If we go for too long without progress, we lose momentum and the work grows more and more resistance.
Do you know what I mean? When the work just kind of feels heavier and heavier?
This happens in our projects.
It happens in our goals.
It happens in anything we want to achieve or accomplish.
And if this happens, we lose our progress, our momentum and our sense of direction.
So I want to show you a 3-part exercise you can do right now to get that direction back and get more results now AND in the future.
But first, let’s talk about those results…
Results
If you run a small business (or if you WANT to run a small business), you know how important results are.
Results are what happens when the world around you starts paying attention to your idea/dream.
You’ve got this idea, you put a lot of work into it, you think about it a lot, you follow a business roadmap, the roadmap helps you finalize your business idea, make a website, etc.
So you’ve got this IDEA that’s now been manifested into the world in some way.
BUT, that’s not what we mean when we say “result,” is it.
No, RESULTS are what happens when the world starts paying ATTENTION to your idea.
And it’s these results us business builders pay so much attention to because they are like vital signs for our business.
Is the heart pumping? Are the lungs working? Is our call to action compelling? Is our USP and value proposition clear?
We need results to survive. But, in order to get results, we need to FOCUS ourselves.
“Results are the vital signs of your business. #getresults”
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Intention
Without intention there can be no lasting results because results flow from patiently spending your energy in a persistent direction.
Intentions are where that persistent direction comes from.
Did you hear that? It was important.
Here’s a question to illustrate: Why are you doing what you’re doing?
Many of us try to build a business out of fear. We’re afraid of our bosses, our jobs, or how shitty it feels to work.
Many others of us are trying to build a business to prove to ourselves (and our friends/parents/world) that we are valuable. This is another kind of fear; the fear that we aren’t already valuable.
If you try to build your thing out of fear you will fail because fear makes you change direction too much. You won’t find success until that fear starts converting into intention.
This is especially so in modern online business where there is ever growing noise, competition and distraction.
So, we need to find our place of intention if we’re going to be persistent enough to get results, and in order to do that we need to have steady progress.
Progress
Regardless of our intention, fear and results, we can start making progress right now, today, and this is how we’ll find our intention.
NOTE: you don’t conquer fear by beating up fear. You overcome it by accomplishing tiny things that matter to you.
Sounds good, right? We get some work done, and learn more about the work we want to get done.
Let’s talk about houses for a second.
Have you ever seen a house being built? I’m thinking specifically of when a house is being framed.
I remember when my house was being built. For a time it was just 2×4 pieces of wood held together by screws. We could walk through the rooms and imagine how it was going to feel even though there were no walls, no paint, no ceilings.
This whole house I’m writing to you from is held together by screws.
My business, the reason why I’m writing this and you’re reading it, is held together by screws too.
This will be the case for you as well… if your business gets built.
I want you to set a screw. Just one screw. Today.
A screw is a task, a project… it’s progress.
You string a few screws together and you’ve got, not just progress, but MOMENTUM.
We need progress and momentum, it’s like the wind in our sales. It keeps us going.
And progress is made out of screws. Not massive things, but little screws.
Screws hold an entire house together, and they’re TINY.
Today, all you need to do is set a screw.
And this is where you ask, “but which screw am I supposed to drill right now!?”
“We can use PROGRESS to counteract fear and get the intention and results we truly want.”
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“What Matters Right Now?”
If we’re going to set one of these screws — finish one of these tasks and projects — we’ll have to focus on just one at a time.
So, which one should we focus on!?
I want to share a little trick to get us feeling confident about which screw to set.
Using this tactic myself, personally, has led to enormous amounts of progress, momentum, clarity, intention and results in my own work.
And it just might do the same for you.
Here’s the exercise:
- Get calm and present. I do this through a little slow-breathing stretching to get myself noticing my body, followed up by a few minutes of quiet meditation (just breathing and feeling the breath in my body).
- Then, with my eyes still closed and my breath still calm, I ask myself what task matters right now for my business and gently listen to myself for responses.
- I weigh each response by how much sense it makes and how much it feels like peace. Those last three words are crucial.
Why is this exercise good?
- First of all, you can do it anywhere, anytime. (Depending on what it is you do to get calm and present.)
- It can bypass all sorts of mind-chatter. I notice that when I do this, my thoughts are much clearer and my anxiety/fear is less intense/intrusive.
- It helps us have more motivation to complete the tasks. When my task comes from a quiet place inside me that I weighed myself, I’m just much more internally motivated and interested in that task.
Some tips on how to do this yourself:
- Have a regular process of getting calm, something you can do again and again. Ever seen how a professional basketball player has a process to shoot a free-throw? It’s like that. For me, it involves getting my mind into my body every time because my thoughts can be like a fire hose sometimes.
- Don’t get lost in big projects. Allow only small ideas to bubble up for a little while. Remember the screw metaphor… keep these tasks/projects small. I mean it, this is important, only use this to find little screws for a while.
- When you’ve got the task that matters and you feel peaceful and confident about it, write that task on a piece of paper and reverse-engineer it. Write down the LAST TASK and then write down every task that needs to happen before that in order from last to first. This helps us get crystal clear on what to do next.
- Over time you may naturally feel a change in vision. This may be your intention becoming clearer. This takes time, don’t be anxious about it, so be patient and allow it take time. You can email me at Chase (at) Fizzle (dot) co if your shifting vision/intention starts getting painful and/or confusing.
How we counteract fear and start making progress
So, we can counteract fear and get to intention and results by using progress.
Progress comes in the form of completing little tasks and projects. Think of them like screws — they’re small, but they hold the whole house together.
So, today (and everyday) we need to drill in a screw or two because screws = progress and momentum.
Now, when you get some momentum going your intention and vision will develop. The blueprint for the house will get clearer and more detailed.
… and this is how you’ll manifest your business… one screw at a time.
So, that’s a helpful exercise I use to figure out what screw to set. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you in the comments.
I’d love to hear your take.
“Here’s how we counteract fear and start getting results. #screws”
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If you’re interested in more intention for your business:
If you want more intention in your business, here’s a live training on a daily vision process that will change any entrepreneur’s life.
Marie, a Fizzle member, said this about the free training:
“Chase I feel like you’re more excited than ever about Fizzle and what you’re building toward. I know you’ve always been so fun, but lately that energy seems to be more focused and driven, and it was amazing to see your journaling process.”
Watch the training video here »
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil’ guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »