Are You Turning Molehills into Mountains ???

We have all done it. There is that problem and/or issue out there that we have allowed to get bigger and bigger and bigger.  But is it really that big???  

Did you get passed over for that promotion?

Did you lose that sure-thing deal?

Did you lose that job?

Do you have a duplicitous coworker or boss?

" No really, trust me..."

Is everything taking longer than you wanted it to?

Are you stuck in traffic?

How do you react when these things happen?

 

Do you freeze?

Do you get angry?

Do you work to figure it out and take action?

Truth is, depending on the situation, we all probably react a bit differently. For most people being unemotional about a bad situation is unrealistic. However, most of the problems we face in normal day-to-day life can be fixed and adjusted with some kind of direct action. The longer we take to pout, complain, and be angry and upset--the longer it will take to fix the problem. The longer that we let a problem sit unresolved, the bigger that problem becomes. The biggest question to ask after a problem presents itself is, what are you prepared to do next to fix it?

Did you get passed over for that promotion? Figure out why and make sure you're more prepared next time.

Did you lose that sure-thing deal? Start marketing and prospecting to find two new deals to replace the one you lost.

You didn’t get that job? Start looking for another one--right now.

Have a coworker who is super irritating ? Hire Terry Tate, office linebacker, for a day:

Everything is taking longer than you wanted it to?--Be thankful. It could take twice as long or it could not happen.

You're stuck in traffic? Yeah that sucks. I totally turned this situation into a mountain. (We got stuck driving home in NYC for four hours. FOUR HOURS!!! You can drive from New York City to Boston in four hours--we never left Manhattan!). But it's just traffic. Get some good music, books on tape, or even better--a GPS system that can shows you how to avoid the traffic.

Delicious leaf-flavored yogurt...

The milk is spilled and it's all over the place. Clean it up and go get yourself another glass…  

Need help turning your mountain back into a molehill ? Feel free to contact us ...

WHEEL OF PAIN

Have you ever seen Conan the Barbarian? I mean the original Conan with Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Not that crap movie with Jason Momoa... (Didn't see that one? NO ONE DID...)

So yes, for our younger readers, the dude who used to be governor of California was a full blown shoot ‘em up and chop ‘em down action hero. Maybe even the first movie star who was huge and buff, and occasionally, high…

Your better than this California...

Anyway, here is a quick summary of Conan: James Earl Jones—in a horrible wig—

Did I say a horrible Wig? Horrible.  Really, Really Horrible

and his snake loving friend attack Conan’s village and kill everyone, including Conan’s mom and dad. Conan is sold into child slavery, tied to the Wheel of Pain (which does who knows what) with a bunch of other kids until all the kids but Conan die (let’s say he pushed that wheel around for 8 to 12 years).

He is sold again, becomes an old school MMA fighter, whoops constant ass, gets freed, robs some bad guys, has some sex, kills a gang of henchmen, and finally manages to kill James Earl Jones and his horrible wig… FIN.

Instant cinema classic. Twenty years later he’s the governor of California... life...

Let’s go back to the wheel. 

Conan was the last dude on the wheel…all the other kids died, quit or got re-assigned to accounts payable or something…who knows. The point being —something in that dude refused to give up. Pushing that terrible, monotonous wheel of pain in a circle for years on end eventually made him strong as an ox and determined as hell to survive.

Now, I know what you are thinking, yea, Mike, Conan was a great movie when you were 12. So?

Spending time on the wheel of pain may be a requirement for success. Maybe your wheel of pain is cold calling, or studying, or being away from family, or maybe it’s the freaking wheel of pain. Point being… if it’s a required process for you to reach the next level of your goals—embrace it and determine that you will be the person who is still on the wheel at the end of the day..

Success can sometimes be a matter of sticking it out long enough to reap the benefits of your hard work

Success is OFTEN a matter of sticking it out long enough to reap the benefits of your hard work….

Success is USUALLY a matter of sticking it out long enough to reap the benefits of your hard work.

If your goals in life warrant tough times, don’t give up. Persistence and toughness can be more important than raw talent and acumen. Stay on the wheel for as long as it takes!! Hey, you might end up being the next GOVERNATOR!!!

Arnuld.  Luvs Kalfornia. Not cats.

THE CONSTANZA

                                 

 The best employee Vandalay industries have ever had..

For quick clarification, THE COSTANZA – it's not about building a small shelf in your desk so you can sleep ( that would be awesome though…)

Who has a desk big enough for them to sleep in ? Send pictures ...

It's about making drastic changes in your approach or procedures to help create changes in outcome.

In Seinfeld, season 5 episode 22, George Costanza makes a decision that he will do everything opposite what he has been doing in order to try to get better result at work, dating, etc... To test this out, he walks up to a girl and says“ Hello, My name is George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents."  He gets the date. 

  The basic idea of The Costanza is that if what you are doing isn’t working try doing some thing different or the opposite.  Albert Einstein  once said “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". So, If what your doing isn't working, change it!!!  Maybe do something opposite of what you have been doing might help you take a step forward toward your goals instead of doing what you have been doing and spinning in place. 

  If what your have been saying to your prospective clients is not working--change it drastically !

If you been coming in early is not helping you get what you need done, try staying a bit late.

If, in your personal life, you are meeting  "the wrong people"--try going someplace new and doing something you wouldn’t normally do.        

 Not getting through to your staff with compassion, try a swift kick in the ass. Or vice-versa...

Basically, if your experience has told you to always do “XYZ” try "YXZ" or "ZYX" or "MRZ"...
  

At best, it may help you find a new ways to get closer to your goals and develop different skills, meet different people, and learn something new. Worst case scenario is you make a few calls, do a few meetings, or change your day or style for awhile and some of the monotony of your day has been broken up and you got some good stories to tell about how crazy you are ...

      Reversal : Don’t Pull the Constanza it if what your doing is successful !

 Also, give it some time to work.  Maybe  try doing the opposite for an hour a day for a few weeks .. Give it a real college try and be consistent for. 

Don’t be afraid of being a bit uncomfortable for awhile. If it was too comfortable for you to do at first then your probably not doing it right.  Understand that there are many ways for us to try to secure the results we want. As you develop different techniques while doing The Constanza , you will be able to pull from those skill at the appropriate time . 

That being said ,  if your unemployed, bald,  short, and living with your parents – and you wanna date the hot girl… you should probably not expect George’s results – if you get one date after asking  500, you're doing great… 

Have some specific ways you want to pull The Constanza in your marketing, business, or personal life ?  

Tweet us at @TLConGrp  

LIVE FROGS FOR BREAKFAST

Do the hardest, most difficult, and ugliest task first.

I think it was Brian Tracey who is generally credited with the Live Frogs for Breakfast concept--

“If you gotta eat a live frog, looking at it for a long time won't make it taste any better.”

Neither will putting it in your morning cup of joe…

( I’m slimy, not delicious, full of caffeine and willing to fight to the end …)

                                                     

A frog is, of course, a metaphor for our most difficult and unpleasant task. And, if that frog is the worst thing that you do today, once it is out of the way the rest of the day should be easier and a whole lot less stressful.

We often get trapped into pushing the things we consider the most uncomfortable off and then those tasks hover over us for the rest of our day like a dark cloud.

For me--it is the gym, any uncomfortable calls, or meetings, etc...

I tend to want to exercise about 5:30 am and start my calling at 7 am (decision makers tend to be in early). When I don't attack these tasks, they get pushed back, and back, until the day is over and I am anxious about getting the things I need done and worried that I will have to push them off until tomorrow–thus starting the cycle again.

By doing my most hated and uncomfortable task first, I tend to feel less anxious about my day, I am more productive, happier in my duties, and way less stressed. And often, those frogs aren't as bad as we think they are going to be. Plus, I get it over with early so I can't even remember the bad parts!!! 

Now, of course, you can't always do the worst thing you need to do in the morning–life doesn't always work like that. If that's the case, put that frog on the top of your daily to-do list IN CAPS. Make sure you physically write, check, scratch, whatever it off –that will give you personal satisfaction with your day and make you feel calmer just knowing that the hardest task is done. Don't trick yourself into thinking that getting all the little things on your to-do list done will compensate for not doing the difficult, froggish task–if it is small, less important, and easily accomplished, won't it be even easier if the larger, harder task is already done?

If you don’t eat up that frog today, put it in BIGGER caps for the next day,  AT THE TOP OF YOUR TO-DO LIST or put it down TWICE. Skip it again?--THREE TIMES. Scratching off large to-dos or multiple large to-dos will give you a greater sense of accomplishment. Remember, when you can't face the frog, it becomes more powerful than you. 

 And it's not.

 It's just a frog.

OK, this guy might a bit more trouble...

                                                                      

Need help working through your frog? 

 Feel free to contact us directly...