Auto Repair Shop Owners Answer "Life is What?"

Life is What? by Rick White, President 180BIZ

There's a really cool sentence I'd like to start with, and I would like you to finish it. And it starts off with “Life is…” You finish that sentence. Write the first thing that comes to your mind. Some people wrote:

• “Life is full of challenges.”
• “Life is wonderful.”
• “Life is a journey.”
• “Life is a Blessing”
• “Life is one helluva journey.”
• “Life is a bowl of cherries.”

By starting that sentence and having someone else answer it will give you a window into how they think and feel at that moment. And here's the amazing thing. Who is right? If you think about it, whatever your answer, you can fix it. We can choose how we answer that question.

How we answer that question is so vitally important because it gives us a window into our own focus. Everybody has a focus. There's something that we're all focusing on and by answering that question is going to give you an indicator. Most of the time, we're not aware of what we're focused on. But with that focus, we apply a meaning. I'll give you an example. Right now, I'm having back issues. That's okay. I could say that life is a pain. But I choose not to. Focus is one of those things that you can choose to change. Deciding what you focus on is a choice. Why am I talking about this since you are here to help your business?

I want you to finish this sentence. “Business is…”

• “Business is a blessing.”
• “Business is a nightmare.”
• “Business is a challenge.”
• “Business is a battle.”

If I tell you that business is a challenge or business is a battle, what can that tell you about the focus and meaning I am giving to a situation? It's really important to understand this right now. With everything going on, it's really easy to go dark on your focus, your mindset, expectations. It's really easy to go dark. Here's what I want you to think through.  “Life is…” or “business is…”  There's this thing going around on Facebook recently, I saw it over the weekend where it talks about “it knocks the crap out of ya and it makes you depressed.”

I refuse to dig into that.  I am going to tell you what entrepreneurship is. Entrepreneurship is the most powerful self-improvement tool you will ever find on this planet because everything you do or don't do has a direct effect and causes either pain or gain massively. So for me, I love getting up. When you look at your vocation as a vacation, you'll never work a day in your life. And for all of those that are sitting there, mumbling, and grumbling while reading this, you have a choice. If you are unhappy with your business, if you're unhappy with what you're doing, if you don't love it anymore, then stop do something different. Find something that lights you up and do that. You're not trapped.

You're not a victim.  This is not a dress rehearsal folks. We go through this life, as far as we know, one time. It's up to us to create it, not react to it. Ask yourself regularly to finish these sentences, “Life is…” and business is…. It's will give you a great window into what's going on within yourself. With all the anxiety going on with your team and life in general, it's a great way to start a conversation with your team. That's the key takeaway here for yourself and for your team. Life is what business is. Ask those questions of yourself. Finish those sentences. Start to control your focus and the meaning you give it. And you're going to see your life take off.

God bless, stay safe, and go make some money.