You are determined to turn the corner with your business. You have embarked on a new plan in earnest.
You are sick and tired of just making it every month. Wondering how, and if, you can pay the bills at the end of the month, to say nothing of that nagging feeling about making payroll isn’t fun at all. The idea of having some extra money at the end of the month seems like a very distant dream buried in this nightmare. At times you wonder if you made the right decision to get in business in the first place.
You came to the conclusion that getting different results would require different habits and behaviors on your part.
When we accept total responsibility for where we are in life we have taken the most important first step toward a new future.
You’ve worked hard on upping your game. You’re reading books written by people who have actually done what you are about to attempt. They have taken on similar challenges under very trying circumstances and emerged victorious on the other side.
Your belief is getting stronger every day. You have this feeling deep down in that you are on the right track. The thought has occurred to you that you need to try a different marketing strategy. The thought keeps coming back at the most interesting times, in the shower, right after a workout and as a flash of inspiration while you’re driving down the road.
This thought cannot be ignored because it keeps popping into the forefront of your mind. You talked to your mentor about your plan and received only encouragement. Go time!
Your plan is old school and involves putting door hangers promoting your elite training program on doors knobs in a local neighborhood filled with people who match your avatar of your ideal client. The more you think about this the more exciting it gets. You don’t need a lot of clients, just a few who are looking for the solution you have to their very pressing problem. Just a few of these clients will make a huge difference to next month and the months after.
You sketched out a very brief plan on a sheet of paper and included a very simple budget. It’s going to be very tight, but it looks like you can pull it off. Now things are getting exciting for the first time in months. You feel this growing sense of hope and anticipation. You sleep a little better at night.
Then it happens. It came completely out of the left field and you found some of your existing members are canceling their membership. You liked these people and wanted success for them as much, if not more than they wanted it.
Suddenly, in a flash, you realize something else. This will reduce your income for the month and there won’t be enough money for your door hanger marketing initiative. You can feel your shoulders lowering as the reality of the situation sets in and everything suddenly feels heavy.
What do you do now? You think to yourself, I’ve been here before, why does this happen to me.
As reality sets in you have to make a decision. It’s a tough decision and probably one you have had to make many times before.
What you decide at times like this is what will determine your future.
Without getting into the “why,” it’s important to understand if you handle this challenge like you have handled similar challenges in the past you will get the same results you have had in the past. You will be reacting the way you always have reacted and will be getting the results you always got.
What if you could handle this situation differently? It may seem impossible at first, but it is possible and this alternative approach breaks the cycle of the past setting you on a new course.
The trick is to change your reaction to a response. Stop and have a conversation with yourself.
Ask yourself some questions that give you a perspective. Using my example of the door hangers above, when will I need the money for this idea? Typically when I go to the printer or the Post Office I need the money, but are there things I can still do without the money, like get my design work completed? Do I need to do a final count on the streets I will canvas? Do I have a plan on how to distribute my door hanger? Are there ways I can reduce my costs? Make a list of the things you can do now to move the project forward without over-thinking the obstacles
You will notice the energy is returning to your idea. You’re feeling hopeful again. You think to yourself, there just might be a way after all and you’re back on track moving your business forward again.
Moving ahead like this in my example is by no means a guarantee that you will find a solution.
But it is how successful people face challenges and setbacks and keep moving forward.
When you’re moving ahead will everything you can do, eventually the barriers disappear, maybe not in your time frame, but it will happen. It might come to you in the most unusual way, such and the phone ringing with new prospects wanting your services ASAP, or you might think of something you never thought of before that is a better way to get this project done.
When those new opportunities arise, you don’t want to suddenly be held back because you stopped the project and now you don’t have time to get everything done.
You have to go on faith during the dark times. You do believe in you and your business, right? The only way you can stop a good idea from producing results is if you put the brakes on.
Can I guarantee that all the obstacles can be turned into opportunities to meet your timeline? Of course not. You may get all the work done right up to the step of needing the money and have to put the project aside for a short time. The point is when the money is there, and it eventually will be, you will be prepared and ready to pull the trigger. Money also has an interesting way of showing up when we have prepared to do good things with it.
In retrospect, we often realize there was a good reason for the very unwelcome delay, that led us to even better results than we originally thought possible.
Be on the lookout for the next time your plans to explode your business get derailed. Look for the silver lining and smile with the realization that you are closer to your goal than ever before.
Remember, you only get results if you take immediate action on your ideas.
