It's Not The Knowledge That Makes The Difference

I've spent the better part of the last three years of my life completely immersed in learning about Business. From marketing to operations and finance to human resources, the focus of my effort has been to learn and to understand how to help small businesses grow.

In my search, I have read hundreds of blogs and dozens of books, watched countless videos and listened to hours of speeches. And in spite of all the great advice out there, the single most important thing that I've learned in all of that, has little to do with any of the published knowledge and everything to do with whether or not people actually act upon the knowledge they learn.

That's right, I'm saying it matters less what you know, and more that you act upon what you know.

I know there are a lot of people that are going to get frustrated with that statement. Because if people actually listen to me, they will stop spending the hundreds of millions of dollars they are currently spending on finding out the answer, and actually begin doing what they need to do to make their businesses grow. . . take action.

It's What You Do, Not What You Know

People rarely get rich based on what they know. They do, however, get rich based on the actions they take based on what they know.

It's not necessarily having the best marketing plan. But instead actually having one and acting on it.

It's not having an MBA from a prestigious University that makes you successful in business, some of the best business men and women in the world don't even have Bachelors degrees. Instead, it's what you do, with the knowledge you have.

So, stop looking for the "silver bullet" answer out there - the one piece of education, one book, one blog, or one story that will shine the light on you. Instead begin implementing what you have learned, and make adjustments as you go and as you learn, practically.

Don't just spend all of your time learning. Start doing.

Start living!

Self-Sabotage or Self-Preservation?

There is an interesting phenomenon that occurs with many people who decide to “change” their life for the better. They commit very deeply to the process of change – truly believing they will do what ever it takes to make the change become permanent. But just as they are about to “break through” to the next level, they disengage from the process and go back to their old self.

Why is this? Why do they pull-back from change just as things are getting good?

Is it because they changed their minds and don't really believe in their goals anymore? Or because they don't think the process is working for them?

I don't think so!

Even though they may say and "feel" both of these things, I don't believe it to be true. In fact, I think that just the opposite is true. And the longer I coach, the more I see it happen.

You see, up until the point of backing down, most people actively participate in the change process at a conscious level. They make real decisions to be who they want to be. And they are very motivated.

Unfortunately though, change in the early stages isn't permanent - it's just surface changes. Real change takes time and requires a deeper commitment. It requires changing habit patterns which are subconscious thoughts - and these are not as easily changed.

Sure, they get close to making a real difference long term, but they never carry through because of an incredible strong drive to quit and / or destroy everything they've worked for up to this point. And it feels the longer they fight it, the stronger the feeling grows.

It is precisely at this point that most people quit and go back to who they have always been – back to what feels comfortable every day. It is really a shame, because just as the pull becomes strongest is the precise time that you have to find a way to push through – at a conscious level – because your gut (your inner voice) is doing everything it can to hold you back – to keep you from taking that next step.

And it is doing so more out of self-preservation than anything else!

The very survival of everything you have counted on as “truth” depends on you not going any further. In the next couple steps you take, you will begin to see a new truth. Each step is a challenge to what you have always known and will redefine your world image. Your subconscious knows that you are on the verge of breaking free from your comfort zone as it is right now – and reaching a new plateau in your life. And this plateau in your life will leave the past as simply that – your past.

Up until this breakthrough, the tug of your old self grows with each passing day – until you feel like you can't go another step. Do not succumb to these tugs and go back to their comfortable life. If and when you have the strength to step through that invisible barrier, that is your comfort zone, you will no longer feel that ever-increasing tug. You will find a new freedom and drive to keep moving forward.

Don't get me wrong, you will still feel the tug of your old self. But after breakthrough, with each passing day, the tug will get weaker – and your new path will gain strength. The new you will begin to take shape.

It's not that you forget who you were, it's simply that you begin to see yourself as something new – as something re-defined.

So here, if anywhere, is where you need to find someone to support your journey – to encourage you to keep moving forward – to help you find what lies outside your comfort zone.

Sadly, too often, you can't count on your family or your friends of old on this journey. It's not because they don't love and support you or because they don't want what's best for you. Instead, the problem with those who love you so dearly is that from where they stand (usually inside your comfort zone), the pain you will endure is being caused by your efforts to change, not by the struggle to break from your old habits. They want to you be who they have always know you to be, more so than who you can be.

Many people call this process self-sabotage. Honestly, I think the name is wrong. It's not sabotage at all, it's actually self-preservation. To see it as “against” you is, in my opinion, looking at it from the wrong perspective. And this perspective actually makes it more difficult to overcome. Conversely, when you see it as an attempt of preservation of the old you, it is actually easier to step through and overcome.

It's not you trying to sabotage your dreams – it's you trying to save the only YOU that you ever known – the YOU that you've always been.

Here is the simple truth - "You will always be you." And instead of leaving the old you behind, you will add to it. You will learn new things, new tricks and gain new experiences.

As I said in one of my earliest blogs, Be Willing To Give Up Everything To Get What You Want, you have to willing to give up what you currently have in order to create or get what you want. And now you can see, more than anything else, what you have to be willing to give up is what previously defined YOU – and allow something new to grow and become who you are.

Stop Waiting For The Phone To Ring

Regardless of your industry or size of your business, many of you are saying the same thing, "Business seems to be drying up. The phone just isn't ringing like it used to."

Why is that? Is it all the recession? Or is there something that you are or aren't doing that is contributing to your current situation?

If you ask me, the recession is a contributing factor, but it isn't the only reason your sales and profits are down. In my opinion, blaming some THING or some ONE else is a victim's attitude.

With every crisis, there is an opportunity to create a new success. So your job is to find that opportunity and seize it - to take the actions that no one else is willing or able to take in your market.

And so, I offer to you that making the phone ring and customers walk through your door isn't something you can fix today. It required weeks of work and investment in marketing that should have begun long before now. So stop stressing about it. Use that energy to launch yourself to the next level. And focus on what you can do NOW to affect your business tomorrow, next week and next month.

You see, you can't change your current reality any more than you can change your past. You are where you are right now, because of your actions (or in-actions) of the past. Today, you can only change your future, not your present. So unless you want to have the same conditions next month as you have today, it's time to look at what different actions you are going to take RIGHT NOW to change your current reality into what you want for the future.

The next couple months and years are going to be tough. But I can promise you this, they will be a lot tougher, if you don't get involved and start taking control of your own destiny. Odds are no one is going to bail you out.

Of all the times to be a business owner - now is not the time to sit on the sideline and wait for customers to find you. Get out there and be willing to take chances. Start taking control of your business - take control of your marketing and rather than waiting for your phone to ring, MAKE IT RING.

Make your potential customers choose you over every other option they have to spend their money.