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Seven Keys to Get Out of a Rut
They say a rut is a shallow grave with two open ends. The good news (good news?!) is that the ends ARE still open, which means if you act fast, you just might out of it. How do we get into these ruts anyway? Who would voluntarily lie down in that grave, shallow or otherwise? Dr. Edward Debono suggests that thoughts are pathways literally "etched" in our brain as electrical connections that get strengthened each time we think them -- thus limiting our mental options. Just like cow paths. It all begins when one of the cows wanders home from the field along a new path. Being cows, others naturally follow, nicely beating down the grass. The next evening our intrepid cow is a bit less bold, and follows her own freshly trampled path, fellow cows in lockstep behind her. And so on, night after night, widening the path into a footpath, which over time becomes hardened into a dirt road. More time passes and the road is paved into a street, then an avenue, a two-lane highway, and ultimately an interstate. By the time you come roaring up the onramp in your shiny SUV, your direction is all mapped out in front of you. There's no way to turn, and no where to go but towards the next exit. If you want to chart a fresh direction you are going to have to grab the steering wheel and give it a hard, gut-wrenching yank to the right. And so it is with your thoughts and actions. Repeating them a few times all but insures you will comfortably repeat them indefinitely unless you take deliberate - possibly disruptive -- action to do otherwise. Here are 7 rut busters I use with my business coaching clients that you can apply immediately to get yourself and your business out of a rut.
While that's not wrong, to get out of your rut do this: put yourself into the mind of your customer. Who are these people anyway? What are they concerned about? What are they trying to accomplish? If you were your customer, what would you think of that new product, marketing campaign, or mail piece? Are you selling your wonderful "stuff", or are you providing them tangible, meaningful benefits. Ask, "If I were the customer, would I care?" And if not, consider, "What WOULD I get excited about?"
Now that's a switch, isn't it? If they're customers, your goal is to get them to buy something. But if you were to think of them as under your care - would you approach your business from another angle? How would you take care of them? How would you "protect" them? What new programs would you want to implement immediately?
If you're not happy with your current customers, conduct a survey among the kind of people you'd like to have as customers. And, if you can't do that, conduct a survey online. Write an attractive search engine ad, promise something of value, and drive people to a survey page. Ask them anything you like - the answers will almost always provide you with a neat mind-shift.
Try this on: What if you focused 100 percent of your energy on being world-class in those few things at which you are already very good, and out-tasked or outsourced those things at which you were mediocre. Imagine if you never had to face any of those things again and could spend all your time doing the good stuff. Would that change the way you felt about your business? Would that bust you out of your rut?
So let go. Make the sacrifice. Clear your plate and give up some of those precious things you've been holding on to. Focus your vitality on plans which will really rock your world. Ruts? Who needs 'em. � Paul Lemberg. All rights reserved
Paul Lemberg's clients call him "the unreasonable business coach" because he insists they pursue goals and take actions far outside their comfort zone to make more money than they previously thought possible. To get www.paullemberg.com/Business_Coaching.html">business coaching tips, tools and strategies like these, visit www.paullemberg.com/Business_Coaching.html">http://www.paullemberg.com/Business_Coaching.html.
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Continue reading...Anniversary marks British North America Act of 1867, but many people are rejecting the official celebrations and instead highlighting indigenous resilience Two hundred paddlers will weave through the waters, their canoes carving a thin line in English Bay against the backdrop of Vancouver’s dramatic skyline. When they pull in to Vanier Park – one of the many destinations on their 10-day journey – local chiefs from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations will greet them and offer permission to step ashore on to their traditional territories. Continue reading...Millions follow live on TV as Sota Fujii scores 29th consecutive win in Japanese board game that last sparked the country’s interest in the mid-1990s A schoolboy has set a record for consecutive victories in professional shogi – a Japanese version of chess – winning plaudits from the prime minister and sparking a surge of interest in the board game. Sota Fujii, 14, recorded his 29th straight win late on Monday, taking more than 11 hours to beat his opponent in the first round of the prestigious Ryuo championship in Tokyo. Continue reading...Col Maksim Shapoval, who was head of a special forces unit, killed and passersby injured in terrorist act, government says A high-ranking Ukrainian military intelligence official has been killed by a car bomb in Kiev in what authorities are calling an act of terrorism. An explosive device destroyed the Mercedes being driven by Col Maksim Shapoval at 8.15am local time, police said. Continue reading...Planned improvements to Rio’s favelas have meant increases in rent, forcing the poorest families into squatting in unoccupied buildings. Photographer Tariq Zaidi visits the Mangueira community favela, less than 1km from the showpiece Maracanã stadium, to see what life is like for the women living there All photographs by Tariq Zaidi Continue reading...State Department’s annual report rewards Myanmar for efforts against recruitment of child soldiers, but says China not doing enough to end trafficking The US asserted on Tuesday that Myanmar is no longer one of the world’s worst offenders on human trafficking, removing it and Iraq from a list of countries that use child soldiers. But in its annual Trafficking in Persons report, the State Department also demoted China to the lowest ranking over its trafficking record, putting it in the same category as North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria. Continue reading...Peru’s president condemns conditions of ‘slave workers’ as four young people die in blaze in Lima, at least two of whom were reportedly imprisoned inside Peru’s public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into human trafficking and labour exploitation following a fire in the capital that killed four young people. It is claimed that at least two of the men, Jorge Luis Huamán, 19, and Jovi Herrera, 21, had been locked inside a container on the roof of the Nicolini building in Lima by a boss they only knew as “gringo”, when fire ripped through it on 22 June. Continue reading...Unemployment crisis will ravage the continent if it doesn’t opt for market-based development, according to report by Tony Blair’s Institute Parts of Africa could face a massive unemployment crisis by 2040, with “catastrophic” consequences for the global economy, new research has found. The report predicted a shortfall of 50 million jobs, which should serve as a “wake up call” for governments across much of the continent, as well as international donors and agencies. According to the analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, based on world bank data, the labour force in sub-saharan Africa will be 823 million by 2040, up from 395 million in 2015. However, total number of jobs is only expected to hit 773 million, it said, leaving 50 million people in Africa unemployed. Continue reading...China is setting up agricultural centres across Africa, but in Zambia – where the majority of farmers are female smallholders – few women get the chance to learn On the highway heading towards Chongwe, 15km south-east of Lusaka, the red Chinese lettering, high flagpoles and gleaming modern architecture of the Zambia Chinese Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre (ZATDC) stand out amid the vast fields of maize. It is one of 25 such centres built across the continent as part of a grand plan to bring agricultural training to local people, helping them produce better crops with higher yields, so that food security is improved for everyone. Continue reading...Once the family breadwinner, Hossein Panahi was among 150 people who died when a bomb ripped through the Afghan capital in May. Now his kin are destitute, adding to the toll of lives wrecked by the country’s violence As an only son, Hossein Panahi was his family’s sole provider. He supplied his sisters with clothes, his ailing parents with food and medicine, and built them all a house to live in. His salary meant his two older sisters did not have to marry young for dowry, but could wait for men they loved. He also put his third sister through law school. Continue reading...Sportswear brands review spate of incidents in factories where employees on short-term contracts work 10-hour days in soaring temperatures Women working in Cambodian factories supplying some of the world’s best-known sportswear brands are suffering from repeated mass faintings linked to conditions. Over the past year more than 500 workers in four factories supplying to Nike, Puma, Asics and VF Corporation were hospitalised. The most serious episode, recorded over three days in November, saw 360 workers collapse. The brands confirmed the incidents, part of a pattern of faintings that has dogged the 600,000-strong mostly female garment workforce for years. Continue reading...Tesco is to join Sainsbury’s in changing the branding of some ‘fairly traded’ products When four Sainsbury’s executives met farmers from some of Africa’s biggest tea-growing co-operatives in a hotel in Nairobi last month it should have been a mutual celebration of Fairtrade, the gold standard of ethical trading and the world’s most trusted and best-known food certification scheme. But instead of backslapping at the Pride hotel, the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade products precipitated the greatest crisis in the scheme’s 25-year history by telling the 13 major tea groups and their 228,000 co-operative members that it intended to drop the globally known Fairtrade mark for their produce, and replace it with the phrase “fairly traded”. Continue reading...Facts are the science world’s stock-in-trade, but in an era of fake news it is ever more important to build public trust by avoiding exaggerated claims and jargon One of my most cherished possessions is a handmade cherrywood salad bowl that’s never held a leaf of lettuce. It is 25 years old and gets more beautiful every year. The bowl was a gift, carved by a widower who was left to raise his daughter alone when his wife died under my care as an oncologist. My patient, who I’ll call Erica, had the most challenging form of breast cancer and I didn’t have the tools to save her life. I’ve always felt undeserving of the gift, despite doing everything I could. Five years later, I participated in the development of a medicine for Erica’s type of cancer, Herceptin. While regretting that it had not come fast enough for Erica, I am deeply grateful for the scientific advances that mean better care for patients like her today. Continue reading...The US president’s preference for public bellicosity and instant military action has potential to cause a lot of damage Donald Trump’s warning of renewed US military action against Syria, backed by Britain and condemned by Russia, fits a now established pattern of aggressive White House behaviour favouring violence, or public threats of violence, over quiet diplomacy and private coercion. So far, the damage has been limited. But it’s early days. Related: Three-quarters of world has little or no confidence in Trump, Pew study finds Continue reading...As US mulls strategy over country’s support for terrorist groups in Afghanistan, experts say tougher stance could drive Pakistan toward China and Russia The Trump administration is considering taking a harder stance against Pakistan for supporting terrorist groups in Afghanistan, but experts warn that pressure alone will not bring peace. Similar tactics have failed in the past, and analysts warn that the US can only influence the south Asian country by coupling force with diplomacy, which Donald Trump seems to shun. Continue reading...Analysis: The president celebrated the decision to allow parts of the ban to take effect, but ultimately, ‘the president might well lose on this’, says a legal expert Donald Trump was quick to proclaim victory when the supreme court decided to allow elements of one of his most controversial policies to take effect before justices hear the case in the fall. “Today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision is a clear victory for our national security,” the US president said in a statement. “It allows the travel suspension for the six terror-prone countries and the refugee suspension to become largely effective.” Continue reading...The US supreme court has reversed lower court rulings, allowing the immigration order to take partial effect. Here’s what that means A watered-down version of the Trump administration’s “travel ban” is to take effect over the summer following a supreme court decision on Monday reversing a series of federal court rulings on the ban. The decision by the US’s highest court raises a number of questions about what the new ban will mean for people in the six Muslim-majority nations affected, as well as for a president who has been repeatedly stymied by the judiciary in the first five months of his administration. Continue reading...Treatment of dying Nobel peace prize winner is emblematic of China’s iron rule. Tania Branigan on the remarkable man she nearly met – the day he was arrested There was no sign of Liu Xiaobo in the Beijing coffee shop – a confusion over the place or time we had arranged to meet, I assumed. But he wasn’t answering his mobile phone and a call to his home brought worrying news: 10 police had arrived late the night before and taken him away. Even then, the writer’s disappearance did not seem overly concerning. Chinese dissidents and activists were used to pressure from the authorities and brief detentions for questioning, or worse. But Liu enjoyed a relative degree of tolerance because of his high profile, though he’d been jailed over 1989’s Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests when he helped broker a peaceful exit from the square for the remaining demonstrators amid the bloody crackdown – and again in the 90s. Continue reading...The national media failed to cover large swathes of the US pre-election, while rural voices have been quieted by the decimation of local news. Our On The Ground project aims to remedy these issues Sarah Smarsh is a journalist, but she’s not typical, at least not by national media standards. For starters, she’s a fifth-generation Kansan who grew up below the poverty line, feeding livestock and helping grow wheat on a small farm. She got her first taste for investigation and justice by following her grandmother, a probation officer, at the county courthouse in Wichita. Growing up, she rarely read about people she knew – farmers, carpenters, factory and restaurant workers – in the mainstream media. After more than 15 years covering Kansas politics and culture on the ground, she’s more committed than ever to her home, and to people often stereotyped or misunderstood in national coverage. Continue reading...The Guardian interviewed people from across the country who have relied on the coverage for life-saving assistance and what could happen if they lose it On Thursday, Senate Republicans unveiled legislation that would satisfy a long-held campaign promise: the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The plan would also achieve another GOP priority: deep cuts to Medicaid, a program that covers the healthcare needs of nearly one in five Americans. Related: Will losing health insurance mean more US deaths? Experts say yes Continue reading...While Donald Trump backs the Saudi-led ultimatum, the state and defense departments are openly critical – a mixed message that could worsen the crisis The crisis created by the ultimatum delivered to Qatar by the Saudi-led Gulf coalition has been deepened by mixed messages from Washington. Related: 'Close al-Jazeera': Saudi Arabia gives Qatar 13 demands to end blockade Continue reading...Using government data, doctors and academics have tested whether a lack of healthcare coverage increases the probability of death. Most conclude it does The Republican healthcare bill announced on Thursday would cause thousands of Americans to die each year, according to physicians who study government data. Using national health surveys, doctors and academics have tested whether a lack of health insurance increases the probability of death. Most have concluded that it does. Continue reading...Around 30,000 honey bees swarm on a ledge at One Times Square, where the New Year’s Eve ball drop happens, in New York. Andrew Coté, a fourth generation beekeeper of AndrewsHoney.com, was called to the rescue and used a vacuum to suck up the bees, who he said were looking for a new home Continue reading...US President Donald Trump has spoken to Ireland’s newly-elected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar from the Oval Office. During the call, reporters from the Irish media were present. At one point Trump tells Varadkar he has “a lot of these beautiful Irish press” in the room and singles out Caitriona Perry, asking her to come forward and tell him her name. As she explains who she works for, Trump says “she has a nice smile on her face so I’m sure she treats you well.” Perry, Washington correspondent for RTE, posted the exchange on Twitter, calling it “bizarre”. Continue reading...A reporter challenges deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday after she accused the media of perpetuating fake news against the Trump administration. Karim tells Huckabee Sanders that she is being inflammatory and adds that journalists are subject to professional standards Continue reading...Xiahe is famous for its Labrang monastery, the largest edifice of the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism and home to the largest number of monks outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. The monastery was founded in 1709 Continue reading...Hawaii attorney general Doug Chin says he believes in the president’s power to protect national security but not when it discriminates against people because of their national origin or religion. The nation’s highest court ruled on Monday that a travel ban may be enforced if visitors lack a connection with a person or entity in the United States. Hawaii sued to stop President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban in March. Chin says the decision is a partial victory for Hawaii because it allows people such as university students and relatives of US citizens to enter the country. “We expect our president to follow the law,” he says. Continue reading...Several potential jurors at the federal securities fraud trial of Martin ‘Pharma Bro’ Shkreli were excused on Monday after telling the judge they couldn’t be impartial toward the flamboyant former pharmaceutical CEO because of his notoriety for raising the cost of a life-saving drug 5,000 percent. Though Shkreli’s notoriety came from Daraprim, a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis and HIV, the federal securities fraud case is unrelated. Continue reading... |
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