Thinking Outside the Mental Box

When you are ambitious and you have goals that you want to reach you have to train yourself to not box yourself in. I had a mentor years ago that told me that whenever I get in a rut I start to box myself in and create “imaginary walls”. At first I did not understand what he meant when he told me that. But after looking deeper into what he was saying what he meant was that whenever a problem posed for me I would think very limited thoughts and box myself in. This phrase meant that there are so many more solutions to problems and ways of doing things that I shouldn’t limit myself with ways to solve the problems. I then realized that I needed to make some adjustments because if I kept doing this I would not be able to reach my full potential as a person. So what did I do? I challenged myself that everytime I ran into a problem I would stop and really think of all of the ways that I could solve the problem.

One habit that I used to have was I would only think that people in my specific industry had good input on my situations and that everyone else’s advice in other industries were irrelevant. That was wrong and everytime I started to think that way and think my thoughts on paper for a solution I would ask myself … am I thinking too much inside the box? Could someone that is an outsider look at this problem and see the solution much clearer than I could because they were not attached to the situation but saw it for what the situation was. I found out this is one of the best ways to solve a problem or come up with a solution. I also found out another lesson within this lesson which is that there is nothing wrong with asking for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness or stupidity (which is the way I viewed it) but it is actually the sign of a smart leader.

What limits are you putting on yourself ? What limits are you putting on your team ? If you are anything like me you most likely see a problem for what it is and then think that there is only one way to solve it. That is until you bring someone else into the situation and ask for their opinion and they see the solution clear as day. So here is the question I am in the habit of constantly asking myself…. where did we get these limits ? Who set or decided that there was only one way to do something ? Sometimes we get so caught up in the world of needing knowledge that we sometimes forget how to think for ourselves or even worse think that our solutions are dumb because of course… we thought of them.

Some great tips that I have learned through challenging myself on thinking outside of the box are when a problem is presented step back and write the problem down. After you write the problem down then write ten or more different ways to solve the problem. After you do that ask some other friends and co workers how they would solve the problem. Then after you have several solutions start going through them and asking if you took the action of following through with that specific solution….what is the worst thing that could happen? If the worst thing that could happen did could you handle the problem and come up with another solution?

Never take a problem or a situation and think that it is permanent because it is not! Do not fall into the trap like I did and allow yourself to get trapped in the mental box. Be creative and focus on the solution and your decisions will be more effective and you will be happier. Don’t fall into paralysis by analysis. Now go out and take an action NOW.

The Risk Taking Leader

Taking Risk is crucial in keeping you as a leader exciting and powerful. When you are taking risks it gives you an adrenaline rush like nothing else in the world. That adrenaline can take you to levels that you never thought possible. It also gives you the confidence to achieve many other things indirectly. The reason why this is, is because when you are afraid to do something and take a risk you fear the unknown. As humans I think we are all afraid of the unknown. The cool part about this though is when you go through a risk and you succeed you realize something. You realize that there are things out there that you never thought could be possilbe for you that you could achieve. It makes you think what else am I holding myself back from?

There is something about taking risks that your team will admire. When your team sees that you are willing to go out and put it all on the line, they know they can trust what you say. It gives your team power because they have a real leader. A leader who backs up what he says with ACTION. Action is the most powerful thing you can do and also the riskiest and scariest because God forbid we make a mistake and fail. How did we learn what is a risk anyways? Who decided certain actions were risky or that we should not do them for fear of not doing them well? These are all society norms that tell us what we can and can’t do. This is not for us because we want to LIVE and not die a slow conforming death. We only live once and we need to take advantage of as much life as we can as possible. Think to yourself if I got shot tomorrow or hit by a car tomorrow would I be completely happy with all of the chances I took? Did I even attempt my dreams or did I talk myself out of it?

Leading is about taking things to the next level and their is literally no way you can do that by just sitting back and taking the safe road. The so called “safe road” is actually more risky because you have less control because you are not taking any action. When you are sitting back you are vulnerable to everything and you lose the power of chance and choice. The fact that you are choosing a short term gain like that will cause long term pain. You will wake up and wonder why did I not try more? Why did I not try harder? Why did I not commit?

Think of all of the great things that have been created and the paths that have been created by people who society thought were completely insane. Think about it they saw a vision and they made that vision a reality by taking the risk of not accepting the status quo. They were ok with looking like a fool if it did not work out right away or hearing the naysayers whisper about how silly they were. But what makes us different is that fact that we are the people that want to make a difference in the world. We want to affect our staff, our families, and loved ones have them believe that there is so much more we could be doing. So much more potential that we can be reaching and the things that seem like they would be impossible are possible. That is what we all live for anyways, the chance to witness or be a part of something bigger. As humans and as business leaders instinctively we know that it can be done and that there is hope. And with hope there leaves a chance even if it seems like a small chance that things can turn out just as we envisioned them.

Vision in Business

When you are a entrepreneur you have to have the ability to see things before they happen. The best entrpreneurs communicate that vision soo strong that they can recruit people to work with them before they even have their first customer. This is what I have learned by starting my own personal training business. I remember when I first told my friends and family what my business partner and I were going to start and they thought we were CRAZY! They thought out of all times you are going to start a business with NO FUNDING, NO EXPERIENCE, and in THIS ECONOMY!?? We believed that we could do it because we were not afraid of failure or maybe we were just plain dumb but either way we didn’t care.

I remember like it was yesterday I was scared and insecure about what and when this was going to happen! My business partner, his wife and I all lived in a very small trailer where we constantly talked about all of these great things that were going to happen that were not happening :). We never at anytime considered the option of quitting and that is where I think we had the edge. The funny part of the entire process of the start up was that we had to play pretend every single day that everything was ok. No one had any idea that we lived off of the dollar menu at sonic and mcdonald’s and that we hadn’t paid our bills in months. We would hire trainers painting the picture that one day we will be this glorious company and we didn’t have two pennies to rub together. That was a tough and stressful time because because each day we were the ceo, the salesman, the customer service rep, the accountant, the therapist, and you name the role we were it! The only problem was we were only experienced in one of those roles and that was sales.

It was the best learning experience that I could have ever asked for. We read all the books we could ever read and audio cd’s we could listen to, to do whatever it took to succeed and stay positive. Before I started the business I never quite understood what communicating a vision was. Now I do. The best ways that I have learned to build a vision is to first think of what your core values are and write them down. Second you have to be genuinely excited about the vision regardless of money. And third you have to choose people who match well with your vision. There you have it now go out and make your vision a REALITY!

Leading through Care

When you are running a business there are people involved. When there are people involved there are uncontrollable circumstances. It is vital that you accept this immediately or else you will constantly feel blindsided. When you are leading a team you must understand that you have to care about people first work second. This is often the part where business leaders drop the ball. They are so worried about short term profits and efficiency that they push their staff too hard. This is a serious problem because when you are thinking short term you almost always make the wrong decisions.

Being a business owner I do care about making money and being efficient but I am a people person. I have been involved with companies where they just do not get it. They cannot figure out why their employees will not work harder or stop calling in sick or quitting. Now it is not rocket science. Treat the employees with care and have empathy. You see people can see right through a facade and they can see sincerity. If you want to have more productivity with your employees then stop thinking short term. Ask for their opinion and give them ownership of the ideas that they come up with. Share some stories of your personal experiences about how you have struggled or felt just like they have. Let them get to see the real you. Be transparent and let your employees see you are just as vulnerable as they are and that you too are human. Take them out to lunch, have some drinks with them, share your hobbies with them, and let the wall down. Business shouldn’t have to be so formal and uptight. Why must we have to accept the status quo and run our businesses like it’s the old days?

People are different and times are changing and we need to flow like water. Here is a quick example of what I used in my own business that made a significant difference. I started taking my staff out to dinners and giving personal time which is WAAAAY more powerful than just a certificate or bonus and I noticed a shift at the office. I noticed that they started having more of a smile on their face. They started to mesh better with the other members of the staff and even customers. It was soo counterintuitive but it worked. I am promising you try it it works.

Importance of Saying Thank You

Saying thank you is soo underrated that I feel the need to bring it up. We flat out do not say thank you enough to our customers, our staff and even our own family and friends. When we are doing businesd with customers and our staff we are asking them to share some of their life together with us. As we all know time is more valuable than money because we can never get that time back. So what should we do? We need to start with giving face to face or belly to belly appreciation. Face to face is always the best because they can see and feel your sincerity when you show them appreciation. Showing appreciation and giving praise is so dead in today’s world that if you are that one person who shows it you will have a very loyal following. Another way of showing appreciation is writing handwritten notes giving specific praise and compliments on what they have done. The thing that you CANNOT forget to do is point out the SPECIFIC action that they did so they know the praise is not generic. You see nobody wants to just be another customer or employee, everyone wants to be different. Everyone wants to be seen and recognized for their special talents that they bring to this world. So do them a favor and RECOGNIZE IT. If you really want to bring saying thank you to your staff or customer then ask them specific questions to learn more about them. Ask what they like to do for fun? What are your dreams and aspirations? Who are your role models? Are you a family person? What do you value most? By asking these questions and listening it can really make the difference. Even if you do not remember their answers but simply just ask the questions will show that you care. There are many ways and things you can do to show that you are thankful. Be creative and use some of my ideas or create your own. It really does not matter how you do it as long as you DO IT!

The Power of Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is everything when you are changing the world. Customers,
family,friends and everyone you know is affected by how are energy is.
Whatever we feel the other person will feel. It is called projection and it
is very powerful. In fact do a test and see how people react when you change
your behavior regardless on how you feel.

It is true that brains can take you places and that you have to have
knowledge to succeed. But there is soo much more power to bringing
excitement and enthusiasm to the table. There is plenty of things that go on
in the world to make people not excited. So when they run into someone who
can change their state of being they want to buy from you. Better yet they
want to be a part of something bigger. They want what you have and that is
LIFE.

Life is too short to not only be excited but make others excited as well.
I look at it as our jobs as business leaders to change the world by doing
more than just selling products and services but selling benefits and a way
of life.

Business and Relationships

Business is all about having great relationships and building the bond with your customers. Never make the customer feel like they are an inconvenience to you or that they are just a money sign. They have families, worries, and concerns just like you. I never can get over the fact that businesses will just act as if their customers are replaceable. This is just plain unacceptable and it is our job to change that mindset and sell and treat our customers like they should be treated.