those questions you’ve been trying to answer, and the things you think you need before you can begin…the answers will become clear (or unnecessary) once you begin moving!

Finding and doing YOUR work that matters is difficult, as it should be. But you have everything you need to make it a reality! Just START!

If you’d like help finding your unique work that matters, DM me here or visit the website to schedule your no-cost, no-obligation conference.

What Is the Displacement Principle

Are you having trouble getting results? Can’t seem to get the things you want? Here’s the reason…and an answer!

You are not getting the results you want because of displacement. You are displacing the work you SHOULD be doing to create the result you want with other work that is either ‘busy work’ or directed at something other than what you say you want.

If you have the ability to read this message, you have access to everything you need to create the result you want! The ONLY thing holding you back is YOU and what YOU choose to work on.

I know it’s not always sexy or fun…and that’s the point! If you want something you’ve never had you have to do the things you’ve never done! And so what if they are difficult, or risky, or whatever! DO IT ALREADY… do work that matters!

We are almost half-way through 2019…are you half-way to your goals for the year? If you’re not, there’s still time, you just have to choose the right priority and get it done…then do it again tomorrow…and the next day…( I think you get the idea ).

If you are struggling with your goals I would love to help! You can schedule a no-cost, no-obligation call with me on my website (link in bio). You will find clarity, gain confidence, and take back control of your time! You CAN make great things happen before the end of 2019!

See it before it happens

Can you predict the future?

Most business owners and leaders look at the future as some big secret, waiting for it to ‘be revealed’ or ‘unfold.’ You will hear them say things like ‘no one can know for sure’ or ‘let’s see what the future holds’ and the reality is they are wrong!

Have you ever used any of those phrases? Do you think the future is a secret or a mystery? Allow me to explain.

Every year car manufacturers release new models. Once or twice a year networks release new shows or seasons of shows. Every fall a bevy of new college students are minted and every spring a few of them will graduate.

See, everything is a cycle…everything! And if you can identify the cycle, you can predict the future!

Here’s another example… Businesses and business owners that don’t set goals, don’t hit them! Leaders that don’t measure the progress toward their goals…don’t hit them!

We’re closing in on the half-way mark of 2019! Yep, just a few days is all that’s left in the first half of the year…are you halfway to your goals for 2019?

If you don’t have goals for the year, it’s not too late! If you haven’t been measuring them, it’s not too late! If you want to learn how to predict the future, it’s not too late! DM me or visit the website to schedule a call (link in bio).

Wins Live in the Land of Loss

Do you ever feel like giving up? I do…and here’s how I keep going.

Some days are better than others. You wake up with all the energy and excitement you need to power the week! Then other days…not so much. Why the difference? Frankly, there are lots of reasons from the physiological to psychological to the weather…but today I want to address the REAL underlying reasons why you want to give up.

Have you ever seen the movie 300? Did you know it’s based on the true story of King Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopoly? How did Leonidas get somewhere around 300 men to fight to the death against a Persian army of almost a million troops? And why didn’t they want to quit?

I’ve been fascinated by stories like this most of my life all leading me to ask the same question…why didn’t they give up? Why not just quit and live to fight another day? I’ve found that the answer for all of them, and for you, is remarkably simple…

You have to know your why!

I can’t tell you how many aspiring business owners I’ve faced across the business coaching table and asked this question and received confused looks in return. They don’t know why they want to start a business (or they assume making money is the only legit answer!).

So why do you do what you’re about to do today? Whether it’s going to work at a job, going to school, working on a side gig or side hustle, or unlocking the doors to your own business…why are you doing that?

And now for today’s golden nugget…Once you know your why, that ‘big picture’ destination you’re working toward, the little day-to-day don’t matter as much, and you can blow right past them without a second thought. If you’re why is to win the world series, does swinging and missing at this pitch make a difference? Does getting one out for trying to steal second make a difference? Does losing today’s game make a difference? Sure, some of these individual fails hurt in the moment, but do they change your big picture why?

Don’t get so wrapped up in this day, this hour, this minute…that you lose sight of this outcome!

If you need help finding your why, I can help. Send me a DM or schedule a no cost, no obligation introductory call on my website (link in bio), I’m happy to help!

How to Overcome the Fear of Failure

What fun, exciting, or great thing are you missing out on because you are afraid of failing? Stop missing out!

Fear serves a great purpose for us…it is our mind telling our body to pay attention and it kept us alive for many generations! But when you accept fear for what it is, and why it exists, overcoming it gets easier.

All fear is rooted in uncertainty and serves to help us avoid pain. The only way to reduce or remove fear is by reducing uncertainty by 1) studying the situation or 2) just do it.

I was talking with a coaching client yesterday who kept adding tasks in between now and THE critical task in his journey to success. He was avoiding the fear!

There’s at least one other tactic you can use right away to reduce fear…but you’re going to have to check out the podcast for that one (link in bio)!

Just remember, regardless of what you’re afraid of, it is impossible to demonstrate courage in the absence of fear! If you’re afraid, be courageous and be a winner!

How to Have Whatever You Want

Do you have what you want or settle for what you can get?

As a life and business coach, almost every day I have a conversation with an aspiring business owner that starts out something like, “Yeah, I have a great idea for a widget! I have a solid design and I’m ready to quit my job to work on it, BUT {insert excuse here}!”

You’ve probably heard of the placebo effect, you know, patients given sugar pills experience the same benefits as those that get the real thing? Why is that? Simple, because they believed!

And you don’t have to know how it works to use it to reach your goals! You still fly on an airplane without understanding how to fly it yourself, don’t you? Your understanding has very little to do with it.

You may want to write this date down in your journal because I’m about to give you a pass on something (that NEVER happens!). It’s not your fault! You’ve been duped!

All your life you’ve been told that you can’t buck the system, follow the rules and you’ll get your reward, focus and work hard, etc, etc, etc. Well, I’m here to tell you YOU CAN and YOU SHOULD! Don’t wait! Live your legacy every day…starting today!

You already have the ability to create ANY outcome you want if you will just make the choices that lead to that outcome! All you have to do is BELIEVE!

I want you to find your why and do work that matters! So, leave a comment and let me know what outcome YOU want and what you’re going to do TODAY to take at least one step toward making it a reality!

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!

Making Risky Progress

Is there something you’re not doing because it’s ‘risky’? Let’s talk about that…

We deal with risk every day. Driving a car, or for that matter just riding in a car, is risky! According to the CDC more than 32,000 people are killed and another 2 million are injured every year in car crashes! Okay…so it’s not risk you’re afraid of…

Maybe instead of saying you are avoiding risk, you could say you’re ‘playing it safe’ or ‘pursuing that safe career instead of the risky business or job opportunity with that startup. I say it has NOTHING TO DO WITH SAFETY!

Nope, you’re not looking for safety… you’re looking for predictability!

We’ve misused the word safety for so long, we don’t even realize it anymore. That job is no more safe than driving…in fact, IT’S MORE RISKY! In 2016, almost 20 million people were laid off or fired! 10x more than the number killed in car crashes!

So be honest, stop saying you want safety and acknowledge that you’re just comfortable with the predictable. THEN you can embrace the risk and start the change!