1441: The Cure for Uncertainty, Lost Focus, and Lack of Motivation in Your Business by Michael Mehlberg on Productivity

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Work Daily. The Cure for Uncertainty, Lost Focus, and Lack of Motivation in Your Business by Michael Mehlberg of MichaelMehlberg.com

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_00]: It's debilitating, isn't it? Not knowing if you're on the right path. The uncertainty of whether what you are working on will bring you success.

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_00]: You work and work. You push from every angle to make an inch of progress, only to look up one day and find yourself lost, unsure if what you are doing is getting you anywhere,

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_00]: worried that you're missing something. It's a hard feeling to shake. When this uncertainty hits, it saps your motivation.

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Your focus and clarity transform into a gloomy cloud of doubt hanging overhead, raining worry and dissatisfaction upon you.

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Every business owner knows this feeling. I know it all too well myself. Just recently it hit and I spent the day wondering if I should scrap my entire business and start over.

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: I had thoughts of giving up, quitting or just taking a break from it all. But I didn't and you shouldn't either.

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Because this feeling is temporary and it isn't based on reason. This feeling comes from a deep desire all business owners have to push, build, help and ultimately find freedom and success.

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's exactly the cure. The Origin of Lost Perspective

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It's easy to get caught up in the minutia of running a business. We have products to build, customers to care for, finances to track, employees to coach, etc.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: When your business is firing on all cylinders, you don't ask questions, you just enjoy the ride. And why wouldn't you?

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Once your business machine is cranking out results, it seems best to keep it oiled, not disassemble it.

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: But on those other days, when customers aren't calling, your competitors are winning and you feel like you're taking two steps back, those are the days you can't lose perspective.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And when do you lose perspective? When you start focusing exclusively on the bad and ignore or forget the good.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: The Story of Two Ascending Men

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: In a rapidly ascending balloon were two men. One watched the earth getting farther and farther away. One watched the stars getting nearer and nearer.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: George Gene Nathan

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: In the early days of your company, you saw the stars. You imagined every possible amazing and successful outcome at the expense of every realistic or dismal one.

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: You couldn't help but be excited. The world was yours for the taking if only you could get your product developed or service off the ground.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I love these feelings. I still get these feelings when I talk to an entrepreneur with a new product idea.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I start rattling off all the strategies they could use to make millions, all the tools they could implement to run their business for cheap or free. It's exhilarating.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: But at some point, we business owners have to get to work. That's when we turn our focus to earth. We have to recognize reality in order to build our company.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_00]: After all, even the two men in the quote I just mentioned wouldn't have been ascending in a balloon toward the stars if they hadn't built their balloon here on earth to begin with.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_00]: We build, we plan and we build some more. And at some point we find our balloon isn't ascending as fast as we'd like. Or maybe not at all.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: On some days our balloon seems to be descending. Those are the days we want to let out the hot air, land the d*** thing and walk away.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: But if we're shooting for the stars, we can't let every small setback distract us from success.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So how do we stay focused on what's important? How do we continue our ascent before giving up and giving in?

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Ask yourself one simple question. What is my why today?

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_00]: In order to avoid focusing on what's going wrong, focus on your why. To destroy that uncertainty, remember your why.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: To kill the worry that what you're working on isn't right, recall your why.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: To maintain your motivation and optimism and kill all thoughts of quitting, ask, what is my why today?

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Your why is the reason your business exists. It's the purpose, the meaning, the intention your company lives to help someone or something in this world.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Without your why, your business is just a money-making machine.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And while it's important your business makes money in order to survive, money isn't the reason your company exists.

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00]: If it were, we'd all be financial traders yearning to make a buck.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: No, your company has a purpose, and when you find it, you can recall it later to help keep you focused, motivated and clear on what to do next through good times and bad.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Let your why guide you.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: This isn't my idea. Dozens of articles have been written on finding your purpose. We've written a bunch of articles here.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Simon Sinek has one of the most watched TED Talks of all time on this very topic, not to mention his book, Find Your Why, and Start With Why, which dives deep into this topic.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: But you don't have time to finish reading those books today, so buy them and shelve them for later.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: For today, and every day in the future, especially those days you are feeling beat, when your business is sucking wind and you don't know where to turn, look toward the stars and ask, what is my why today?

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Then just listen and let the answer recharge, motivate and guide you, wishing you massive growth and success.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled The Cure for Uncertainty, Lost Focus and Lack of Motivation in Your Business by Michael Melberg of MichaelMelberg.com.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. We're all marveled at how quickly kids learn and that sense of wonderment they have while doing it, but as adults sometimes we lose that curiosity.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, if there's something you've been wanting to learn, know that therapy can help you reconnect with your sense of wonder, because your back-to-school era can come at any age.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: And make no mistake, therapy is for everyone. Whether or not you've been through significant trauma, therapy can be a great tool for setting boundaries, learning new skills and ultimately becoming the best version of yourself.

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible and suited to your schedule.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge.

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash WorkDaily today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash WorkDaily.

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And I want to say thank you to Michael Melberg for letting us share his work here on the podcast.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Michael's a family man, an entrepreneur, business professional, fitness nut, organization freak, productivity junkie and the author of Home Early.

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a book about destroying distraction, becoming powerfully productive and finishing work before dinner.

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: You can get the first chapter of his book for free with a bunch of worksheets to go along with it right on his site, which is MichaelMelberg.com.

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_00]: That's M-E-H-L-B-E-R-G. That's MichaelMelberg.com. So come check that out and show him some support.

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I've got his site linked as well in this episode's description.

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And that'll do it for another edition of Optimal Startup Daily. Hope you're enjoying the content here.

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_00]: You can always give us some feedback at oldpodcast.com. That's O-L-D-Podcast.com.

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And I will see you right back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.