Motivation

Here I am again. 10:39PM. Two more proposals to get out tonight before I can call it a day. I have a weight training session at 5am, and I have my first business call at 8am.

Thank you!

It’s an honor and a privilege to work with the most amazing clients. Amy Stoehr, Linda McLean, Whitedove Gannon, Amy Seedorff, David Hood, Brian Russell, Sherrie Cocanower, TJ Blevins, Emanny Seele. These are clients I’ve talked with personally just in the last 24 hrs.

Just in the last day, we’ve come up with creative new solutions to challenges, pushed out 47 updates to improve performance and security for our clients’ websites, not to mention 104 one-on-one messages out to prospects, clients and vendors.

What are you doing to step up?

My man Rob Bailey says it straight up. “Money never sleeps.”

I have no ambition to brag here. I’m simply sharing what I’m up to, making every attempt to walk the walk.

It’s as simple as this. It’s what I talk about with you in consulting sessions. I’m talking into my iPhone, and in 20 seconds this will be live on the web.

If you think you don’t have time to blog, you just don’t know how to do it yet. I’m happy to show you. If you think it’s not worth your time, you just don’t understand it yet. Let’s chat.

With as fast as things are changing, this has to be considered the new norm. We are out of our element. All of us. Hustling to make a difference. Hustling to do what matters.

Hustling matters. Hustling with the right tools in the right strategy makes an impact. That’s what I’m about. That’s from focusing on. Making an impact.

What are you focusing on?

FACT: Most professionals and business owners earn just enough to get by. Very few excel in their field.

FACT: 80% of the profits in your industry are earned by only 20% of the competitors. This means of course that 80% of you must fight for what’s left over. And that’s a pretty lame gig, no?

FACT: There is one commonality nearly all the top 20% of your field hold. They have a trait which enables them to get to the top and stay there. What is this trait? It is an attitude of consistent, continual growth. They never stop learning. They never stop working on improving themselves, their approach to their business. They never let up.

Some are born with advantages. It’s true. But those willing to work hard are more than willing to dethrone those privileged few as soon as they see an opportunity. You may be lucky enough to be on top through some lucky draw of the cards, but it’s a limited engagement unless you are willing to do what it takes to stay there.

What Separates the Top 20% in Your Field…What Makes Them Different?

Constant learning. Constant growth. With an attitude like this, consistent improvement is simply unavoidable. The top 20% simply won’t have a choice but to admit you at some point. Some of you may take a few years to get there. Some of you may have the chops to get there in just a few weeks.

Not all of you have what it takes to be in the top 1%. This may or may not be in the cards for you. But the top 20% where the bulk of wealth and opportunity lie? No doubt. You’ll get there if you do the work. And if you didn’t get into business to build wealth, why the heck did you?

Are You Making This Mistake?

One mistake I keep seeing lately is business owners asking me to do everything for them. They don’t want to touch this “internet stuff” at all. They want me to create their website, write their blog, build their links, manage their ad campaigns, manage their social profiles, etc. It’s true that most anything can be outsourced to an extent, but it’s gonna cost you.

I don’t work with big business. I work with small business owners. You don’t have a five or six figure monthly marketing budget. Good news…you don’t need one! You need to learn a few things. That’s all. You need to learn how to competently market yourself online. You can learn what you need to know in a short amount of time, and then it’s simply a matter of executing. That’s it. It’s really as simple as that!

And that’s what this blog is about. You know me. I’m happy to answer any dang question you email me. Fire away. If you want to work with me one on one, hit me up. We can do that too. And yes, I’m happy to build you a site or anything else you need. But let’s get one thing straight. None of this is set it and forget it B.S. You can have all the best rock star tools out there (and that’s all I use…the best stuff out there), but if you don’t put them to use, you might as well go home.

Food for Thought

Not too long ago, none of us we dependent on email, contact database management, digital cameras, smart phones…the list goes on. But now they’re second nature to you. I promise, your blog is nothing more than a new smart phone. You just need to set it up and spend a little time learning to use it. Unfortunately there are a lot of idiots out there selling this stuff, telling you a blog will make you millions without effort, on autopilot. Unfortunately, there are a lot of idiots promising to get you to #1 in Google…guaranteed, for $100. But you’re smart enough to ignore these idiots.

Your blog, Twitter and Facebook (Pinterest, LinkedIn and others too of course) are just tools. And it’s an opportunity. A really big, profound opportunity. While the rest of your competition sits on their hands complaining about how there’s all this new stuff they need to learn, YOU can dive in. This is what will set you apart. This is the work you’ll do that others aren’t willing to do. This…this exact work we talk about on this blog…is what puts you in the top 20% of your field. Flat out. Hands down. This is where we can start talking and take your business to an entirely new level.

 

This is the time of year that small business owners start thinking about whether they’re going to hit their first quarter goals. It’s time to reassess, make a few small tweaks to your plan and make sure you’re on track. If you feel your business needs a bit of an overhaul, or if you really want to step things up a notch, I have 7 quick ideas to share with you…

1. Put learning aside for a minute. Start doing. Doing is the ultimate teacher. So you end up learning and accomplishing things at the same time. So many of us get caught up in “learning mode”. As a result, it’s easy to spend all your time trying to figure out the best way to do something, instead of just doing it.
2. Stop striving. Start being. All of us have an idol or a mentor. You’re not your idol. Whoever inspires you does so because they are being themselves. If you truly want to follow in their footsteps, then do what they really do. If your idol or mentor is someone worth following, they don’t simply copy someone else. They do their own thing. I promise you…whatever you love or admire about your mentor is their authenticity. Their originality is undeniable, isn’t it? They didn’t get that from anywhere but within themselves. It’s a way more ballsy and scary thing way to go, but it’s worth it. If you want to model someone that’s truly successful, start by being yourself. It’s the only thing that actually wins. It’s why they win. And it’s how you can win.
3. Don’t question yourself. Yes, you will make mistakes by simply taking action. You will crash and burn. The sooner you get that over with, the sooner you will find out what you’re made of and where you can truly excel. But none of this happens if you question yourself. Dive in head first. Take the blows that come your way…and yes, they’re coming your way. When you come out the other side, you have what no book or course or lecture or conference will ever be able to give you. You’ll have wisdom and self-confidence. This is a “how to get shit done” prerequisite.
4. Don’t take on other people’s goals. Living someone else’s vision is a sure way to feel like hell every day. It’s easy to see a celebrity or successful internet guru and think their life must be awesome. The truth is you don’t know them and have no idea what their life is like. Set your own goals, without reference to anyone else. It’s fine to want fame, a Lamborghini or a big house (or whatever), but where did that goal come from? Why do you have that goal to begin with? Does your goal serve you? Or does it serve some false, idealized version of life that you picked up somewhere along the way? It’s helpful to take a minute and make sure you’re not just doing something because you saw someone else do it.
5. Enjoy the  journey. When you enjoy yourself and are having a blast, it’s so much easier to be effective. It’s so much easier to put in the hours and do the work necessary to excel when you’re having a lot of fun in the process. How do you know if you’re on track? You should feel fantastic about where you’re going, but you should also feel fantastic about where you are…right now. The journey itself should be a blast. If you’re pushing prosperity into the future and saying things like “as soon as I get…this or that…then I’ll be where I want to be”, then you’re not enjoying the journey. If you’re not enjoying the journey, it means you’re grinding your gears and you’re on your way to burning out. This is the universe telling you it’s time to switch things up.
6. Make goals that matter. Spend time working toward a goal that will really mean something to you when it’s accomplished. All too often we think getting more Twitter followers or a bigger email list will make our business more successful, but it doesn’t work that way. Not really. I’ve seen people obsessing about their Klout score and spending loads of time learning CSS just so they can make their website look a certain way. So many things can either be outsourced or forgotten altogether. Be careful of your time, because it’s flat out the most valuable asset you have.
7. Minimize. Of all the things on your “to do” list, there are 3 that will actually help grow your business, and the rest is just busy work. I promise; it’s actually this simple. Forget about everything else until those three things are done. The funny thing about busy work is that it will take up your entire day, but it doesn’t pay you anything. Yet this is where most of us focus. And ironically, by relegating this kind of work to the back burner you end up finding out which of these tasks even need to be addressed at all. It’s amazing how few things end up being important when it’s all said and done. If you have a “to do” list a mile long like I do, identify 3 high level things at the beginning of the day, and simply do that. It takes a little bit of faith here, but if you’re growing your business and forcing yourself to only work on tasks that build your business, the stuff that’s a waste of time simply disappears on it’s own.