FOLLOW THROUGH on your Ideas

Understand what TRULY stops you

Inthefirstofthisseriesofarticlescoveringthe7SimpleStrategies4SuccessonwhichItrain,followedbycoachingyouonyourideas,IexplainedthevalueofanNTBP(Non-TraditionalBusinessPlan)–your3-yearVision–aswellasthevalueoftimespentplanningthedevelopmentandgrowthofyourbusiness.However…Wecanplan‘tilthecowscomehome;butonlywhenwefollowthroughonourplanningwillwereapthoserewardsweenvisionedwhencreatingour3-yearvision.Strategy#3helpsyouunderstandwhatstopsyou.Wehavethebestofintentionswhilechunkingourtimeintoouragendaandaddingthetasksintotheboxes.Thenurgentissuescomeupandoffwegotodealwiththem;nevertocomebacktowhatwehadplannedtoworkon.Whichcamefirst–thechickenortheegg?Whichchangesareyougoingtomakefirsttogetoutofthecycleyou’rein?You’retiredofputtingoutfires.Youknowthatchangeshavetobemade.Youstillreacttowhatyourcustomersdeemtobeanemergency…duringthebusinessdevelopmenttimeyouplanned.Peopleresistchange;especiallychangeimposedbysomeoneelse.Almostallofusdoandthere’sagreatlikelihoodthatyoudo,too.Thisiswhy,asmentionedinthepreviousarticles,it’ssoimportanttotrulyknowwhatwereallywant…forourcompanyandforourselves;notwhatotherswantforusorwhatwefeelwe“should”want.Ourgoalshavetotrulybeourgoals–goalsforourselvesthatarecompelling…compellingenoughtodrawustothemthroughtheresistedchangeswemustmake.Ifyoufeellittleornoexcitementwhenyouthinkaboutyourgoals,they’resimplynotpowerfulenough.Areallygoodgoalisnotonlyexcitingbutitfeelsabitscary;maybesometightnessinyourabdomen.Itexhilaratesyoutothinkofit.There’sriskinvolved.Themoreriskinvolved,themorefearyoufeel.AndFEARispreciselywhatholdsusback!FearissimplyFalseEvidenceAppearingReal.Thisisthetimewhenwereallyneedtogetproper,externalsupporttomakechanges.ByproperImeansomeonefromoutsideofyourlifeandoutsideofyourcompany.Someonewhohasafreshperspective;someonewhowilldaretotellitlikeitis…notsomeonewhowillcommiseratewithyou;feelyourpainandassureyouthatwhatyou’redoingis,ofcourse,theonlywaytodoit.Miserylovescompany,wesay,soyoucanfindlotsofsupporttohelpyoustaystuck.AndIrepeat:Peopleresistchange.Itisn’teasyforustogothroughthechangesourselves,andwe’retheonewiththegreatideasforwhichweseefantasticresults.Thosearoundus…familyandstaff…alsoresistchangeandbecausethechangeyou’reimplementingisnottheiridea,nordothey“feel”thegreatresultsyoudo,it’sunrealisticforyoutoexpectthemtoprovideyouwiththesupportyouneed.It’snotastrollintheparktoincorporatechangestothewaythingsaredonearoundhere.There’llbesomerockyroads,butstayingfocusedonyourvisionkeepsyoumotivatedtocontinue…consistently&persistentlytakingonesmallstepafteranother.Eventually,consistentlygettingbackontrack,youwill,inevitably,reachyourdestination…yourvision.

Therearenumerousreasonswhywedon’tFOLLOWTHROUGHonthechangeswe’veplannedtoreachourgoals.Onereasonisbecauseweareworkingtowardssomeoneelse’sgoals.Lookcloselyatyourgoal,dissectingitandstudyingallofthe“why”syouwanttoreachthisgoal.Areyoustillpassionateaboutyourgoal–your3-yearvision?Orareyouhearingyourselfsaying“Ishould…”

Caution:Weshouldalloverourselvesfrequently!“Should”isawordusedtogiveadvice.Whywouldwegiveourselvesadvice?We’rethedecision-makerswhenitcomestowhatwedo.Aren’tyou?Ifyouhearyourselfusingtheword“should”listenagain.Whosevoicedoyouhear?Thatpersonwhogaveyouthatadvice,bytellingyouwhatyoushoulddo,hadgoodintentions.However,thatmaybesomethingthatthatpersonwoulddo…ornot.Afterall,isthatpersoninyourshoes?Ifso,hasthatpersondonewhat(s)hesaidyoushoulddo?Whenwe’reworkingtowardsaccomplishinggoalsthataren’tours,it’sreallyeasynottofollowthroughontheactionsthatweknowweneedtotaketoreachthedestination.Anotherreasontonotfollowthroughisour“societalconditioning.”Wehavebeenconditionedsincebirthtobehaveincertainwaysinordertogetcertainresults.It’stimetobreakawayfromthoserulesandtocreateyourown.Aslongaswhatyoudesireforyourselfhurtsnoone,itwillenhanceeveryone.Itmaynotdelighteveryone,butaslongasit’snottakinganythingawayfromthemthenitis,bynaturallaw,givingtothem.Icouldwritepagesonthis,butsufficetosaythatifyoucanthinkof“it”,youcanhaveit.Theonlyreasonforyournothavingitisbecauseofhowyou’vebeenconditionedtotellyourselfyoushouldnot/cannothaveit.Yourvisionmayincludesomethingsooutlandish,sofar“outthere”thatyourconditioningisholdingyoubackfromfollowingthrough;forfearyouwillactuallygetyourdesiredresults.Didyouknowthatmorepeopleareafraidofbecomingsuccessfulthanthosewhodonotfearsuccess?Strangebuttrue.It’snotactuallythefearof“success”itself,though,thatstopsus.It’sthefearofbecomingdetachedfrommanyofthethingsandpeopletowhomwearecurrentlyattached;andit’stheattachmenttothosethings&thosepeoplethatisactuallyholdingusback.

TheonlythingstoppingusfromGREATNESSis...ourselves!Alongthejourneytomaterializingyourvision,youwillhavedoubts.Thisisnormal.Wealldo.Afterall,we’renowtravellinginunknownterritory…andwe’redealingwiththeconditioningImentionabove.Acknowledgeyourdoubts(seetheexercisebelow);andcontinueonthepathtowardyourvision.Prepareyourselfforthosedoubtstoturntoworry…becausetheywillifyoudon’tnipthedoubtsinthebud.Besuretocutworryoffatthepath,though,becauseifyoudon’tthenextlevelofthatdoubt->worrycycleisFEAR;andFEARwillstopyouinyourtracksandhaveyouturntailandrun…allthewaybacktothewaythingshavealwaysbeendonearoundhere.Askyourself: “Whatifthis(thatmydoubtistellingme)weretohappen?”Thinkitthroughandprepareyourself:“IfthishappensI’ll______(dothis)________.”“Butwhatifthisweretohappen?”Again,thinkingitthrough,prepareyourselfforthatscenario,aswell:“IfthisweretohappenthenI’d_(dothis)_.”Nowthatyouhaveacoupleofalternativeplansofactionyouaremuchmoreempowered.Somoveon.

Itseemssimple,Iknow;becauseitis!Infact,thesimpleststepsareoftenthemostprofound.Andthesimplestchangesgiveusthemostprofitableresults!Thisiswhyit’ssoimportanttogettough,externalsupport.Createamastermindgroup;around-table.Joinone.Seekoutamentor;someoneinyourfieldwho’s“beenthere;donethat.”Peoplelovetosharetheirsuccessstories!It’sofutmostimportancetoworkwithastrongaccountabilitypartner;someonewhowon’tletyoumisleadyourselfanymore.Someonewhowilltellitlikeitisregardlessofwhetherornotyoulikehearingwhattheyhavetosay.

Onlybytakingaction…consistentlyandpersistently…tofollowthroughonourideaswillwegettheresultswedesire.

Staytunedfor… Strategy#4: TAMETHECASH-FLOWBEAST GetoutofyourfearofDEBT.

Fun Has Never Been So Profitable

Asgeneralcontractorforherhome,Lynneidentifiedthatwhilecontractorsaregreatonthetools,theystruggletobalancemoney&time…especiallytimeinwhichtohaveFUN.AsasolutionLynnecreatedTheTrade-Contractors’BusinessCollege,ayear-longcoaching&trainingprogramforbusinessownersintheconstructionindustry,covering7SimpleStrategiesforSuccesswhicharekeytoeverysuccessfulbusiness.M.LynneJacob,BusinessPerformanceCoach(Diploma)mljInternational.com Lynne@mljInternational.com ContactLynnetodaybyvoiceortextat613-484-3861.Tellheryoureadthisarticleandsave50%onaDiagnosticAssessmentofyourBusiness.Stillcomeswiththe300%ROIGuarantee!