Morning Motivator – Is It Time for Help?

"I know I can do it.  I'm just not getting it done."
- Anonymous

How much is enough?  How much work can you take on before you find that you are starting to lose control of your QUALITY?  At what point, financially, do you finally make the jump and hire someone to HELP?

Many people ponder this question daily.  Do I take on the next project?  Do I take a pay cut to hire?  How can I grow my business?

The concern is about what you are LOSING (control, finances, creative input) vs. what you gain (increased time, resources, opportunity to grow).  We struggle with the balance, especially as entrepreneurs, mostly because we THINK we do everything best and no one else could ever replace us.  HA HA HA… WOW THAT IS FUNNY!

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The REALITY is that we are BARELY qualified to do a great majority of the tasks we are taking on daily in our work, ESPECIALLY if you are an entrepreneur!

In order for your to be the best bookkeeper and best creative director, you would be forced to tap into BOTH sides of your brain and outperform near all CPA's and Marketing Exec in the world.  WOW you must be arrogant to think you can do that.

Take a note from the great Tim Ferriss of Four Hour Work Week fame.  Work on the 20% you are best at.  Work with the 20% of clients that matter most.  Delegate or eliminate EVERYTHING else!  EVERYTHING!! 

If you are NOT the best at what you are doing… then YES, it is time for help.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – Your Annual Check Up

"Another year has passed… what have I accomplished?"
- Annual birthday question

Every 365 days something magical happens – your birthday!  Today happens to be mine.  I am CELEBRATING the 3rd anniversary of my 30th birthday!!

Why is that we wait all year before we start asking IMPORTANT questions like:
Am I happy?
Am I following my dreams?
Am I successful?
What SHOULD I be doing?
What am I missing out on?

These are VERY IMPORTANT questions that should not be reviewed annually, rather weekly, if not daily! 

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The thing about aging is that we become DESENSITIZED to the things that bothered us prior.  We begin to "settle" for less and accept our "place" in the world.  Why??  We are the proverbial frog in the pot of gradually warming water… We never see our fate coming.  We just think it is what it is.

Somewhat sad actually.

But WAIT!  There is HOPE!  Planning a monthly review of your success path and evaluating your actions can ALLEVIATE the risk of you ending up as frog legs.  How hard would it be to put a reminder in your calendar for 3pm every Friday?  Spend 20 minutes reviewing your goals, then make corrections. 

It seems simple… and it actually works.  You might be surprised if you just try!

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – Prepare to be Surprised

"You don't know what you don't know."
- Common phrase

Most of us are good about planning.  We do our BEST to make sure we have our ducks lined up and ready to go.  We set meetings with clients, we make notes in our planners, and we have reminders in our smart phones.  YET, we NEVER see it coming… the things we do not know.

How does one PREPARE for something of which we are not aware?  How do you we ALIGN our resources in a manner that we can counter any hiccup in the system?

The pain about real learning is it is not the TYPE, from school, which with you are familiar.  You know, the kind where you read a book, memorize some stuff for a week, then REGURGITATE it onto a test form and get you're a.  REAL LEARNING is less about memorization and more about AWARENESS.  It is becoming aware of the OPPORTUNITIES and FAULTS in a situation, as well as how they make repeat themselves in other situations.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Well, if we do not know what to plan for… how do we plan?

The BETTER question may be, "If we don't know what to be aware of, how do we heighten our awareness?"  That is easier to conceptualize and tackle.

Heightened awareness is achieved through varying sources, such as:
Reading biographies from high achievers
Working with a mentor or within a professional group
Subscribing to trade magazines
Attending conferences and trade shows
ASKING QUESTIONS… LOTS OF THEM!

You will NEVER know what you do not know until you know it, (how is that for a Yogi Berra style comment) so CREATE as much opportunity for awareness as possible.  It is often the person with the GREATEST awareness that is able to take greatest ADVANTAGE of opportunities, but I bet you KNEW that… 

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – The Cost of Preparation

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
— John Wooden

What is the cost of NOT screwing up?  What is the VALUE of not having to worry tomorrow about the details of a project?  At what point does an INVESTMENT in time and money become worthy, even if the reaping of the investment is weeks or months away?

In the past 20 years, a new theory arose in the business world, "Just In Time" production.  It is a wonderful solution to MINIMIZING the volume of inventory large businesses had traditionally carried in their warehouses, tying up cash and resources.  The idea is that everything is SHIPPED "just in time" for it to be sent to manufacturing and produced into the final product.  This makes HUGE impacts on manufacturing costs associated with products and labor.

This THEORY of "just in time," commonly taught in business schools as an "advantage of production," has now penetrated into the minds of small business owners.  SMB believe that they should also be using this model, waiting until the last minute to order things so they can maintain the lowest levels of inventory, thus saving valuable cash resources.  WTF!?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Why on earth, would any small business owner want to RISK running short on a product or staff?  Why would you risk the opportunity to serve WITHOUT any hiccups in your delivery?  Do you feel confident your business can GROW if you are continually having products and service support product shortages?

As small business owners, we must be OVERLY prepared for issues of shortage, labor failures and pricing changes.  We are likely not LARGE ENOUGH to be affected drastically by carrying an inventory.  Our costs are not as great as that of an auto manufacturer and our risk is higher.

Your preparation is VITAL to your success, especially when your business or practice is small.  Even if you work for a large company, if your sales efforts are not pre-planned, you will often find the size of your company is the greatest strength and your worst enemy.

Be prepared.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – Never Assume Victory

"I cannot believe that just happened."
- Anonymous

This weekend I learned a LESSON in business by watching recreational sports.  He lesson is to NEVER ASSUME VICTORY.

This weekend, I watched a team with one victory DEFEAT a team with only one loss.  How is that possible?  How can a team that won so few games come out and beat the best in the league?  It is pretty simple actually.  The best team did not PREPARE like the best nor did they execute with URGENCY.  They assumed victory…

Sports are a great way of learning lessons about business.  "You play like you practice" is true in sports as in business.  You must EXECUTE with high focus and intensity is also a truth of both realms.  "There can only be one leader" rings true as well.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
In business, you must be practice and prepare for your moment in the SPOTLIGHT.  You must spend the time you are not engaged in your "actions" focusing on how to be better prepared for the next time.

When you are lax in your preparation and execution, no matter the assumed advantage or the record of accomplishment of success, you are highly subject to FAILURE.  Your previous actions DO NOT in any way GUARANTEE the outcome of future ones.  Just as in golf, a bad shot does not predict a bad round.

Prepare for VICTORY in every action.  Always keep a FOCUS on execution with precision.  Never assume victory and ALWAYS go for the kill!  If you choose not to follow these words… then do not be upset when you find yourself on the bad end of a defeat to someone you NEVER SAW COMING!

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.