Master the Art of Fear

One of my favorite TV shows is Josh Gate’s Expedition Unknown. In this show Josh travels the world looking for historical wonders. The month of October, for instance, was spent traveling through the Himalayas, climbing to the top of vast mountains never touched by humans to see if he could find the mysterious Yeti. Some would say that he is crazy, doing things that are truly live endangering. Others say, “Gee, I wish I were right there with him.” But regardless of how you feel about what Josh does, I can almost guarantee that there are times in your own life where you are faced with doing something that, to you, might be “life endangering”, or at least scary as Hell. Am I right?

Ok, at this point you’re thinking I’m the crazy one, right? But I’ll bet that, especially if you’re a business owner, there have been times when you’ve wondered what decision to make, which way to turn directions in your business, should you (or shouldn’t you) do something and it’s kept you up at night. I have gone through thousands of boxes of Tums just trying to avoid that ulcer that I DO have unfortunately.

What things keep you up at night? Do they make your stomach churn? Keep your mind flipping and flopping with different scenarios? I often have dreams where I’m falling off the side of a mountain, but then suddenly I sprout wings and am soaring higher and higher. At that point I know that the thing I’ve been worrying about has just been decided, and I’m ready to either move forward with it or am going to put it to the side – “I’ll think about that tomorrow”, so to speak.

Fear is something that we all have to deal with on some level at some time. What you fear might not be what I fear or vice versa but we all have things that we’d just rather not think about. And as a business owner, there are LOTS of different things that can scare us to pieces – and those fears can hold us captive, not allowing us to move forward with our dreams.

Whether that fear is a fear of failure, or success, or getting up in front of someone to talk (I can keep on naming things), trust me I’ve had my share. I’m working on them right now on several levels. It is really amazing what can happen when you realize just exactly what that fear is doing to you and what you need to do to get over it. A good example for me is one I’ve used before and you’ve probably done yourself. I love to get in the water in the summer, and just lay back, relaxing while I float way the tenseness. But getting in is another story. That water (no matter how warm the air is) is dang COLD!!!!! I stick in one toe, pull it back, stick it in, shiver, pull it back and then, grab my nose and ……. JUMP. It’s the only way to get in and once I’m in, the water feels so nice and relaxing.

Do you start your journey by sticking in one toe, then pulling it back out? Or, do you jump in? There’s a saying that goes something like Success = feeling the fear but doing it anyway. That’s easier said than done, but you’re only going to be successful if you do it. Now there is a caveat to that, and that is only do it if you know it’s the right thing. Being afraid of something, and knowing its right – only holding you back due to the fear is different than knowing that it’s not the right thing to do.

Now, how do you tell the difference? We’ve been talking about this for a couple of newsletters lately. A couple of great ways to discover the reason for the fear, is to be part of a peer advisory board, a mastermind program, having a mentor, or a good friend and confidant that understands business issues. Stepping back and getting a 365 degree view of the situation gives you the ability to see the whole picture and lets you better figure out what to do.

By sharing your thoughts with someone else that “gets” it and you, then you have something to bounce your thoughts off of, and gives you the courage to either do it or to say no. It’s always easier for me to take that jump into the water if there’s someone either already in, telling me that the water’s nice, or someone that goes in beside me, holding my hand and saying “Let’s do it together.”

We all have times when we are afraid. Often, Josh talks about being claustrophobic, yet we see him crawling, climbing, squeezing into small, dark, wet spaces – all in the name of discovering something fantastic (and for the tv ratings, lol). So, the next time you find yourself stalled, trying to figure out what to do next, ask yourself “is this a fear that I need to get over, or is it one that I need to heed – moving on to other things?

I wish you luck with your decisions, and know that when you don’t allow the fear to take over, but instead fight through it, you’ll come out the other side stronger, more resilient and with a business that is non-destructible. Until next time, Soar Higher.

Are You Too Clever for Success?

I can’t possibly imagine what you can do to help me. I’ve been in business for 18 years”. Two weeks after this woman told me that she had a going out of business sale and closed her doors forever. Yikes. Talk about fear of success? Or some other type of fear. But, you know what? I’ve got some of those same thoughts going through my head at times and I’m wondering if you’ve ever had that voice in your head telling you that you could be and do it all alone? There’s something about letting someone else in to share your “baby”, isn’t there?

If you’ve ever found yourself in this place, you’ve probably felt the overwhelm of trying to do it, but maybe wishing you had a better handle on what to do to get the best results — more money, more clients, more time … whatever it is that’s on the top of your wish list for your business. You probably also know that when you work with others you find yourself with more ideas, better strategies, thoughts that you probably would never have had on your own, or reassurances that thoughts you do have are the right direction in which to head. Does any of this sound familiar?

So, what do you do? I can recommend a few different things. Things like finding a good coach/mentor, or joining a mastermind program, or even joining a peer advisory board. But. what do these things do to help? Regardless of which program you join, one of the main aspects is that there is no judgment and that all thoughts are honored. As well, there is usually a strict code of confidentiality involved so that when you share something, it stays strictly within the group. That should make you feel safer about sharing. All too often I’ve heard people complain that something they’ve said or written has appeared verbatim on someone else’s Facebook or website. For the most part, this doesn’t happen in these groups and if it does, it’s dealt with immediately. So, deep breath — you’re in a safe space.

The next thing that such programs can do for you is to give you new ideas and to validate those that you might already have been thinking about. For instance, you may have decided that you want to start a monthly promotional program where someone receives something for signing up for a newsletter or buying a product, etc. You share this idea with the others in the group. What will happen? They will tell you one of three things — that’s a great idea, perhaps it needs to be redesigned, or they might share their own examples of similar programs and projects — telling you how well or bad they had worked for them. Now, it’s your responsibility to be open minded enough to “think about it”. Don’t just sit there and say, “Nope. Been there, done that, not gonna do it again.” But truly think about what they’ve said. Perhaps you really DON’T want to do it. But look at why, what’s wrong, good, or lukewarm. You work it out with the help and support of the group. Now, isn’t that better than trying to figure out all sides by yourself?

A third, and perhaps unexpected benefit of these programs is that you get to support the others in the group as much as they support you. It becomes a great feeling when you know that your thoughts and advice are actually helping another business grow. Your caring and consideration for these others starts to build a relationship where you become eventually much more than business colleagues. You find new business partners, vendors, clients, all kinds of things where the people KNOW YOU, LIKE YOU and TRUST YOU. Heard that before? It’s true and comes from a natural place — not one where you’ve artificially gotten someone to get something from you.

All in all once you get over your fears of “letting go” and allowing others to help, you will find your business and yourself, growing and becoming bigger and better. You will Soar Higher. I can feel those wings growing as we speak.

If you enjoy these blogs and would like to get more tips and strategies for becoming more successful, head on over to my website at Home and sign up for the newsletter. I would love to have you join us there.

The Continuing Lessons of The Wizard of Oz

Being a business owner is not just about selling a product or a service. It is far more than that. I often think it's all about psychology -- and I have a degree in psychology but I still don't get it all the time. You need to first and foremost, understand exactly WHAT it is you're selling. Then you have to know WHO you're selling it to, and what that market wants. Do you have what your target wants? Or are you going to spin your wheels trying to figure it out over and over? That's why I stress over and over that you MUST know the answers to these questions (and guess what...those answers change over time) in order to maintain a successful business venture.

But then, on top of that, there's an entirely separate level. Finances and costs (a cost may not be only money. It can be time, energy and so much more). Let me tell you a story about a story. I've told it before but it is good to remember it again today.

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Dorothy: Weren't you frightened?

Wizard of Oz: Frightened? Child, you're talking to a man who's laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe... I was petrified.

I love The Wizard of Oz. As a child I remember sitting in front of the tv with all my neighborhood friends, prepared to scare myself silly as the wicked witch goes flying by on her broom, laughing, "I'll get you and your little dog too." I have watched that movie well over 100 times and I'm always seeing something that I've not seen before. Did you know that in one scene the scarecrow has a gun? I've still not seen that. And all the trouble and problems that manifested themselves to the woman who played the wicked witch -- she got burned badly when her broom got lit on fire. Buddy Epson was supposed to play the tin man, but had such an awful reaction to the metal that he had to give up the part.

What does this have to do with business you ask? Well from the standpoint of MGM, this movie cost $2.8 million and only grossed (originally) $3 million. There were over 600 actors and 1000 costumes. And it wasn't until the movie hit TV that it became the classic it is today. Until then, Oz was not seen as profitable and was considered a big waste of time and money.

But there are other business linked lessons to be learned from The Wizard of Oz. At the time these books (yes, they were first written as stories to tell Frank Baum's children while he was on the road as a traveling salesman) were written, there was a wind of change politically and businesswise. The Populist movement was taking control, as well as the agrarian revolt of the 1890s. All this is seen in the dark and dreary start of the movie, filmed in black and white. The tornado hitting the homestead was a sign of the uproar happening politically in the area. Recently, scholars have debated this meaning of the book: since Baum died for many years, we may never know the true political meaning.

Another business related idea that has been hypothesized around Oz, is that of the yellow brick road. There was a great deal of controversy at the time regarding silver money as opposed to gold. It is reported that all the gold in the yellow brick road stood for the fact that silver would never replace gold as this country's base monetarily.

I look to Oz for smaller and more poignant business meanings -- for me and for those in business today. Dorothy comments “If we walk far enough, we shall sometime come to someplace.” And the scarecrow, while still on his pole, crosses his arms and tells Dorothy that if you don't know where you're going, anyplace will get you there. This is so true for businesses. When you choose NOT to have a plan, you actually are creating a plan of failure.

I love so many of the lines in the movie. “True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid...” The quote at the beginning, where the professor supposedly saw all the heads of foreign states, yet was petrified, tells us that even though we may face many fears, when we commit to our dreams we can accomplish much even though we were afraid. For many of us, we never make our businesses a success because we are afraid. Whether that fear is of failure, or success, or being laughed it, or not living up to expectation (the list goes on), we are content to ride it out in safety. We would have stayed in Munchkin land, never venturing off to the Emerald City, or to fight the Wicked Witch.

These are just a couple of lessons to be learned by The Wizard of Oz. Perhaps we should call it -- The Wizard of Business? I challenge you to watch the movie again, with new eyes, and see how you can put the story to use in growing your own patch of farmland.

So, until pigs can fly here in this world, believe that You and Your Business can and WILL soar higher when you step out of fear and move forward. I look forward to seeing you again as we both fly up to the next level!

Did You Choose Your Destination Or Has It Chosen You?

What do you want to do when you grow up? Over the past several weeks I’ve been questioning my business model, what I do, who I do it for and why I do it. I’ve asked myself – who do I like working with (and what are their characteristics), what don’t I like, and what makes me so excited I just can’t wait to get started. For over 35 years, I’ve had my own business and have made money as well as lost time,, energy and had nothing but lint in my pockets. What about you? Sound familiar?

So, come with me on my journey and see where you fit in. Do you have a roadmap? Are you absolutely sure you know where you’re going? Growing up, my family went on a vacation every summer. My parents planned it meticulously. They had to figure out if they had the money (for travel, for food, for hotels, for fees to events, etc.). Did they have the time to take off without being penalized at work? Where should they go? It needed to be something they wanted to do and something us kids would enjoy as well. We traveled all over the United States, and I have some great memories. But I don’t remember them ever asking me specifically if where we were going was someplace I wanted to go. I was basically along for the ride.

The same is true in business now that I’m an adult. I have found myself “going along for the ride”. And during this journey I am learning where I really want to go.

The first step is something my coach asked me to do and boy was it an eye-opener. Get out a pen and paper (yep, I’m an old timer), or open a word document on your computer. Without planning it out first, just sit down and write. Picture in detail what you’d like to be doing in five years. Make sure that you are detailed – I even got down to the point where I talked about what I had to eat for breakfast and dinner. It was really in-depth. And within that description, nowhere did it say anything about managing my magazine, Small Biz Forward. 

I realized that that piece of my business was draining me. I was worried about writing articles, getting articles from my writers, printing, getting advertising, and so much of what I didn’t like to do. Yet, I do like to write, so guess what? I’m turning my magazine article writing into blog posts where you get to see them for free. Cool for us both, yes?

If you take the time to do this exercise, you’ll potentially see things about what you enjoy doing and not so much that will mold your future endeavors. It’s really a great way to clarity.

Now that I’ve gotten where I am more sure of my future activities, I can start to flesh them out. Remember, I figured out who and what I liked to do. It’s time now to start to grow my base. Do I have a good email list? Who reads these blogs? How often do I share something and what types of things do I share? I’ve started working on an editorial calendar. That way I can keep up on topics and areas that my clients want to know more about. 

It’s something that you should work on as well. After all, if your clients don’t know you exist, don’t know what you do and who you do it for, how are they ever going to figure out they want to buy from you.

If you’re interested in getting these blog posts regularly, you are welcome to register at: success4biz.blogspot.com. Until next time – Soar Higher from your happy Small Biz Wizard (getting pigs to fly is no mortal task! And if I can do that, you know I can help you in your business)

Lessons Learned from the Journey

An often heard quote is that the journey is more important than the destination. And while the destination is pretty darn important, I do agree that the journey while often boring (are we there yet?), more often breath-taking (especially when you’re looking back on it), is very educational if you take the time to examine the road followed as well as the one not chosen.

I’ve been on such a journey lately (and know that it’s just now starting — I’ve got a long way to go). And if you’re a business owner you need to get out that roadmap and start your own journey. Hopefully we’ll run into each other at points along the way, share pictures of where we’ve been and give excited descriptions of where we hope to land eventually. This blog is about one of those pictures of where I’ve just been and what it has taught me. Read it along with me and maybe, just maybe, you’ll decide to go to these places too.

The journey I have been on recently has been amazing. I have learned so much about myself, about the things I want for my future, and what I DON’T want. For the past six months, I’ve been working really hard on getting my yearly business retreat put together. And, for much of that time, it wasn’t a very successful venture in my eyes. I defined success as many people knocking on my door, pleading to come along with me. Of course, lots of money would have been nice, but frankly, I didn’t have a real budget set up and never thought what it was going to take to get from point A on the map to point Z. Now however, after the event is over, WOW, can I say that it was certainly God blessed.

Because I know I’ve been on this journey, my eyes have been more open (I had my camera ready for those instant snapshots of the view along the way) and so I realized that I have recently been so frustrated and angry because for 8 years this event has been terrific: great for the attendees, not so much for me. I wanted everyone that came to it, to get the best program – so I let people come for nothing thinking, the more the merrier. Right? Well, no not so much. When only those who truly want to be part of it come, then the air is filled with success. This year that was my model. Only those who paid, came. And people told me over and over what a wonderful event it was.

I learned a great lesson there. Don’t over give, don’t devalue yourself or your product/service, and DO love yourself (and your clients enough) that you give them your best. What I thought was the best, was only mediocre. I never will do that again.

It was also interesting to see that there are so many out there that are, shall I say, not too trustworthy. And that’s something you need to know when working with other businesses. I had 3 speakers (btw – with signed contracts) who backed out – their loss!!!!! One didn’t even bother to tell me he wasn’t going to come. And a couple of business people who got their start thanks to last year’s retreat, who asked to come and talk about how they met and got their business started thanks to the Retreat. I let them come (for no fee) because I wanted people to hear about their “success”. Instead, all they did was sell their services. They were there for 20 minutes (in and out), they talked about all the wonderful things they could do for the attendees and then left. Not a word about how they met, etc. My takeaway? Don’t trust unequivocally. I’m still working on this one. It’s a process at the moment.

All in all though, I learned a lot about myself, what I do, and how I want to share my talents and God’s blessings in the future. I now know where my next stop along the journey will be, the lessons learned from my dream of business ownership so far and hopefully, I can share more pictures and stories along the way.