motivation or the lack thereof

image from alchemy-resources(dot)com

Of course motivation is not permanent, but then, neither is bathing. But it is something you should do on a regular basis. - Zig Zigler

I'm going to be transparent here. I hope it doesn't offend. But I hope it enlightens.  I'm sitting here reflecting on my the first half of the month in my business. I'm so disappointed in the results. In reflection, I'm looking back on my activity to see where I can improve. In doing this, I noticed something. There wasn't as much activity as I thought there was.

Fortunately, I track the activity I do: income producing activities (IPAs) such as phone calls, meeting new people, sales opportunities, etc. and non-income producing activities such as conference calls, sales meetings, paperwork and the like. And I've found that there were a lot more non IPAs. No wonder I'm not motivated to do more. I am not with the people; therefore, I'm not having measurable accomplishments or wins to keep going.

Does this make sense? Has this ever happened to you?

This is what I've found. The more IPAs = the more wins = the more motivation to keep going when times get tough.

Now to address WHY there are more non IPAs; there are many but I will address just one. Do you afraid of or hate the word 'no'?  Or to put it another way, are you afraid of rejection?  The simplest answer is this:

Easier said than done? Maybe. But here is another thought. Because of not wanting to hear the word 'no', two little letters that only have as much weight as I give it, I busied myself  'working' my business by doing things that needed to be done but won't grow my business. Yes, paperwork needs to be done. But not by me and not during Prime People Time (PPT). (My definition of people time is the time of day that it is feasible to meet new people or call new and existing customers. For me, that time is 9 am to 9 pm.) Yes, inventory needs to be labeled, and shelved but I need to meet new people, follow up for new clients, conduct interviews to replace myself and other activities to grow my business. Those other things won't grow my business. They'll just keep me busy.

So the next thought is: What do I do now? Remember:

I need to focus on defeating my fear of rejection. I'm going to play a game with myself. I am going to get 100 no's before the end of the month. In the process, I know that, in the process, a 'yes' will get in the way. And if I aim for the no, why would I be afraid of it? Make sense? A good book (and very short read) along this line is called Go For No.

 I also will get back to doing my '6 Most Important Things' list. This is a list that, at the end of the night, before you go to sleep, you make a list of the up to 6 things that need to get done the next day. Then you reveiw it at the start of your day and do the hardest thing first. If you don't complete the list that day, the unfinished things go to the next day.

What reason do you lack motivation for getting done those necessary things? What is your plan to change it?