Being boring pays off. Yes, I know that seems like a stupid thing to say. After all, who wants to do/see/hear the same thing, over and over again? Our customers, that’s who. Our repeat clients pay us because they want what we’re offering. They know what they’re going to get, they’re happy with what it is, and they want the …
Feeding Your Ego
Customers are the lifeblood of our business. (Especially when times are tough,) we can’t afford to lose any good ones. So, why do some business owners go out of their way to prove to their paying customers that they know more than their customer do? Feeding your own ego may be satisfying in the moment, but it doesn’t feel better …
Winning the War
Running a business is often compared to being in a war. We’re fighting against our competitors, each of us trying to win the fight for market supremacy. We think that the opponent is our competition are that we’re going into battle with them to win the spoils of war (all the customers). In reality, the fight is much closer to …
Up In Flames
Once we’ve been doing something the same way for an extended period of time, it’s inevitable that things are going to get boring. We notice it. Other people notice it. Our customers notice it too. We start to phone it in. Going through the motions, it’s commonly called. The beginning of the end is what we should call it. It’s …
Following Rollo
Freedom does not come automatically; it is achieved. And it is not gained in a single bound; it must be achieved each day. Rollo May in Man’s Search for Himself This quote tells us that freedom is not given to us, it must be earned. Constantly. The same thing can be said of business success. Far too often, we chase …
Distracted
All too often, we find ourselves distracted. Distracted by our massive to do list. Distracted by bright, shiny objects. Distracted by things that waste our important time. Distracted by the small stuff. Distracted by all the things we think we need to do. We have an amazing ability to forget everything important and become distracted by the trivial things that …
Giving Pause
Not everyone is going to agree with what they hear/read, but intelligent people keep listening and learning. 50% of the information will probably be pointless drivel. 40% of the information we’ll probably totally disagree with. The rest of the information is likely to give us pause. It’s likely to make us stop and think. Should I implement this new information …
Planning For Failure
If you want to be a man with no fear when the crisis comes, train before it comes. Seneca No matter how long we’ve been working, how good we are at our jobs, or how many times we’ve done this before, we’re all going to end up having problems. It’s inevitable. Like the song says, troubles gonna come my way. …
Hard, Is It Not
Yes, it’s hard. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. But that doesn’t make it any easier. Yes, it’s hard. We already knew it would be hard, didn’t we? But that doesn’t make it any easier. Yes, it’s hard. That’s why we’re doing it, isn’t it? But that doesn’t make it any easier. The difference between winning and …
Framed
“So you can zero in on what you did wrong, or you can reframe the experience in a way that focuses beyond it to what you have learned. There are multiple meanings to any experience. The meaning is whatever you choose to emphasize, just as its content is what you choose to focus on. One of the keys to success …