Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 29: Action

Actions by Rick White, President 180BIZ

Up to this point, we've talked about how important your beliefs are and how your beliefs form the decisions you make based on the information you take in.  Now I want to talk about action. Nothing happens until you take action. Nothing goes on until you take action. Action is very important.  You should never leave the site of a decision without taking immediate action.  That's important. When you make a decision and then you take action right afterward you are starting momentum. Momentum is where it's really hard to get started, but if you stay with it until things start to roll a lot easier. The reason why we want to get that action right after the decision, number one is to start the momentum cycle. Number two, it reinforces the decision in your psychology. It gives you a small win. Remember we talked about how you need to set yourself up with small wins every day so that you get up.

Success is 80% psychology, 5% plan, 15% action. Here’s the thing, though, I don't really care a lot about the plan.  If I start doing something and I'm paying attention, I'm doing it wrong, I can adjust, I can pivot. But if I don't take action and get stuck in the planning, nothing happens; nothing goes forward. I end up kicking myself or feeling less than I really should about myself because I didn't do anything right.  It's kind of like the difference between someone who can't read and someone who can read and doesn't. What's the difference? The end result is nothing. It's the same result. So you always want to tie a decision to action.

But here's what I want you to make sure you understand this. Identify where the decision is coming from before you take action. And this is really the critical part of our talk today and I want to make sure you get this right. If you are coming from a place of fear or worry or concern or stress, and you're making a decision there and taking action, it will hurt you.

There's a great book by Dr. Spencer Johnson called Peaks and Valleys. What I took from that book was that you never, ever, ever make a decision in a valley. Now what they mean by in a Valley is when you're in a low spot emotionally, you do not want to make decisions emotionally.  Let's say you're with your spouse or significant other and things really start to get heated up.  You start to get emotional. What happens? You say things you don't mean and say things that are hurtful. You say things that you wish you didn't say. It's the same thing with your actions and decisions. If you're in a low place, the only decision you should be making first is being aware that you're in a low place.

And then secondly, recognize that you've got to get into a better state of mind before you make that decision. If you don't do that, you're going to be in trouble. You're going to make things harder on yourself. And here's a really great way to know if you're in an emotional state.  It's when your thinking is absolute. It’s when you think there's only this way to do it. When you think there's only one option, that's a problem. When you think there's only one option, you are in a negative state and you should not make any decisions. The only thing you should do is ask yourself what else can this mean? What other options do I have? And start to look at it from a different perspective.

• If you have only one option and that's all you can see, you got a problem.
• If you can only see two options, you've got a dilemma.
• But if you can see three options, now you have a choice.

When you're going to make that decision, make sure you have enough options. If you don't have enough options, you're not seeing your situation clear enough and you're going to make decisions that hurt you, your business, and the people around you. When you feel like you don’t have a choice, you have to close my business, you have to shut it down, try to see things differently. If you have only one option, it isn’t true.  That's just your perspective based on your beliefs and what you're looking at. When you take action, make sure it's an action that supports you. Make sure you are making an informed decision.  That you have a multitude of options and you are making the best decision for you.

I truly believe that when you have options unconsciously, you're going to make the best decision. I truly believe that the only time we make bad decisions is when we don't see enough options. Make sure before you take action you have at least three options.  Then when you make that decision and take that action so that it's one that serves you. If you need help with this, you need to reach out. Reach out to your coach, reach out to a friend, reach out to a mentor, but somebody that's going to be in a better state of mind so that they can help you see the perspectives, the different options you have.

Now I hope this has helped. If it has, please share this video. I want to touch thousands of lives with this content to help them make better decisions and help them move forward and grow through this.

Here's your tip for today. Food banks are really getting stretched thin. I'm going to ask you to consider getting on social media and putting out, as loud as you can and boost it, that you're going to be collecting nonperishable canned and boxed items for the local food banks in your area.  Tell them that you want to help those that are in a pickle because they're not working. I think that would be an amazing thing. Now when you boost this, I want you to let them know as a thank you, you're going to give them a coupon.  It doesn't have to be fancy.  Just print something up that as a thank you for your donation. It could be $20 off the next service or repair, no strings attached. You have them available so when somebody drops something off for your food bank and it could be outside, put a box out in a covered area. Use that to grow your community right now. Community is really important right now. So that is your tip for today. Get involved, get your food banks stocked up, and make a difference in your community. All right, so today's word of the day is action. Make sure it's coming from the right place and then take massive amounts of it.

Take care and God bless.