Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 26: Courage

Courage by Rick White, President 180BIZ

I want to talk to you about today is Courage. It takes courage every morning to get up out of bed when we're dealing with as much uncertainty as we've been dealing with. The reality is as business owners, we are pretty used to some level of uncertainty in our lives because we deal with it every day. But when we get something like this virus or the economy in 2008 or for those of us that were around in 2001 with the world trade centers on 9/11 that is more uncertainty than we're used to seeing. It takes courage to get out of bed. It takes courage to get moving. It takes courage to move forward.

I'm not the first one to say this, but I want you to hear it. Courage is not action in the absence of fear.  Courage is action in the spite of fear. Every one of us has that little voice inside that could stop us from getting what we want because it’s there to protect and keep us safe. Now we all know that the comfort zone is probably the most dangerous zone to be in because while we're comfortable. It allows everyone else to pass us by. So we are used to some level of uncertainty. But Think about the way that courage manifests itself in our lives.

Courage manifested itself in what we choose to believe. It takes courage to believe that there's going to be a better tomorrow. It takes courage to believe that there's going to be positive today. It takes courage to see a better future.  It takes courage to get on a video and talk to your customers, potential customers, your community. It takes courage to move. It takes courage in your action. That’s where we see courage. We see courage in our beliefs and in our words and in our actions. Your courage is best defined in your actions. It's in the stand that you take. You know, like the old superhero pose, right? Hands on your hips, chest out, shoulders back and chin up and you say, I am going to make it through this. We are going to make it through this. I will help you with this. Be aware of the courage that you are just exuding right now to everyone around you.

Courage starts with a decision and then a conviction. It’s where you understand and believe what the world is telling you.  You choose to believe it. You have the courage to believe it. You have the courage to step up. You have the courage to go to the next step. Even though I don't see the whole path, I have the courage to take that next step because I have faith, and I believe in it.

Courage expends energy.  Showing courage over a longer period of time is exhausting. You will need to recharge. You will need to unplug. Unplug the television. Unplug the negativity. Unplug that little voice in your head. Recharge yourself so that you can be there for other people. You cannot step up and step out if your cup is empty. But, what are you doing to recharge? I see so many people getting up every day and doing it in full force. But they’re not recharging, and their tank is running on empty. Their cup is empty. When your cup is empty and when you're not taking care of yourself, you can't help others. This is where you start getting worn out. When we get in this groove is we start to get self-centered. In other words, the world ends at our nose. We don't see the other people around us because we realize we're on empty.

You need to do something every day that's going to recharge you a little bit. Something that will keep you going throughout the day. One of the things I do in the morning is five-minute breathing exercises using an app on my watch. At lunchtime, I do the breathing exercises again and it reinvigorates me. Unplugging and concentrating on my breathing makes all the difference in the world.

There's a great book out there that's called, Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven.  He is a Navy Admiral, and he did a commencement speech called Make Your Bed.  You can look it up on YouTube. It's awesome. We've got to set ourselves up every day with small wins. That progress is what fuels our growth. That's what fuels our courage.

Every morning when I get up, the first thing I do is take my vitamins. That's a small win. The next thing I do is exercise.  Another small win. When you have these small wins, it gets you ready for the bigger challenges in your day. So, do these things and it will help you get through the day and be okay.  Recharge every morning. Debrief every night. And then on the weekends find some time where you can fill yourself up so that you can exude the courage that you need to have right now.

Tip for the day.  Be careful with your Facebook posts. This is not the time for national spaghetti day and stuff like that. This is not the time to poke fun at the virus. I know there are some of you out there that think it's just the flu. I get it. I know there are some of you out there that think this is a hoax.  I'm here to tell you this is not a hoax. This is real. You've got to look at your Facebook posts. You want them to be fun but also show hope.  Show things like mowing their lawns or going on Easter egg hunts or going for walks together or sitting on the beach.  Show something positive.  Be that hope and inspiration out there. Keep things as normal as you possibly can.

Honestly, I’m tired of the whole political stuff.  I believe there are factions that are trying to divide us as a country and they're doing a pretty good job of it. But there are more things that unite us as a people than separate us. The problem is we're just focused on the stuff that separates us. We are an amazing group of people. We've been a melting pot for years and that's what makes us so strong. We got this.  We all want a better life for ourselves. We all want a better life for our kids. We want to pursue happiness. We want justice. There's so much more that unites us as a country than divides us.  And now is the time to see that. I don't care if you're a Democrat. I don't care if you're a Republican. I don’t care if you’re a Socialist.  It doesn't make a difference to me. You're a human being and we all have the same needs, wants, and desires. For the most part, we just differ on the way we get there and that's okay. For me, being able to understand how you think and the different ways that you bring things to the table instead of shutting myself down.  If I can open myself up to it, it gives me a bigger, better perspective of the world.

So please, let's use Facebook to lift each other up right now. That's what it's there to do. Let's use social media to pick each other up by the arm, lock elbows, figuratively speaking. We won’t be defeated when we lock elbows like that. We become like a chain of armor.  We will be unstoppable. So come be unstoppable with me today.

Please share this video. Let's help other people. Let's make it great today. Have a great day. Stay courageous, be bold, be unstoppable, and then take care of yourself. Take care. God Bless.