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Episode 466 – When you are stuck

• Happy Friday
• Today is action Friday
• Yes, you heard right
• We are going to do opposite of what most people do on Friday
• Instead of relaxing, taking it easy, rolling into the weekend –
  • We will take action
• Friday’s are some of my most productive days
• I get ready for the weekend and want to complete as much as possible up front,
  • Especially when I head to the mountains
  • That’s when I really hustle on Fridays to get everything done
• In my previous episode we talked about being busy versus pursuing our dreams
• I admit it – often on Fridays I am just busy
  • I need to get my podcast episodes in
  • I usually shop for food so I don’t have to do that on Sundays
  • I may run a load of laundry
• But Today I was productive
• Today I didn’t just check things off my list
• Today – I made progress towards my dream
• I mentioned it in my previous episode
• Instead of meeting for coffee and “catching up” with a friend, I decided to meet with another friend
• Someone whom I work with on my speaking program
• We both want to be speakers
• and today we worked together
• We were both somewhat stuck – overwhelmed, unclear, directionless
• And we both walked away unstuck, and with a clear direction on next steps
• And we only met for an hour and a half
  • Its that easy
• But its only that easy when you make an effort
• So today, I want to give you 3 concrete tips that can help you get unstuck
• They relate to the 3 ways I become present and get rid of my distractions
• I shared them in the last episode
  • Time in nature
  • Being with people that stimulate my mind and help me move forward
  • And spending time with self
• I am going to give you 3 possible activities that you can do today, tomorrow, any day
• They will help you – wherever you are at the moment
  • Maybe you need to get clear on a next step
  • Maybe you just want to sort through a all the activities in your life that you have going on and figure out what matters most
  • Maybe you just want to find something that brings you joy
• Your quest for you starts with this next step
• You are going to turn away from doing, from busyness, from mindless chatter and thoughtless entertainment and you are going to turn towards yourself
• Pick one of the 3
• Whichever resonates most with you
• Wherever you feel comfortable
• But I highly recommend you start using all 3 avenues at some point because being distracted is the so addictive – its so hard to uncouple ourselves from it
• We need to find back to ourselves more often
  • Not just once or twice a year on vacation
• Weekly at least
• So here you go
• Nature
  • This activity is very straightforward
  • Get outside
  • I recommend you get away from people and go alone
  • A beach, a forest, an isolated trail
  • Go for a walk, a nice long walk, at least an hour
  • Pick your favorite time of day
  • Sunset or sunrise are my favorite ones
  • Something you know you will enjoy
  • And just walk
  • A picture here and there is fine, but don’t spend the hour texting with your friends
  • Just be with yourself and nature
  • If you’re really adventurous, go camping – overnight
  • But spend some time outside
  • And as you walk, and admire nature, ask yourself questions that come to mind
    • What fires me up?
    • What brings me joy?
    • What can I do to be happier?
    • What is something I want to learn or try out?
  • Questions that are on your mind already – ask them and see what comes to you
  • And as you get ideas, record them into your phone
  • Sometimes I just ramble into my voice recorder
  • And if nothing comes to mind, that’s ok to
  • Just be outside
  • Enjoy the fresh air
  • Disconnect from all the overstimulation of media and our environment and find something to admire in nature
  • There is no pressure to come home with an action plan
  • But I often get so many ideas and clarity on things I was stuck on before
  • Give it a try
• Next
• If you have people in your life that stand behind your goals and dreams
• Maybe a mentor
• Maybe an accountability friend
• Not a cheerleader
• Not someone who will say yes to anything you want to do
• But a knowledgeable expert, who has experience and wisdom to offer in the area you want to grow in
• Someone on a similar journey maybe who can relate to you
• Whatever your endeavor is
  • Learning French
  • Growing vegetables
  • Networking with entrepreneurs
• Find people that you can share your journey with
• And then reach out to them to learn from them
• They don’t need to be best friends
• They are there to help you grow
• I strongly suggest you meet regularly
• I have learned the importance of regular meetings this year with my speaking team
• Without those regular meetings, I would easily fall of track’
• Did fall off track when I skipped a couple of meetings lately
• There is accountability when you meet with likeminded people
• And here is the activity:
• Find one person
• Only one
• And meet with that person regularly
• It does not have to be long
• One hour can be enough
• I am actually doing this with my friend that I met with today
• We are going to meet weekly going forward and here is how these meeting go
• They are very structured
• Remember – you are not there to chit-chat
• You are there to accomplish a dream
• We meet on time
• We then give each other 5 minutes or so for check-in
• Check-in is a quick update on where we are
• Major things in our lives that have happened
• How we might feel at the moment
• And – of course – progress updates
• And – we time ourselves
• Yes – its that structured
• And then we divide the time we have in half
• We decide together – maybe we have an hour, then each person gets 20 minutes and the last 10 minutes we use for wrapping up
  • Summarizing next steps
  • Setting the date and time for the next meeting
• During our time we discuss what we need help with
• I might rehearse a portion of my speech
• Or ask questions on how to get started to find speaking gigs
• I might want to brainstorm an idea and get feedback
• Whatever your need is – this is your time
• Rinse and repeat
• Do it every week and you will make incredible progress on your goals
• There is something magic about spending time with the right people
• It pushes you
• It inspires you
• It gives you hope
• All of this and more happened to me today in a 90min meeting
• I cant tell you how critical it has been for my quest for me to have people in my life that support me
• And – as you define the areas that matter to you, you may have several of such people
• For my fitness goals, I have a trainer
• For my podcast, I meet with a mastermind group
• For my climbing activities, I have a partner who also holds me accountable to learn and improve
• Start with one area where you are stuck or want to gain some traction
• And if you have 2 people – make it a group of 3
• Or more
• Just know that the more people there are, the more time you will all need
• But a group of 3-5 people is the perfect size to push each other forward as everyone will bring unique knowledge and expertise to the table

• And Lastly
• Alone time
• I have talked about journaling and mediation plenty on this podcast
• So here is something different
• Very hands on and straight from Seth Godin to you
• I haven’t shared any of his blogposts in a while but here is a recent one and it spells out the activity very clearly
• Its called:

Three wishes

When you’re feeling stuck with your project, grab three index cards.

On each card, write down an element of the project that, if you invested time and money, would change for the better.

If those three things happened, if those three elements improved, what would happen to your project?

Okay, now that you’ve got all three… what are you going to do about it?

• A very simple activity you can do
• But – and as Seth points out – you need to follow up
• Your accountability buddy can help you with that
• Or, you create an action plan
• But you need to do something about it
• This exercise is a great way to get unstuck
• And if you schedule regular time with yourself, you will make progress
• But it requires discipline
• So start today
• Take action on one of your goals and move forward
• I hope these tips helps you
• Reach out if you have feedback or questions
• I am here for you

Much love