Today I want to share with you something that’s near and dear to my heart… the idea of getting unstuck.
Recently I was sitting down with a friend of mine and I was asking him what his plans were for the rest of the year – since we were already half way through the year – and he told me that he just didn’t feel connected to his business anymore.
His business was doing well – he actually hasn’t worked a whole lot – and his business continues to go along. But what really threw me off was that he used the word “comfortable”… he said, “I just feel comfortable.”
I was like, ok, I can get that, I know sometimes when you actually do the things that work and you get to a certain point, it can be hard to always keep yourself motivated.
The more we talked about it, I really thought through some areas he could look at to get re-energized and re-excited about his business.
That’s what I’d like to share with you today… 3 strategies that I shared with him, to really get him re-connected with his purpose…
…To get back to why he started the business, to define where he wanted to go, and who he was in his life (he wasn’t even happy with the approach he was having personally).
Exclusive Bonus: Download a list of my Top 5 productivity hacks (for free!)
5 Year Day: Fast Forward And Visualize
The first thing that I want to share is something that I think is pretty profound and is something I do in interviews when I hire people.
Ask yourself, “What does my life look like in 5 years?”
Sit down and describe as you wake up in the morning: the place you’re living in, the things you’re doing in the morning, your routine, the people in your life, the relationships that you have, the quality of those relationships, the kind of work you are doing, etc.
Talk me through – in a 5 year scenario – what your day looks like.
I just think it’s such a powerful visualization!
There’s this great quote that says… “Begin with the end in mind.”
I feel like that’s the first step, because if you don’t know where you’re going, then any path will do.
It’s really important to get crystal clear on what you want your day and your life to look like 5 years from now.
Start talking about it, write it down, draw a picture, visualize who the people are from a relationship point of view, visualize how your health is and even how your business is… what have you accomplished?
Your Dream 100 List
If you know where you want to go, then think about the people who are going to support you in making those decisions. People are the bi-product of the people they spend time with.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Any time I’ve started a new project – especially a company in an industry I’ve never done before – I make a list of 100 people that I call my “Dream 100 List.”
These are 100 people who may invest in my company, people who have had success in the same area, people who inspire me and could teach me new ideas (advisors), and also some potential friends, or a peer group of people I’d like to spend time with.
So if you are trying to get healthy – who is the healthiest person you know?
If you’re trying to get better in business – who’s one of the strongest entrepreneurs you know?
Ask them to do coffee once a week!
There are also a bunch of structures – you can join mentorship groups or hire a business coach (and those are all great things) but I really think it can be as simple as asking yourself, “Who are the people that are going to support me in this decision?”
Take Action every day: Regardless Of Size
Some people call it the slight edge… some people call it the compound effect.
I learned this when I was 21 from a family friend named Wayne – and at first, I totally dismissed it.
He was an entrepreneur and a business person, so one day I asked him, “If there was one thing you could suggest to an up and coming entrepreneur (at this point I had failed twice already), what would you suggest?”
He thought about it for a few minutes and then he just said, “Habits.”
I was expecting something deep and profound or maybe a magic formula… and he just said “habits.”
He explained it, but unfortunately, it took me another 5 years to figure out what he was saying.
What I suggest you do is think about the thing you could do every day – that seems mundane – that over time will allow you to accomplish a lot.
I think that most people are looking for the next big thing, the big idea that’s just going to make their business work or the next fitness fad or cleanse (or whatever it is) to get their health in order.
I think it can really be as simple as choosing one action for 90 days in each area of your life that you’d like to see improvement (ex: relationship, business, health, etc).
For your health, it could be something as simple as drinking 10 glasses of water a day or a gallon of water a day (and I’m going to suggest doing this!).
I’m not even talking about food or anything else, I’m just talking about choosing that one action that will start to inspire you in other areas of your life.
You could wake up and go for a 20-minute walk – that’s it – just a 20-minute walk – I’m not talking about going to CrossFit or running a marathon in 6 months, just choose something simple.
For your business, it’s the same thing. If you realize you don’t have a good marketing strategy then maybe every day for the next 90 days you’re going to write a blog post (if that sounds daunting – maybe write a blog once a week and just work on it every morning for 10 minutes).
Whatever it is, choose something that you can take action on every day for 90 days that is in line with your 5-year plan. If you miss a day after 10 days, start again on day 11 and just get as many days in doing those simple actions for 90 days. It can take as little as an hour total in all of those areas.
For me this is a really simple, tactical strategy that will help anybody get unstuck when they’re feeling like things are comfortable or they can’t find their mojo again.
So here’s the plan…
Begin with the end in mind, start thinking about the people who will support that, and put together a very simple action plan (so you don’t feel overwhelmed), something that you can do for 90 days.
Exclusive Bonus: Download a list of my Top 5 productivity hacks (for free!)
If there’s something in those areas that you do every day that you feel is just “the thing” that works for you, then I would love to hear from you in the comments below… I personally reply to every one of them.
