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Mar 31 2014
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The 10-minute List

You can’t make more time–I’ve tried–but you can use the time you have a little bit better.

I’ve talked about Power Hours many times before. In my opinion, it’s the single best way to maintain a high level of consistent achievement. But how do you get their if you are falling into the procrastination doom-spiral?

I’m one of those people who tends to freeze when I feel overwhelmed. If something feels daunting, then better to take my mind off the problem altogether with mind-numbing social media or by binge-watching Netflix than to face and solve the problem. This is my nature, my default state.

This is a problem for me—or it can be if I don’t address it.

Well, now I have a new way to address it. Not so much new as in different, but new and improved. Like ketchup or something, it’s already kickass but it’s now kickass-ier, with real sugar or non-GMO tomatoes or whatever.

Back to making Power Hours more kickass-ier. As I have talked about before, I traditionally recommend Power Hours in three blocks of 20-minute segments, two times per day, for a total of six segments. This works for a lot of reasons I have mentioned so I won’t rehash.

The problem is it doesn’t work for the person, also like me sometimes, who is feeling overwhelmed, feeling like the goal is too big or frankly just not feeling like doing it.

(I know I shouldn’t admit that there are lots of times I just don’t feel like doing something.  I know there are people out there who haven’t had an out-of-discipline experience, but frankly, I’m not talking to those people—or if I am it’s to help them understand the people like me who don’t come perpetually disciplined. This is for the rest of the worthwhile, talented individuals who occasionally struggle with motivation, and those who lead them.)

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Ya, dishes and laundry are the domestic hot-potato in my home. #Embarrassing

So, again, back to making Power Hours more kickass-ier. Here is my list, here is one sliver of one fraction of what I need to do today. I have been procrastinating on my taxes, well, for months now. I know it’s a job that’ll probably take me a couple hours. Laundry, that’s just a given at my house. There is never a time laundry doesn’t need to be done. The next three are for a consulting project I am working on; it’s a fairly substantial project about to take 50-plus hours. I have got about five in, and would likely leave the last 40 or so for the weekend before the deadline… if it weren’t for this trick.

  1. Set my phone timer for 10 minutes.
  2. Dive into starting whatever is first on the list—like a sprint. Go!
  3. Because it’s only 10 minutes, I start swiftly, like ripping off a Band-Aid knowing full-well the Band-Aid will be off soon enough and I can go back to Words with Friends. Just kidding. Sort-of.
  4. Timer goes off.
  5. I keep going because I am in the middle of something important.
  6. Often the task gets completed in its entirety (depending on the scope) and always I get further than I would have.
  7. Feel accomplishment. Relief. It’s over.
  8. Tackle the next thing on the list (BECAUSE IT’S ONLY FOR 10 MINUTES!)

That’s it.

No magic. No brain-surgery. No super-human powers or Spidey-sense required.

Just a list. A list of deconstructed issues I need to tackle. The key is two-fold:

  1. The list needs to be bigger than a simple task such as “call the plumber” because, at least in theory, that isn’t a multi-faceted issue to be addressed. Although, you will see, I do have “dishes” on my list, and there is nothing complex about that (i.e. empty the dishwasher, load it, and wash any that don’t fit) but I detest it enough that I can easily put it off for hours if I don’t address it formally. This isn’t a to-do list as much as it’s a list of issues to be addressed (and I assure you, in my house, dishes are issues). Just use your good sense, you know what’s an issue for you.
  2. Be willing to stop when your timer goes off. This is probably more important than the first point. It is in this willingness that the fear of starting disintegrates. It is in the fear disintegrating that we start. And it is in starting that we realize it’s not so bad and often-times keep going. But we must be okay with stopping. No pressure. No guilt.

That’s all that needs to be done: A list of important task somewhere between not-overly-simple and not-overly-complex and the acceptance of only subjecting yourself to that “horror” for 10-minutes. Allow the feeling of accomplishment sink in. Lather, rinse, repeat. Or don’t. But do bask in the feely-good-feelings of getting that list out of the way.

If you want to take it to the next level as I will with my “Tax” item, which obviously is more than a 10-minute endeavor (although I spent 20 or more), you can break it out further next time. So my list for tomorrow will say “Receipts”, “Donations”, “Mileage” as these are the next steps that I identified missing from my pile-o-taxes today. But headed into today, I didn’t even know what I had gathered and what was missing. And I wasn’t making any progress starting to look for it.

The 10-minute list trick gave me the motivation to start with the peace of knowing I could stop.

I believe that’s part of the psychology of procrastination and fear. We procrastinators build up in our heads—some based on reality, some not-so-much—the pain that doing something is going to cause. Scenarios like “It’s going to take forever”, “it’s so horrible” and the like pervade our consciousness until that’s all we can see making the whole project much more daunting than it really is.

That’s why the 10-minute rule works: because even the most wildly abusive torture can be endured for 10-minutes. And then usually in that time we realize it wasn’t that hard or horrible. And once we are at that point we are already victorious. Regardless of if it was or it wasn’t, we have accomplished more than we would have had we not started.

What’s been haunting the back of your mind for some weeks now? What tasks and goals can you chip away with today by using the 10-minute list?

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Mar 04 2014
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Are your words magic?

81cec8bd-7b86-42d2-877b-1972f9ad939bThe other day, with a cookie up for grabs, a family friend asked my precocious, four-year-old daughter what were the magic words. My daughter’s response: “bippity, boppity, boo!”

Not only is this a sign we watch too many princess movies, but it illustrates two salient points about human communication. One, the quality of the answers we get is directly proportionate to the quality (and relevance) of the questions we ask. And two, the answers given will largely depend on the perspective of the giver.

Let me talk first about quality. Quality is a funny word. What does it really mean—I mean really mean? I had a marketing professor who would shoot students the stink-eye if one were to refer to a brand as representing “quality”. Why? Because quality means many things to many people.

Quality, as found on Google, means “the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something”.

Well what things? How Similar? How many degrees?

Because we can’t know, and because those value assessments are themselves assigned arbitrary weights, quality, then is arbitrary.

So much for quality questions, right?

Wrong. Because what we do know is that questions like “what can I help you find today” don’t bring a quality response. When someone asks you that at Macy’s or on the car lot what do you respond? Let me guess…wait for it… “Nothing, just looking, thanks”.

Was I close?

Questions that are tired, like the aforementioned; questions that are self-serving like “what would it take to get you into that car today?”; questions that are pushy, insincere or too leading are all the antithesis of quality.

Now that we know what quality isn’t, what could it be? We can start with the opposite; words like unassuming, sincere, mutually beneficial, unattached to the outcome, and truth-seeking are all solid.

But quality questions also sound different. Quality questions are direct. They have no blame or judgment in them. Quality questions have a purpose. Even the tone of a quality question is nurturing (but never patronizing) in nature, especially when discussing difficult, important or sensitive topics.

In the case of the fairy-godmother-incarnate, a better question may have been “how can you ask that using your manners?” In the case of the car lot, it might be “what kind of cars would you consider test-driving this afternoon?” or “you probably aren’t interested in test-driving anything today, are you?” That last one had a little jiu-jitsu thrown in for good measure, but you can see that they are both immediately disarming and different. They ask about the truth and don’t speak in cliché.

And how about perspective? In the car example, what is the prevailing perspective of a driver pulling into a car lot? Typically, it’s one of mistrust with a chaser of “hold-my-cards-close-to-the-vest”. The perspective of the buyer is “I’ve got to get you before you get me” and that paradigm serves no one. While we can’t change how the buyers look at something, we can change what they look at.
perspective

It reminds me of this visual to the right: are you showing someone the round end or are you showing them the curved side (which actually appears square)? Are you showing them what you want to show them or what they want to see? Are you asking questions in a way that’s comfortable for you or that works for the other party?

As my daughter is concerned, her experience of “magic words” extends exclusively to Cinderella, so of course she nailed it with her response. Are your clients, coworkers, employees, etc. not giving you the answers you want because they are hearing your words differently based on their unique perspective? Presumably, if you have any friction with any person for any reason, the answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes’.

Knowing you can’t change what they hear, you must change what you say to be relevant and resonant to them. We can debate that “communication is a two-way street” and we would technically be correct. However, I am reminded of my favorite Dr. Phil-ism: “Do you want to be right or do you want to win?”

If winning the effective communication game (i.e.: earning respect, getting what you want—ethically, having followers who follow you by choice, so on and so forth) is your goal, then the onus is really on you  to change the picture you are presenting with each and every question you ask.

You see, words really are magic. But as my daughter taught me, which words will depend on who you are asking.

*Warning: No car salesmen were harmed in the writing of this article.

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Mar 01 2014
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How to get what you want

Do you need something from someone?

If you’re in sales; if you’re looking for a job; if you are seeking advice, money or anyone’s time for  anything—then the answer is a definite ‘yes’.

Too often I ‘m approached by, or see others approached, by someone who communicates in a way that is not conducive to actually getting anything.

So how do you communicate effectively in order to get what you in fact want?

It all starts with showing your respondent that you are willing to be flexible and provide two-way value; then doing so without arm-twisting.  By and large, people want to know ‘what’s in it for me?’ They don’t want to get duped, and they don’t want their valuable time squandered.

However, this isn’t just about spinning the conversation so you look like you are putting their needs first, which is altogether manipulative and often transparent.

Take, for example, a guy I knew who consistently talked about everything he was going to do, in a bend-over-backwards, too-good-to-be-true fashion. In the end, not only did he fail to deliver on his promises but he failed to even deliver on baseline standards. He wasn’t genuine—at least not genuine enough for it to transpire into follow-through. It’s no wonder people are rightfully very skeptical when someone comes on too strongly.

Instead, it’s about really looking for how an opportunity can bring value to both parties so the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

This has to be done in a sincere way—a way that means being willing to potentially concede some preferences if it means that the other party retains some of their preferences—whereby both sides get a deal about which they feel great. It’s the over-used and clichéd “win-win” but it’s real.

It might sound something like “I was looking for a venue that would be willing to look at options around a possible trade for advertising in exchange to a low- or no-charge room rental. Not sure if that would even be a good fit for you, might not be, but is it a conversation you’d be open to having?”

A couple things are happening here.

One is that it’s very no-pressure. The ideas to let the person know that you want to create a dialog (and why) and to be very open-ended about the outcome—even if said outcome is no deal. I once had a life-insurance guy try to sell me so hard and I knew there was no graceful way to get him to let me go. So I did what any backed-into-a-corner prospect would do, I avoided all of his calls. For months. Ask yourself, who won there?

A second thing is there are no surprises. Nothing is worse than when someone says, “I want to talk to you about X” and they sneak in “Y”. It’s an instant credibility-killer.  I had someone ask me (as a board member) to meet with them about the nonprofit I served. When I arrived at the meeting, they tried to sell me a multi-level marketing phone system. At worst, I felt Shanghai-ed. At best, it was disingenuous. And we’ve never  spoken since.

Be upfront with what you want, and how it *might* help them. But understand and communicate that you also know it might not be a fit—and that you are okay with that. Never over-sell or mislead.

Lastly, stress the conversation, not the outcome. To further confirm this at the start of the meeting I will stress that my feelings won’t be hurt if this doesn’t work out because I’m merely hoping for the opportunity to brainstorm. Too often we stress how we want things to end up which is the classic cart-before-the-horse. What’s worse is when the cart is before the horse, it’s incredibly difficult to steer.

Yes, we do want an ideal (particularly for us) outcome, but what we really want is someone who is relaxed enough to actually listen creatively and open-mindedly to what we have to say—and possibly even add more value. Stressing the conversation ensures that nobody feels too much pressure to live up to something they can’t provide or don’t have. When this happens, most people either ignore what’s being said or have already mentally declined before you show up.

Not good if you are trying want to make something happen.

Remember instead to use your words, tone and body language to make sure you keep your conversation free from unnecessary pressure or surprises. Convey flexibility and value while being unattached to the outcome. If you really want to get what you want, it starts with being open to helping someone get what they want.

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Feb 13 2014
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Prospect as if your life depends on it. Sell as if you couldn’t care less.

This has been one of the hardest lessons for me learn. Doing so is a tightrope walk somewhere between hustling relentlessly for sales survival and then flipping the switch in order to sit nonchalantly with a prospect and ask him the tough questions.

A minuscule lean toward detachment from the end result and I am spiraling into slacker-land. A slip toward the desperate desire to be in control and I am tippy-toeing delicately as not to offend. I surely can’t be the only one who has to negotiate the tricky art of controlling of my destiny and yet simultaneously letting go of each individual outcome.

One way to get better footing is to have a fat funnel. Having enough appointments on the books makes it so, so—SO—much easier to be relaxed. Knowing that it’s not your only chance to close a deal this week (or this month) can calm the nerves enough and allow you to stick to your system. Also, having a frequent number of appointments maintains momentum for solid technique.

In order to have a fat funnel you must identify your root leading indicators. Leading indicators are any of the activities that lead to the results that you want; not the results themselves. For me, the number of presentations I do is a leading indicator of appointments which is a leading indicator of sales. Go a layer or two back to identify your root leading indicators. Isolate the first set of crucial activities that have a direct correlation to sales results.

Finally, look for efficiencies once you have enough data to know what can be improved, increased, added or eliminated. Look for areas that might be time sucks. Look for ways in which you can improve your technique ever slightly to make big gains.

If you really do prospect this meticulously, it will be easier than you think to sell as if you don’t care—because you won’t.  You won’t care because your focus will have shifted away from what you can’t control (sales) to what you can control (your attitude, behaviors and techniques).

Sales are just a logical result of those things becoming fully aligned and refined.

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Feb 07 2014
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You Suck! (But, I promise that’s a good thing)

pacifier copyI’m not athletic. I’ve never been. I can remember as a child being so paralyzed by fear of sucking, and thus getting made fun of, that I would never try anything remotely athletic—not even lessons to help me suck less.

Fear of sucking, and getting made fun of (even behind our backs) prevents us from stepping outside of our comfort zone.

And not leaving that zone prevents us from doing the thing that will help us get better—at anything.

Yes, it’s true. You suck. You suck at all of the things you haven’t done yet. And you can avoid sucking by not doing anything new.

Or…

You can suck. A lot. And suck really badly. Often. And you can do that until you don’t suck anymore at that particular thing. But then you will (or at least should) have new goals and dreams, at which you will suck. Again.

The lesson here is if you aren’t sucking at something, right now, then you aren’t shooting high enough. Your dreams aren’t big enough.

And if you don’t get over—or at least figure out how to ignore—the fear of sucking, you won’t go for anything bigger than what you already are. And well, that sucks.

So bask in your suckiness. Because if you suck at something, it means you are growing. It means you are going after what you really want. It means you are willing to stretch and be uncomfortable for a chance at something better.

And only then will you find a life that doesn’t suck.

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Feb 06 2014
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Oops! I failed——again

ImageA while back I wrote a piece here about failure. While I like what I said about adapting and having guts and going beyond the limits we tend to set for ourselves, I really think I missed a biggy.

See, everything I talked about really has more to do with pre-failure. All those things are about putting yourself out there, and you might fail. But what I missed is what happens when you fail—or, technically, when you fail by everyone else’s standards.

That’s the problem, failure, by its very nature, is a box that we put ourselves in because of a set of standards that the world has created. For example, I had a website a while back and running it cost me more money than I generated in revenue. The world would say that’s a failure. I said that, too. I felt that.

But was it?
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Did I learn anything from it that I can use in my next venture? Did I meet anyone that is a new friend, resource, connection, mentor? Did I stretch myself in a way that I hadn’t before? Did I grow? Was there any takeaway from that experience? Yes. Yes, to every single one.

But, did I even bother to ask any of these questions? Nope. Nada. Not even once.

See, the real failure isn’t that I ran a bum website that didn’t do what I had envisioned it to do (both in volume and functionality). The real failure is I let that disappoint me and embarrass me. The real failure is that I failed to review, reevaluate and redesign—

Failure is a real thing. But the box that society or our friends or the even the bank puts us in is not really failure. The only thing we can fail at is failing to see how we’ve grown and letting it keep us from choosing to grow some more.

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Feb 04 2014
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Power Hour

ImageDo you want to do something big? Like really big? Maybe you have several things. That’s fine. We can work with that.

I’m going to introduce you to a concept called Power Hours. Maybe you’ve heard of it, or something like it. If not, that’s okay, too.

I’m going to tell you about what worked for me. You can try what I did. You can adapt it. You can try what I did then adapt it. It’ doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you do something.

And I’ll tell you why I did it so you can make an informed decision.

The concept, specifically my concept, of a Power Hour is three 20-minute segments two times per day (one in the morning and one in the evening). The reasons behind this are several:

1)      I have often said “I can do anything for 20 minutes.” This way, even the hardest of tasks have a bite-sized appeal.

2)      Having a morning Power Hour and an evening Power Hour is conducive to keeping goals at the forefront of your brain all day, and not getting cold by having a lengthy lapse.

3)      Completing two Power Hours per day actually works out to about 20 percent of your waking hours. If you are familiar with the Pareto Principle, then you understand the significance. If you are not familiar with the Pareto Principle, then stop now and read here.

4)      It’s hard to only have a single goal. This way, you can have six. Or at least several facets of a goal (for example, I did both yoga and cardio each for 20-minute segments; I read a general business book and industry specific information each for 20-minute segments).

5)      This works for professional goals, personal ones, or both.

6)      It can be adapted on days where you really are short on time. Some days I only completed one Power Hour with three segments. ImageSome days I completed all six segments but only for 10-minutes each. In my extreme resistance I would break down one 20-minute segment into four five-minute segments and splice them between the other segments. This helped me with fear, boredom, time obstacles, and other goal achieving saboteurs.

7)      But the biggest reason that this works  is because when you do a little of something daily you benefit from compound interest. Twenty minutes each day adds up to so much more than 140 minutes on only one day a week. It’s big. Especially over your lifetime.

For me, Power Hours are the answer to achieving a lot on a busy, working-mom’s chaotic schedule. I got more done and it had a profound impact on my attitude as well.

So can you do it? Is your goal worth creating a Power Hour of your own? How might you adapt what I do to fit you?

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Feb 03 2014
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Top Ten Networking Tips

1.)    Eat and drink less, meet and greet more (keep at least one hand free for shaking).

2.)    It’s not a social event, so don’t catch up with your friends.

3.)    Talk to at least three new people an hour.

4.)    Never open by talking about yourself.

5.)    Don’t sell; set the stage for a follow-up conversation.

6.)    Talk in terms of problems you fix, not benefits you add.

7.)    Ask a hook question that turns the conversation back to your connection.

8.)    Attempt to connect others; ask “who are you trying to meet?”

9.)    Add new connections immediately on LinkedIn ap.

10.)  Follow-up within 24-hours (or less).

Ask me questions or add your own tips @MarjorieDudley

Bonus Tips:

11.) Don’t assume people want your business card; wait until they ask. It shows less desperation and you might save a tree.

12.) Use time waiting in lines to your advantage. Say ‘hi’, ask what s/he does, find out what you shouldn’t miss. But for pete’s sake don’t play Words With Friends.

networking copy

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Jan 29 2014
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The Devil’s in the Details

When I was a little girl I asked my mom to tell me about the devil. She went into the history of evil and explained to me how the devil was tempting people to do naughty things. She was thorough and accurate.

Until I started bawling hysterically.

When she asked me what was wrong I told her that I didn’t want to be evil or trick people into doing the things that they shouldn’t do. Confused she asked why I thought that was me. Sheepishly, I pulled out a t-shirt that my grandma had gotten me that coyly says “I’m a little devil”.

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Then my mom, feeling terrible, had to back-peddle and explain the difference between what the shirt meant and the doctrinally sound explanation previously given. She did a decent job but we both knew the damage couldn’t be undone. That bell couldn’t be un-rung.

How often do we assume we know where someone is coming from and just answer their question from the depth and breadth of our knowledge? How often do we seek to share our expertise rather than seek to understand their position?

When we do this we dig a hole, getting out of which may be impossible.

Sandler’s solution is to ask clarifying questions any time a prospect inquires about anything that we aren’t 100 percent certain of the reason or back-story. It takes practice. Some even say it’s manipulative.

But I suggest to you that the manipulative thing to do is to assume we know what someone needs before truly understanding from where they are coming. It’s manipulative to be so concerned with selling our product or service that we push through without taking the time to listen and gather information. It’s manipulative to be more concerned with getting a deal than getting to the truth.

So the next time you are asked a question, pause briefly to determine if you are certain why they are asking such a question. And if not, ask them a question back. You’ll be surprised at the new—and helpful—information you learn.

For more information on Sandler Training Solutions visit http://www.flywheel.sandler.com

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Jan 28 2014
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Push-on or Move-on?

ImageAnswering the difficult question of when should you try a different tactic versus when should you keep on keepin’ on.

In Jim Collins’ book Good to Great he metaphorically references the flywheel (‘a heavy revolving wheel in a machine that is used to increase the machine’s momentum’). It’s incredibly difficult to move but once it is moving it’s incredibly difficult to stop. So, too, can our actions work when striving to reach our goals. But…

There’s bad news: sometimes it can feel as if nothing is happening in those early, critical stages.

In my five steps to goal achieving (listen to audio here) the fifth step, Review, Re-evaluate, and Redesign, is critical. Doing so allows us to adjust our plan because it’s likely that the way we envisioned is not the way our goals transpire. But…

There’s bad news: we may move on to something else before the seeds we’ve sewn have had a chance to take root.

So, what’s a goal achiever to do?

That same question came out recently as I was working with a client. It can be tough to decipher but from that discussion I outlined five steps that will help you determine your ideal course of action.

  1. Track and review data
  2. Lay out your road map
  3. Make a pro-con list
  4. Consider past history
  5. Trust your gut 

1. Track and review the data. If you haven’t been tracking, you need to start—immediately—and then give it 30-90 days depending on the goal. Key metrics you may want to include are time based (how long does one activity take ), quantity based (how many X do you need to get Y, and how many Y do you need to get Z). If you know based on your collected data that it takes 10 networking meetings to get one new client (10 hours) and that it takes 150 cold-calls to get one client (five hours). It becomes easier to choose cold-calling over networking even though networking might be more fun. Thusly, if you are deciding whether to keep doing what you are doing versus try something different, if you don’t have that kind of empirical information, you will likely go with what feels better emotionally, and that may not be wisest.

2. Lay out your road map. Laying out your road map includes running through both possible scenarios and the logistics of each. It sounds silly or even redundant but it’s important. Doing so can ferret out obstacles that were glanced over previously. For example, I was considering joining a networking club on Thursday mornings. It happens to be at the same time as one of my company’s group trainings. That was fine, because I don’t teach that particular class. But sometimes I am asked to fill in. Although, not often enough to stay within the 75 percent attendance requirement. But what happens if I get a client from the group? They won’t be able to attend our company’s group training because they have the same meeting! Therefore, it wasn’t a good fit for me, even though I had been considering this group for months and nearly made the investment. It wasn’t until I mapped out my entire process-flow that I saw the serious glitch in pursuing this avenue.

3. Make a pro-con list. I have used this technique many times and it has consistently provided insights. I do a pro-con list for each option because sometimes a pro for one is not necessarily a con for the other. Then you can count the pros and subtract the cons or you can ascribe weighted values to each the pros and the cons. You can try both or do something entirely different. But the idea is to brainstorm all of the little things that maybe don’t mean much as a stand-alone item but seeing a half-dozen on the page starts to highlight a significant difference. Furthermore, qualitative aspects can be included. For example, comparing the networking event and cold-calling I might include “I hate cold-calling” in the cold-calling cons. That way, it gets represented but it’s not the be-all-to-end-all decision-making criteria. Yet, if all other things are equal, I can choose to continue networking.

4. Consider past history. While your goal may have something to do with breaking bad behaviors that aren’t serving you anymore, our history of behaviors can’t be excluded entirely. For example, suppose I am considering whether to adopt a networking strategy but I have never effectively networked and in fact I’ve started and quit a number of times. In this scenario I’m going to have a lot of baggage if I switch to this strategy solely because I don’t want to cold-call anymore. That’s not to say it can’t be done, it’s to say it is an additional obstacle to consider. Furthermore, if I have a history of “strategy hopping”, that should be considered before I forgo any accrued momentum switching what I am currently doing for the proverbial greener grass.

5. Trust your gut. This is last point for a reason—well, a few reasons. For one, you should only trust your gut infallibly if you have enough evidence that your gut has served you well before (as opposed to it having led you to “strategy hop”). Secondly, trusting your gut should be used in conjunction with reviewing the data. Very rarely does a situation go ideally when the gut-instinct completely contradicts the data. You could be the anomaly but this article is about increasing your odds, not winning the goal-achieving lottery. Lastly, your trusting gut is a muscle not unlike your biceps. As you work it, safely, you build it. You wouldn’t go to the gym and curl 150 pounds out of the blue. Train your gut by including him in the decision but not letting his emotions rule the day.

Follow these steps for more clarity on whether you need to take a new route or keep the path. If you are still confused, continue doing what you are doing. The reason being if you cannot come up with enough conviction to move on after working through this process, then it’s likely you are experiencing a bout of temporary frustration with the current path. While I can relate and empathize with that, there are more than a few anecdotes about one’s biggest breakthroughs occurring after the adrenaline rush wears off.

You only need to look at the Good to Great examples or the metaphor of the flywheel to observe this occurrence.

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