Stuck. Lack of clarity. Getting ready to get ready. Avoidance. These are simple symptoms of not having stopped before going. We can learn how to S.T.O.P. to grow our business.
Often times we find ourselves stuck in the bottleneck of productivity. We may need to make more prospecting calls, write a winning bid or proposal, build a new product or program to generate revenue. All the while doing all the other activity that is generated from our business and keeping us from continuing to do business building activities. Here is a useful four step process to get back on track with what is needed to continue to succeed.
S – Silence our critics – Turn down the volume on the automatic negative thoughts (ants) that may be flooding our mind. Realize we have thoughts, they are just thoughts, and we are not our thoughts. Let them pass as best we can and let our mind settle into silence.
If we need to make prospecting calls to grow our business we may become encumbered with thoughts that keep us stuck like – they won’t be interested, they’ll be too busy for a meeting, they are already set and don’t need what I have to offer, or even I don’t know what to say or I’ll fumble and blow the call so why bother, etc.
If we have those kind of thoughts, it’s no wonder we would not want to make the calls and then go find other ways to hide from possible rejection. Think of a balloon. We blow up the balloon, let it go and it flies around the room eventually losing its air and falling to the ground. We can allow our thoughts to do the same. If we resist the thoughts, they tend to persist. Let them pass through and move on to the next step.
T – Trust and Tap into our power. One of our greatest gifts is our ability to guide our thinking. Guide it in a way that directs our focus on what we already have and want to achieve versus what we don’t want or don’t have. A great way to start the process is by taking inventory of what is already good or right in our life right now. Start appreciating the gold within each of us, for what we focus on expands.
Sticking with our prospecting scenario, take inventory of where and how you have helped others and brought value as a result of having made a prospecting call. Remember favorable acknowledgments from other. Notice what you have learned and how you have improved. This is a great way to build ourselves up and feel more confident to reach out to help more people.
O – Open ourselves to our success. We must become so clear of what the successful outcome of our endeavor is that it feels real, as if it already exists. This will create a vacuum that pulls us through. The author of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill said, “More gold has been mined from the mind of men than the earth itself.” To become clear on what we desire, write it out, collect pictures, read about it, talk with other people about it, invest time learning how to bring it about.
It may not be the prospecting calls that we actually want to achieve. They are most likely a stepping stone or building block to that which we really desire. If we truly believe we can make a difference for others with our product or service and that we deserve to be compensated for the value we ultimately deliver, focus on that. If we want a larger home for our family or a new car, that may be what we need to keep top of mind while we are taking the steps to building our business. It often comes down to “Why” are we actually doing this particular activity, what will it ultimately lead to?
P – Purposefully take action. As we settle down the critic in our mind, tap into our power, and open up ourselves to our success, we hopefully will be more motivated or, at the least, more receptive to doing what must be done that we may have been avoiding or putting off. So now it’s time to take the action. Do the activity we have been avoiding. It’s not just a matter of doing it for doing sake. What is paramount is doing it with purpose and intention. Doing it with our “Why”wide open.
If we are making prospecting calls, it is making them with the intention of knowing we are really going to help make a difference. We must get out of our own way of fearing a little rejection along the way from those that are not ready to experience the goodness we can deliver. Their loss, not ours. It may be imagining ourselves already having the home of our dreams and noticing how we would make the calls if that was already the case. Purposeful actions come from stepping into our full potential and projecting ours and others positive future.
Next time you feel stuck, or caught in the busy trap – STOP and go for it.
Make it up, make it fun, and get it done!