One of the greatest pitfalls I've discovered as an online
business owner is getting stuck in my own comfort zone. In
this comfort zone I'm quite capable, comfortable,
stress-free, and quite frankly, caught in a rut. When I
make the unconscious decision to "nest" in my own comfort
zone, I usually become bored in a short period of time. It
seems as though there's nothing more to do, no more great
challenges to tackle, nothing to which I anticipate and
look forward -- in other words, a slow yet painless death
of my business.
When I feel the walls of this comfortable rut grow higher
and higher, I think of a story shared by a life coach at a
conference I attended several years ago. This coach was
vacationing in Australia and had the opportunity to go
bungee-jumping. This sport scared her greatly, so she
spent the first 3 weeks of her visit coming up with all the
reasons she didn't want to participate. Eventually she
decided that she would regret this missed opportunity if
she didn't rise to this challenge, and made a reservation
to go on a jump. On the day of her jump, after she
harnessed up, the two people in line in front of her backed
out. She was now in a do or die position -- it was her turn
to jump -- and she had to decide if she really wanted to do
this.
Her bungee jumping coach came up to her and whispered, "You
wouldn't be here if this wasn't what you wanted to do." She
realized he was right, and she jumped. This defining moment
in her life enables her to coach her clients to "jump" from
where they are to where they want to be, even though it
might be the scariest moment in their lives.
How would your life or business be different if you forced
yourself out of your comfort zone? What is it that will
make you move forward to get where you want to be? Here
are 5 strategies that I use re-energize my online business
when I get a bit too cozy in my comfort zone rut:
1. Read magazines/books/trade publications in other
industries. I love to use this activity as a way to
generate ideas for my business -- it stirs my creativity.
Reading what others are successfully doing in their
industries inspires to me determine if I can replicate
their success in my own business or industry.
2. Contact someone who intimidates you. We all have these
gurus in our industries that may scare us or intimidate us
a bit because of their popularity. Or, perhaps their
success scares you in some way. Determine what you'd like
to learn from them, and request to speak with them by
phone, email, or in-person for a short amount of time to
ask them a few questions. If you don't personally know
them, find someone who does and request an introduction.
More than likely they'll agree, and you'll discover that
they're just as human as you are.
3. Ask for honest feedback from a trusted colleague. Many
times when we stay wrapped up in our businesses, it's hard
to see where we need improvement or additions because we've
become accustomed to how things are. Ask a trusted
colleague for honest feedback about some aspect of your
business. You can create your own mastermind group and ask
for this on a regular basis, as I do.
4. Participate in an activity that flies in the face of
your beliefs. Nothing stirs the pot like participating in
some function where you're the minority -- where there are
few others who believe what you believe or hold the values
that you hold. Be patient, and permit those you meet to
fully express their point of view. You never know -- you
might actually learn something, or better yet, get an idea
or inspiration to propel yourself forward.
5. Attend an event that scares you. I recently enrolled in
a coaching program where the coach is speaking about
several subjects that scare me, as these subjects are areas
in which I need a great deal of improvement. However, I
know that in order for me to succeed, I need to follow her
model, as she's already manifested great success by using
it. I'm still completely resisting several of the
strategies (screaming loudly, in fact), but that's ok, as I
know that when I'm truly ready, I'll quickly move forward
to implementation.
Acknowledge your need for ongoing creativity and innovation
as an online business owner. Sometimes the change you
desire may be painless, while in other cases you might find
yourself kicking and screaming all the way, yet willing to
take the chance to move yourself forward. In my experience,
the louder you resist, the more profound the change. Are
you ready to jump?
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Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .