EP48: In Search of GOLD!

Good day, my friends.

A friend of mine, Nick Warren, has an excellent podcast [Stories Mean Business] that I enjoy immensely.

As of today, he has 865 episodes.

A few weeks ago, I started listening to his podcast again starting from the beginning. I'm up to episode 525 again.

Interestingly, in his 370th episode, he touched on something that struck a chord with me.

So, this is the basis of today’s podcast.

Nick mentioned in that episode that he had a business card that had a drawing on the back of it.

He said the drawing was simply a circle with an X located just outside the circle.

He deciphered the image.

The circle represented his comfort zone.

Nick said the X represented the Gold he was seeking.

Translated: the Gold is any highly sought-after thing that appears to be just outside the comfort zone. (ie more customers, optimized website, emails, sales pages, landing pages, increased sales)

While this circle and an X may seem overly simple, in reality, for me, this insight is important.

Let me unpack this for a minute…

How many times have you said to yourself, let alone to others, that you hate change?

Like many others, I like sticking with what works.

For me, change is uncomfortable.

But, I just may need to look at that.

How about you?

Are you “stuck” doing the familiar things, day in and day out, because they are ingrained into the fabric of your habits?

Do you avoid making needed changes in your business because you're busy, or possibly unsure of your ability to accomplish it?

This is understandable.

Many times, I have caught myself not doing something that would help me be more successful because I did not feel that I had the proper skills (yet) to do it.

Sometimes those feelings are true.

Sometimes they are not.

Following me?

The point is this, I was afraid.

It's ok until it's not!

With online marketing, there is SO MUCH that needs to be learned.

So, it's normal to feel intimidated.

So long as you're [me to] willing to learn those difficult things one at a time, as you're building your business.

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Just start with what MUST be done first, and build your knowledge one item [one Fear] at a time.

Are there times when you wish you could be more successful?

For the majority of us, I believe, that would be a huge YES!

So, why aren't we more successful then?

What is keeping the GOLD, that thing we want or desperately need, just outside our comfort zone?

What is holding us back?

And…

What could be done to change that TODAY?

“You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” - Brian Tracy

First of all, I think we need to define, or better yet, redefine our comfort zone.

Because we all have one.

PositivePsychology.com had this to say on the subject that you may find interesting.

====

The phrase ‘comfort zone’ was coined by management thinker Judith Bardwick in her 1991 work Danger in the Comfort Zone: [where she said]

“The comfort zone is a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.”

Within the comfort zone, there isn’t much incentive for people to reach new heights of performance. It’s here that people go about routines devoid of risk, causing their progress to plateau.

====

As you can tell this “comfort zone” we are living within, is not helping us at all.

Instead, it is stagnating our growth.

Sure it feels GOOD inside there, but what are we sacrificing, by remaining there?

Quite a lot I would say.

If you have ever asked yourself why you, or your business, appear(s) to be falling behind, I would suggest to you that it is because of where you may be concerning your comfort zone.

Many of us, if we're being honest, might admit that our comfort zone is where we can feel safe and in control.

For us to get out of that zone and arrive in an area where we can grow and see real change take place, we MUST pass through two more zones, described by positive psychology.

There is the Fear Zone and the Learning Zone.

It takes courage to step from the comfort zone into the fear zone.

Within the Fear Zone, many times we find that we are affected by other people's opinions.

And quite often we find ourselves making excuses for why we need to stay right where we are.

Many of those excuses are tied to a lack of confidence.

Possibly believing…

We're not entitled to have the success we desire.

Maybe even surprised we have had any success at all.

Some would call it imposter syndrome.

This is quite common for anyone early in their online career.

Another excuse quite often is lack of knowledge.

But, if we want to keep growing, we must change our habits, and move towards the UNKNOWN, which is always outside our Comfort Zone.

It's scary, for many.

I know.

“All growth starts at the end of your comfort zone.” - Tony Robbins

For me, I DECIDED to embrace those feelings, instead of being controlled by them, so I could start growing through knowledge.

Growth begins inside the Learning Zone.

Here is where we acknowledge problems and challenges.

We begin actively LOOKING for solutions, and start to acquire New Skills.

These New Skills, do three important things.

Number one:

We begin to see ourselves as being more than what we once were. Eliminating the imposter syndrome. Feeling more confident.

Number two:

We acknowledge that we are more valuable. To ourselves, and our business.

Number three:

We can be more productive, doing more with less, translating to greater worth. Because of increasing our skill set.

As a result, we find that we are no longer STUCK inside that “Old” comfort zone we had imprisoned ourselves within.

We have emerged into a New Growth Zone.

This may eventually become our “New” comfort zone.

But only temporarily.

Because we can now see the benefits of allowing ourselves to continue growing.

In reality, the process of moving from the comfort zone to a growth zone may not be linear.

Peaks, troughs, and plateaus quite too often complicate the journey.

YEAH, sometimes LIFE gets in the way.

Sometimes, we even need to retreat to the comfort zone periodically before mustering the strength to leave again. [Remember, we fail our way to success]

But, over time you will find the final destination far outweighs the journey.

So, my friend, if you ever feel you are more comfortable than you really should be, might I suggest, doing something outside your comfort zone.

Learn something new on the list of things you know need to be learned.

Use that new skill to improve your processes; your website, your blog, your podcast, your emails, or any other thing that can help you build your business to new heights.

This ends another podcast.

I hope it helps, even in a small way.

If it did, let me know. I'd appreciate it

Until next week, be safe, be happy, be strong.

James "Still Searching" Brown

P.S. - In the event, you DO find that once an episode has been produced and posted, that YOU really would like more information, just let me know. Use the Podcast Questions link, click on the link here. Or you can just leave a voice message here.