What Voice Are You Listening To?

"Nobody can tell me what to do! I don't care what anyone else thinks! It's my life, I'll live it the way I want!" Have you ever caught yourself thinking this way, or even saying these things out loud? Have you caught yourself saying, "I can't. I'm not good enough. I don't have the skills."

When you only listen to yourself, you limit your possibilities. Your surroundings provide you with the motivation you need to succeed. If you listen to a committee of one, you are going to struggle to push ahead. If you listen to negativity, it will hurt you as well. Think about everything that goes into your head and heart as food. It is food for your mind and soul. What are you feeding on?

I attribute everything I have achieved  to the mentors I have had in my life. I first listen to that still small voice of my God and Savior. Then I take the council of my pastor and mentors. I choose to surround myself with people on the same journey as me, so it is easy to ask them what to do. The most valuable lessons are when you learn from someone else mistakes. They don't cost you nearly as much.

Salesman or Problem Solver?

Are you a great salesperson or are you a problem solver? What is the difference? Is one better than the other. Does one make you more money? Does one create better customers and relationships?

Think of it this way. A salesman calls you to sell you something, without knowing if you need it. You walk on the car lot to get an oil change and walk out with a new red F-150. You now have buyer remorse. Did the salesman win? Will you refer your friends and family to that person?

When you are problem solving, your focus will be different. Your focus is to ask good questions. You seek to learn about your client. Your job is to find out what their need is and help them find the answer. When you help someone solve a problem, you are valuable to them. Your relationship is different. They are happy with their purchase. They tell other people about you. In the end you still got paid, but your business will grow much faster than a salesman's. You will attract customers instead of chase them.

Work-Life Balance

Is work-life balance a myth? Could there possibly be a balance? If so, what would it look like? What would the ratio be? How can you possibly operate at the highest level and still find time for your family, church and even yourself?

I do believe that a work-life balance in the sense of having exact ratios that you split all activities up everyday, is a myth. It is impossible. Things happen. Everyday is different. There is a way to get your life back. It is not perfect, but it will work.

You need to time block. Put all of the activities you want to do in your calendar. Put in your work time, family events and personal time. If you don't write it down it certainly won't happen. Will it be perfect every week? Of course not. Over a period of time you will start to see more balance in your life because it is happening on purpose.

How Bad Do You Want it?

I hear people complain about their weight, job, financial situation or spiritual life. It usually starts with, "I know I need to be eating (      ), but....." If we know something, why don't we do it? It seems simple doesn't it.

The reason we don't, is that it doesn't hurt bad enough yet. You have to be so sick of where you are, you are willing to make the sacrifice to get to where you want to be. Until then you will just continue on in your complacent, comfortable rut. Like Dave Ramsey says, "You have to live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else!"

Changing your eating habits has to be one of the hardest things to do. You have to start thinking of food as fuel and not pleasure. Why do I write this? Because I live the struggle. It may not be food in your life. It may be something else. Start today! Make the first step. You can change and grow in a positive way. It just comes down to how much you want it.

Desire is the foundation

What system or tool do you need to be successful? How many calls do you have to make? What kind of CRM do you need to use? These are some of the first questions people ask, but they are the wrong ones.

What you need first is desire. You have to want something so bad, that you are willing to sacrifice to get it. When I was a kid, I was a dreamer. I was wired different. I had a desire to do something with my life. I went down many paths to get to where I am today. The cool thing is that I still have that same desire. I still want to grow and get better.

No one can make you have desire. It comes from within. How you think can be changed. Constantly read books. Get around successful people. Ask questions of those who have been there already. Never become complacent and lazy.

Stop Overthinking!

You have an idea or opportunity. You think about it. You think about it some more. You analyze the specifics. You run every scenario possible. You sit on the idea, waiting for a voice to come from the sky with a clear cut message on which way to go.

The answers don't always come so clearly. If you are not careful, you can overthink yourself into stagnation. Because every direction is not clear cut, you stay where you are and die. There is a lot to be said for the gut feeling you have when considering a new venture or a change. 

I'm not saying run roughshod over reality because you want something. I'm saying that it does not have to be perfect in order to move forward. Go do it, then perfect it.

Rose Colored Glasses

Winston Churchill said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Your success or failure depends on the glasses you look through to see every situation. How you view the situation determines the effort or lack of effort you apply to fix it.

It is easy to blame the lack of support, tools, technology or basically anything else on your problem. It is hard to look in the mirror and see our biggest problem. Have I done everything in my power regardless of what's around me?

Social media has brought every negative situation into our homes. If you are not careful, you will stay sad or angry over things you have no control over. It will start to affect your life and it doesn't need to. Keep looking ahead! The best is yet to come!