Mental Roadblocks, Busy, Joe GirardDo you want to know the secret that separates the winners from the “rest?” It’s not luck, skills, or advantages in resources. It is all about MINDSET. the winners struggle just like everyone else, but they know what it takes to push through and get it done – no matter what.

Today I will help you with a few hacks to battle mental blocks and give you the edge you seek.

SIDE NOTE: Wanna try something cool? I received an email from my friend, Erik, who said he has Siri read my posts to him. So I thought, “Hey, what if I recorded the audio so anyone can listen to the post as an option?” Let me know what you think: Click here or on the play button below

 

Someone wanted to punch me in the face.

When I was just starting out in my career about fifteen years ago, I was young and full of energy. I remember the first week at my new job at the College and interacting with all the students – I was having a blast and very excited about the future (I even had dyed white-blonde hair because I was cool). Well, at the end of the week, my manager pulled me into the office and said he had received a few complaints about me. That I was cocky, annoying, and kind of obnoxious. (Me?)

He continued to explain that one of the students went so far as to say, “If that new guy comes by our class again, I am gonna punch him in the face.” My face. Wow.

Well, at that moment, I was both angered and terrified. I couldn’t believe that these people just “didn’t understand” me and I figured the next words were going to be, “It’s just not working out.”

Instead, my boss just laughed and said that one of the reasons they hired me was for my energy and that what we needed to do was harness that energy with the right mindset. I couldn’t believe it. I was hurt, angry, and at the same time – relieved. But it really affected me.

How many times had I gone through situations like this and not known? What would I need to do to change my personality and grow as a person? At that time, I thought I had it all figured out, but sadly, I had a ton of personal development to do. Over the years, I worked on developing my skills, embracing new experiences, and cultivating the right mindset. Especially working with mentors and coaches, always asking for honest feedback.

We are never finished our personal improvement plans. If you think you have it all figured out, maybe that story will help you. But let’s talk about YOUR roadblocks and how to overcome them today.

1. I Don’t Have Time

If you are like most people I talk to, you are just crazy busy. All the time, right? And if you are like many entrepreneurs, you are juggling multiple projects all at once or even working part-time (or full-time) at a job to pay the bills. This lack of time is definitely a major challenge.

Let me help you with this thought: Time is not all about how many hours we have each day and how we fill those hours. It is the way you mentally associate what time is and the approach you take to the time you have. let me explain.

  • Time Hack #1: Stop multitasking and start sprinting –  I wrote previously about how multitasking is a myth where I showed you the studies that say we lose 40% productivity when we multitask!  The other post you should look at is how to focus for 90 minutes and get things done where I show you the beauty of the 90 minutes sprint. Right now, to write this post, I shut all other distractions off to get it done. Then I can get back to my other projects that are also “important.”
  • Time Hack #2: Take the minimum effective dose – If you have read anything by Tim Ferris, you will have heard this. Basically the minimum effective dose works well with pharmacology (where you need the smallest amount of medication to get a result), in weight-loss (just getting to the gym is all that matters), and in your time management (stop staring at that giant to do list). This may contradict the first point, but what you should look at is basically your simple, fundamental habits. We tend to get overwhelmed and let things stack up. Why, because overwhelmed people give up and do nothing. So this week, take a look at whatever is pressing on your mind – finances, health, relationships, whatever. And schedule five to ten minutes each day to tackle just one thing. Rather than waiting for a BIG chunk of time to open up (because it never does). Try it and let me know how it goes for you.
  • Time Hack #3: Set a 90 day plan and get to work – If you have been reading my stuff for a while, you know I a a MASSIVE fan of 90 day plans. the trick is to set your goals,determine what you need to achieve them, and then SCHEDULE your activities. When I need laser-focus and breakthroughs, I simply just set my 90 day plan, schedule an hour each day, and forget the goal. Do you remember Ron Popeil? “Set it and…FORGET it!”  That is the trick. We tend to over-analyze our progress and then switch to something else (the new “shiny thing” syndrome for those ADDs like me). Set your plan and let NOTHING stand in your way. If you don’t stick to the plan, well that’s on you.

2. “I Don’t Know How”

Hey, I get it. Technology, processes, systems, and pretty much everything changes DAILY. I just remembered my post from 2011 where I talked about “old-school” employees. I was worried to look back at my writing from then, becaue I had really only started blogging the year before. To be honest, the writing back then was not that spectacular.

I tell you this for two reasons. First, the post is actually pretty good and stresses that “old-school” is really a mentality, not an age issue. When you are confronted with change – especially in technology, do you embrace it, or avoid it? There of course, is a steep learning curve that can make you feel inadequate – especially when you see others doing WAY better than you. Do you let your lack of knowledge and intimidation stop you?

The second reason I brought up that post was that it was a reminder of all the evolutions my website has gone through. I have redesigned it (myself) five times now as my brand grows. I have learned to integrate my Aweber mailing lists, segmenting, installed the Genesis Framework on both sites, and taught myself how to code.

My friend, Jesse McClinton, who runs Alter-Ego Marketing Group and is very handsome, has been on my case for years because I should be out selling and leave the design and tech to someone else (basically he wants my money). Well I tend to agree, and I don’t suggest you get as heavily obsessed in learning web-development as I have, there is something completely satisfying about learning something as daunting as development. I have, of course, hired for many projects, but I have been doing my own design for years. I love it. And I continue to play with my site and make fun tweaks. I would love any feedback you have too!

So, wherever your skills gap is, forget about who is doing it better, and make a plan. If you set a 90 day goal as above, incorporate learning as part of your daily habits. I also wrote about this a few months back in my video talking about learning a new skill each month. Pick one topic and dive into it completely each month. By the end of the year, you will be pretty good at 12 new things.

Also, find people who have done it before. Ask their input, their advice, and their insights. Learning from experts is the fastest way to accelerate your growth. Guaranteed.

I know that in your busy world, you feel like you need to do everything and you need to clone yourself. Just accept that you will never be finished learning, so enjoy the process and make yourself a decent plan. Just set your mindset to be that no matter the difficulty, you WILL get things done. Let your evolution happen…over time.

3. “I’m Not Good Enough”

Oh baby, now we are going to get deep for a second. Okay, nobody’s looking – it’s alright to doubt yourself. We deal with this mental roadblock more than any of the other ones and on a way more disastrous scale. Have you ever tried something and failed, been rejected, or had someone say they would punch you in the face if they had to deal with you anymore? (Hopefully not the last one).

But let’s face it. Life is tough.

And the winners are the ones who are excited when there is nothing to be excited about. They expect failure. In fact, they welcome it.

For winners, failure represents an opportunity to learn. About their business, their relationships, and themselves. All of the most successful entrepreneurs, athletes, and executives I work with tell me this is the biggest area of personal growth they had to work on. Bottom line. They try, test, and keep evaluating ideas and process until they find things that work.

Have you ever put a project on the back-burner because you felt it wouldn’t be good enough? So what did you do? Yah, nothing. And we all do that. I have a number of half-started books I am writing that self-doubt crept in part way through the process. I had not finished building my online training platform for fear it wouldn’t be good enough.

On the flip side, I work with people who have great ideas and businesses who are afraid that if it doesn’t work, this is their ONLY SHOT in life. I can’t imagine the fear that comes with the mindset of “This is all I will ever be, and if it doesn’t work, I am finished.” My god, that is terrifying!

When you can come to terms with the vulnerability we all face, that’s half the battle. The key is just persistence and thinking long-term.

My girlfriend and I have a conversation almost weekly where we look back on the progress we have made since this time last year. How we have grown as people, the relationships we have built, and where our professional growth has happened. It is easy to forget about how far we have come in as little as a year, when we are only focused on the fears of the today. (Hey that was a solid quote I just made up. Click it to share it)

The truth is, there is no right or wrong way to build your life, but the true winners understand that it is a slow progression of small, incremental growth that leads to long term success.

Remember also what your priorities are. What is important to you today that will still be important to you next year, in five years, or 25 years? Are you working on developing YOU first?

There are no guarantees of success in your life, but YOU can give yourself an advantage any time you CHOOSE. Set yourself free – change your mindset.

—Joe Girard

PS: Major announcement! I will be releasing my online training platform that will take you through these concepts and many more. Consider this your own personal and professional improvement platform. I have been taking my training, workshops, and resources, and building a platform to help you. Training that I have charged thousands for to large organizations individually in the past will be available for a small subscription or even for life. I was worried about releasing it too soon, but in the spirit of this article, why not? Click here to go get your name on the pre-launch list 

Question for ya: What are some of the mental roadblocks you have faced that you have worked to overcome? Leave your comments below:

Joe Girard
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