Dust Off Your Dream Auto Repair Shop Owners

Dust Off Your Dream by Rick White, President 180BIZ

 Do me a favor. Close your eyes. I want you to visualize that time when you got a new car, either it was brand new or just brand new to you. I want you to remember the pride that came with that car, the feeling of identity, how every little dirt and dust stain on that car got wiped off and you were meticulous and how it got taken care of and how everything mattered. And it was so important to keep it clean and good looking and nice and smelling good on the inside. And just remember that for just a moment. Just one moment. I want you to remember how good that felt. The pride, the potential of that vehicle, everything going around it.

And then I want you to remember again, keeping your eyes closed when you started to allow things to happen, where maybe it got a little dirty on the inside and you thought I'll take care of it later. Or you've got a little ding in the door and it upset you for a little bit. And you said to yourself, you're going to get it fixed. But then you didn't. And then the seat got torn up or the rug got a hole in it and you're going to out. And then the window stopped working on the passenger side and it really didn't make a difference. And what happens is over time, the vehicle is in a condition where it doesn't make sense to keep anymore. And you decide to get a new vehicle, a different vehicle. I want you to remember that feeling.

Now, open your eyes. Think about your business in the same way. In the beginning, when you started your business, everything had to be just right. You had to be able to do things a certain way. You had to be able to say things a certain way. You had so much pride and identity tied to your business and the way it looked, the way it felt. But over time you let more and more get by. You've let more and more go until you're to the point now where maybe you're looking at it as it's time to trade it in.

You can't trade your business in. When did your dream, when did that potential go away? And when did you start tolerating more and more and more and more until today? If you're absolutely honest with yourself, you get up, you look around and your business is nothing like you dreamed it was going to be nothing like it. What you wanted it, nothing about the returns that you were going to get, the service you are going to provide, the opportunities that you are going to provide for people. When did that go away? Your business, just like your body, you don't get to trade it in. This is it. When do you stop tolerating these things that you have let go that have just chipped away at what you believe is possible? I must tell you something that dream you had, it isn’t dead.

It's covered under a whole bunch of crap. And I personally believe it's time to dust that dream off. I believe it's time to clean it off. Tony Robbins says something I think is just completely amazing. He says that if you don't want your relationship to end with your significant other then treat that relationship like you did at the beginning. If you always go into that relationship as you did in the beginning, there will never be an end. Why? Because you made that person, the center of your world, you made that person feel important. You got them to feel seen. You got them to feel understood. You got them to feel like they mattered. And then six days, six weeks, six months, six years later they're always going to be there. It's the way it is.

And we get that law familiarity kicking in. And now we're not doing the things that we once did. We're putting up with stuff that we would not have done in the past. I'm telling you if you want to have an extraordinary life, if you want to have an extraordinary business, you got to do two things. Number one, Stop tolerating. Stop tolerating subpar performance, subpar behavior in your business. That might be coming from you. The second thing is to stop allowing the lessons that you've learned dictate what you believe is possible. Don't let your past define you. Let it refine you. It is so important. If you don't step back and say, “No, I want more for my family. I want more for myself, I want more for my team, I want more for my customers.” And then you get pissed off and then find something out there that you really want. Go after that. That is when life has juice. That is when life is filled with growth and potential and possibility. That's where joy is. That is where your joy comes from. It's from growing and contributing.

So, step back. What have you been tolerating? What have you been treating like a used car, like an old car in your business? What have you been letting slide by and letting slide by and letting slide by like an old car? We're in the business of making sure that doesn't happen. You can't let that happen with your health, your life, and your business.

I want you to step back. I want you to think this through. I want you to write three things down. You're not going to tolerate it anymore. And I want you to put a plan together where you're going to take action right after this to start moving it forward. This is not a dress rehearsal. We only get this one time in here and it has our mission, our crusade to become the very best versions of ourselves that we possibly can become. And sometimes we need guides to help us along. That's okay. So today I want you to understand, do not treat your business like a car, stop tolerating. That's what I want you to do. Stop tolerating and start dreaming. Go out and make some more money this week because that's what you deserve.