Today’s business environment demands a clearer focus, a more deliberate product and service, and the ability to do much more, faster, with a lot less. Success as a small business owner boils down to our ability to set clear expectations and direction for the company and inspire our team to innovate in order to produce results at a whole new level.

This is a lot to manage while focusing on the never ending hunt for unique and new ways to attract new business and compel customers to return over and over. It’s a big job but we feel, as with anything, there is a fundamental skill set that allows for ease and simplicity.

Our new brand, image, message, programs, and resources are being designed with one major element in mind, to help you as a small business owner, entrepreneur, or professional to master these fundamentals, bring out your best, and really drive your business beyond good, past great, and into the elite levels of excellence.

I cant wait to share the new business with you and I look forward to being a part of your incredible success for years to come.

Check back very soon as our new launch is happening in just a few days.

Coach Troy

If you’ve been to any of my workshops or talks over the past couple of years you’ve probably heard me talk about one of my favorite mantras,

This week I’m in Central Oregon and the weather is a fabulous 80 degrees. Yesterday, through the power of networking and good fortune, Kay (my mom) and I played golf at one of the premier private courses here in Central Oregon called Pronghorn. What a treat. The course was phenomenal… and hard, at least for someone who has never played it before. Luckily we had Peter with us. Peter is a forecaddie. In case you are wondering, a forecaddie is a person situated in the general landing area of holes to help quickly identify a ball’s position. As well as being great at spotting our ball, Peter was able to tell us exactly where we should be hitting the ball. He knew the distance to every tree, bunker, mound, flag position, and curve of the green. On several occasions Peter would say, “Now aim this shot about 15 feet to the right of the flag stick and hit it about x yards.” Not knowing the course, I trusted my advisor and adjusted my aim, even though his advice sometimes was counter to what I thought I should be doing. On the rare occasion I actually executed the shot like he instructed, the ball landed out of sight, behind the hill, and I heard Peter say, “Just wait. You’re going to see your ball trickling down to the flag.” And then, just as if he had control of my ball with a remote control, out from behind the mound came my ball, rolling gently toward the hole. Without his course knowledge I never would have picked that shot, and consequently my ball would have rolled right off the green.

I run across quite a few people who are scrambling their way through business just like playing a brand new golf course. They are armed simply with their own ideas and a set of tools for execution (or should I say “a set of clubs”) without much insight into what to expect and how to get around obstacles. They rely on their own experience and make decisions based on their own singular perspective. I’m not saying this is wrong. Just like playing a new golf course without a forecaddie, it’s more challenging and there’s a lot more opportunity for struggle, frustration, and the chance to make expensive mistakes. I think of a business coach like a forecaddie. They can help to steer you through the maze of decision making, problem solving, and effective strategizing all the while helping you to avoid some costly mistakes.

Would you like the expertise of a forecaddie for your business? I’ve been interviewing million-dollar business owners and pulling together the tips, tricks, secrets, and strategies for how to make the leap and transform your business into a million-dollar business.Friday, September 24^th, I will unveil brand-new secrets and strategies that you can use right away to grow your business to a million-dollar success. It’s like having a forecaddie working for you in your business.

Sometimes we just need to hit the reset button on our dreams. When you need to take your results to the next level, try these 6 Urgent Success Secrets…

1) Find your true purpose

First off, reconnect with your purpose. If you’re not       clear on your true purpose, this whole process of getting results gets really, really challenging. In fact, the true purpose for why you’re doing what you’re doing is so important, if you don’t have it clear, you are radically decreasing your chances for success. As I learned in boy scouts, if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll get lost. The #1 thing to do when you’re lost is to stop wandering around! All that does is help you to get more lost. Stop, get clear on where you are, where you’re going, and WHY.

**Coach’s Note**

Clarifying your true purpose is the absolute best and biggest breakthrough you will have, and with good coaching you can do this quickly and immediately begin producing bigger results faster!!!

Q: How do you know if you have found your true purpose?

A: If you’re asking the question, you haven’t found it. J

2) Play big

Most of us are simply playing too small and we get bored. We need to raise the bar and challenge ourselves to play a game that scares us. Think back to the first time you jumped off the high dive board. Remember that feeling you had while you were standing at the top preparing to leap? A cloud of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety rushed over you. Your brain began making up scenarios of peril, even to the point that you started thinking about climbing back down the ladder. But then you pushed past it, took the leap, and felt that exhilaration. What happened next? You couldn’t wait to do it again. You realized all the fear and apprehension were for nothing. The worst part about the whole thing wasn’t the jump or the landing; it was the anxiety that you faced while anticipating the jump. The jump was nothing. It was fun. It was exhilarating. It was even easy.

We play too small because of that anxiety, fear, and anticipation of what is going to happen. We need to push ourselves to the top of the high dive, to the point where we’re a little scared and nervous. Play a game big enough to frighten yourself a bit. The worst part about playing big is what we make up in our mind, but that’s a good thing; the fear tells us we’re on the right track. We need to get to that feeling and then jump. Realizing big dreams requires making big leaps. Play big to win big!!

**Coach’s Note**

Zig Zigler said, “You can have anything you want if you help others get what they want.” If you push yourself to a new level by playing big, you will gain knowledge that can help another. Help enough people and you will gain access to whatever it is you want in life. You can help others by helping yourself!

Q: What happens after we’ve made the leap off the high dive?

A: We become the teacher, the cheerleader, and the encourager of all others about to take the leap.

3) Create a millionaire mindset

It’s time to adopt the thinking of a millionaire. The success gurus talk about making decisions based on where we want to be versus where we are. “Begin with the end in mind” is one of Stephen Covey’s famous habits for highly effective people. We have to ensure that we’re making decisions and setting up strategies that are consistent with where we want to go and not where we are.

**Coach’s Note**

There’s a distinction between scarcity thinking and the millionaire mindset of abundance.

Poor people with scarcity mindset:

• Like having big TVs and “things”
• Always ask about payments
• Worry about today
• Talk about someday
• Say, “Yeah, but…”
• Tend to make decisions slowly

Rich people with millionaire thinking:

• Never buy anything; they invest
• Ask about return on investment
• Make decisions based on where they want to be, not where they are
• Surround themselves with people who will help them grow
• Learn constantly
• Have confidence and believe in themselves
• Make decisions quickly and take action today

4) Invest in yourself

Jim Rohn, motivation and success guru, gave me the absolute best advice I’ve ever heard: “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” Being successful is not about making money. It’s about your knowledge and your ability level. Whatever you have today is 100% consistent with your knowledge and ability. To experience a greater level of success, we have to expand our ability and our knowledge. We have to stretch ourselves to the level that is consistent with what we want.

This is the same reason people who win the lottery tend to end up broke. They have not gained the knowledge and ability to maintain that level of wealth. Being wealthy and successful takes investing in yourself and learning how to play the game of success at a bigger level.

**Coach’s Note**

Success is not something you have, it’s something you become. Success doesn’t happen to you. You must grow and expand through constant and continuous coaching, learning, and experiencing.

Q: Would you love to make money like a professional athlete?

A: By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce. Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke. The average world-class athlete retires from his sport at the age of 33.

5) Develop your team

This is the second-best place to invest your time, energy, and money. First is in yourself, second is in the team that will support your success. I’m adamant about making sure a good coach is on your list of team members. Get your coach and get him today!! The sooner the better! Remember the high dive? A coach will help you to get through the points of greatest fear and anxiety so you can experience the thrill and rush of a whole new level of success—FAST! Nobody likes stepping out of their comfort zone, but it is absolutely necessary and it is so much easier to do with someone who knows how to guide you over the hurdles, around the pitfalls, and through the inevitable challenges.

When my first sales coach gave me the script to use to get my first client, I asked, “So, why do we do it this way?” He said, “Who cares? It works. Just do it.” Coaching in its simplest form gives you speed. If you’re content going at a slow pace and you have time to waste, then forget about everything I’m saying. Keep doing what you’re doing, and the good point is that you will get there eventually—hopefully.

The second and third elements that you need on your team ASAP are your mentors and peer support. Mentors are great as they have the experience doing what you want to do. The downside to mentors is that they’re generally not committed to your success like a coach is. They’re willing to help, but you have to go after them, they’re not going to chase you around, and often your access to them is limited. The peer support is valuable as it brings you some camaraderie, some friendly competition, and people to share in the growth experience together. You can learn from the experiences of the peer support team, which will allow you to make wiser choices in the future. The downside to peer support, though, is that there’s a lack of true accountability. As peers, if I let you slide, you can let me slide, and we’ll be better buds.

**Coach’s Note**

One of the best things you can invest in is speed (no, not the drug). Invest in what gets stuff done fast like team members, systems development, and technology. Why? Who cares! It works. Get stuff done fast! Have a book to write. Figure out how to do it in a week. Get it done ASAP. A good team increases your speed and expands your capacity.

Q: What’s the one thing you cannot afford to lose in the race to success?

A: Momentum. Anything that slows your momentum dramatically reduces your confidence and your capacity.

6) Fire, aim, ready

Pull the trigger and get your momentum rolling. You are already ready. Just identify the next step and take it—NOW. Start with identifying or reconnecting with your true passion then invest in yourself, get a coach, build your team, and get some speed (and some crack while you’re at it J).

**Coach’s Note**

I recently had a friend come to me for some coaching to jumpstart his business. He said, “I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and unfocused.”

I said, “What is overwhelming?”

He said, “I have this and that to do, and it’s keeping me from getting to what I really want and need to grow my business.”

“Okay,” I replied. “I’m hearing you say that if you get this and that done, then you can move on to doing the next projects and you will feel less overwhelmed and be focused on what you need to be doing to help you take your business to the next level.”

“Yes, absolutely, I just can’t get to it,” he said.

“Okay, then here’s what you’re going to do. First off, you’re going to write me a check for $1,000. Then you’re going to go to your office and start working on your project. If you’re not done by Friday at 5 pm, I’m cashing the check. Thank you and good-bye.” Friday he called. Project done!

Sometimes we just need to stop making it so dang complicated. Create an accountability structure and get to work. 

The late, great Jim Rohn, world-famous motivational speaker, always talked about “the seasons of our life” such that we all experience seasons just like Mother Nature provides us spring, summer, fall, and winter. The winter season is a time of struggle and survival. There are many difficulties during winter, but it is always followed by the thaw of spring. Spring is a time of new life. It is a rebirth and a time to nurture and carefully attend to the new opportunities that are coming into being. And then comes summer, which is a time of cultivation, growth, and protection. Summer is when the planted seeds mature and blossom. It is a time when we must protect the fruits of our labor and prepare for the fall harvest. Following every summer comes the fall, when we reap what we sow and prepare ourselves for the inevitable returning winter.

I love this analogy of life and how it applies to our everyday existence. As Tony mentioned this week, his perspective is that, as a whole, we are still in a winter season, which we have been enduring for two years now. Just like winter, there are some days of sunshine, but we are still experiencing many tough times.

Three tips he gave us to continue to endure this winter season successfully:

1) Don’t lie to yourself, and don’t make it worse than it is.

I think Tony put a very interesting spin on this concept. When I think about “not lying to myself,” I look at how I try to downplay the severity of the issue and make it less of the big deal that it is. On the other hand, Tony said, “Don’t make it worse than it is,” which I actually see a lot with business owners. Many people are allowing themselves to suffer much more than they need to.

2) See it better than it is.

This is a huge concept and one into which we really need to put more conscious and focused effort. I am a huge advocate for creating and maintaining a powerful vision of the future. I spend a major chunk of time with each and everyone of my clients in creating and clearly articulating their vision for the future. This vision is what gives us direction as well as focus but, most importantly, it gives us hope and purpose. I have seen so many people lose sight of their vision, and it breaks my heart because I can feel their confusion and pain. I can see their struggle and watch them running to and fro chasing their tails, trying desperately to find some stable ground and something solid onto which to firmly hold. It’s a scary thing, but the great news is, with a little help from a good business coach, you can get your vision clear and you can get it fast. This is easily the fastest and most dramatic result that will produce the absolute greatest impact in any person, their business, and their life…and it happens FAST.

3) Go after role models; look for someone who’s done it so it doesn’t seem fake to you.

Tony really hit the nail on the head here. It’s so fun to create visions of the future, to dream big, and to let your imagination wander to visions of glory and riches, but when the reality train hits you smack in the head, all that you’re left with is a fabulous fantasy and an empty wallet. As an old friend used to say, “That and five bucks will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.” However, if you can find someone who’s done what you’re trying to do, someone who can see the picture you have painted, and someone who has the ability to help you turn your visions into reality, now you’ve just “Supermanned” that speeding locomotive of reality. I always promote that the first three aspects that need to be added to each and every person’s success team are a mentor, a coach, and a peer-support group. There is just too much that needs to be done, too many big, life-changing decisions that need to be made, and all of it is happening so fast that we simply cannot waste time being in any sort of stuck, confused, frustrated, scared, unsure, or timid state of mind and try to get through it on our own.

So, if you won’t take it from me, at least take it from one of the greatest transformational leaders on the planet and come out of denial, clarify your vision of a brilliant and prosperous future, and find those successful role models to emulate and be coached by so you can be ready—because spring is coming!!!

]]> http://becoaching.com/tony-robbins-on-the-seasons-of-life/feed/ 1 http://becoaching.com/million-dollar-business-strategies-and-secrets-revealed-this-friday/ http://becoaching.com/million-dollar-business-strategies-and-secrets-revealed-this-friday/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:23:17 +0000 Troy http://becoaching.com/?p=271 Friday, July 23^rd at 12:00 is the Million- Dollar Business Strategies and Secrets Revealed program. I know you would love to turn your business into a million-dollar business, but this is no small feat. I have been diligently working and spending time with million-dollar business owners and pulling out their secrets. These are people just like you and me who have already done what we all want to do, build a million-dollar business. And they have been sharing with me their intimate secrets, the lessons they’ve learned, the challenges they’ve faced, hurdles they’ve overcome, how they did it, how they made the dramatic growth leaps, their secrets, their strategies, and the answers to the question “how do I grow my business to a million-dollar business.”  Join me Friday the 23^rd as I reveal the secrets and strategies of developing a Million-Dollar Business!!