Mandy Schumaker

PERFORMANCE COACH, TRAINER AND SPEAKER

Blog | Coach, Trainer, Speaker

It’s The Worst It Will Ever Be…

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Okay-I admit it-I’m a self-proclaimed perfectionist (which others would agree with, particularly my spouse!) And while this characteristic has at varying times served me well, it has alsocaused a lot of “stuckness” on my part.

When I first started my business, I got stuck on everything. My business name, the logo, how the website should look, my business cards, you name it, I couldn’t get started on any of it-it all felt overwhelming. Mostly, I was worried that it wasn’t perfect, that it didn’t “look right”.

My resistance to moving ahead on these projects became so painful, I nearly went back into the corporate world and gave up my dream of having a coaching and consulting business! So I totally understand when I work with clients today who can’t seem to move forward on a particular project or goal that they are REALLY wanting to create or achieve. They have such gifts they need to bring to the world through their work, but they resist getting started or taking the first step.

What others think:

Resistance is one of the processes that masks fear. And more times than not, this fear is worrying about what other people might think. That worry, frankly, underlies all fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of humiliation, and even fear of success. We worry that whatever it is we’re setting out to do won’t be good enough in the eyes of others.

Trust me on this: You’ll worry a lot less about what other people think of you if you will acknowledge how infrequently other people think of you!

Everything good was once a bad first draft:

When I wanted to launch my first teleclass, and was anguishing over getting the marketing copy and the content perfect, someone said to me, “It’s the worst it will ever be, just go with it”. And I found this to be true. Once I got something down on paper, or took the first few steps on a project, I could always go back and change it, tweak it, even perfect it!

I saw a T-shirt the other day that captured this beautifully. It said: Everything good was once a bad first draft. You have to sit down and get that first awful draft finished so that you can begin polishing it through each successive approximation.

Assignment:

If there is something you are wishing to start, accomplish, complete, but can’t take that first step,try to figure out where the resistance is coming from-is it your own fears, worried about what others might think or say, fear of success. Whatever it is-it’s worth identifying.

Then just start-anywhere, write down a few things on a cocktail napkin, or type a few lines on your computer, or take just the first step to get going. Remember, you can always go back later and fix it. Someone also once told me, “Done is better than perfect”. Which is so perfect!

The path from good to great leads through good enough!!

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5 Tips to Get In Control of Your Own Schedule and Stop Feeling Overwhelmed

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It is not unusual when I meet with a prospective or new client to hear, “I just can’t seem to get anything done”, or “I work nearly 60-70 hours a week, but I just seem to move from one thing to the next and don’t ever feel like I accomplish anything.” Or, “I tend to just wing stuff a lot and go with the flow”.

Many entrepreneurs and business people have the ability to handle a lot of different tasks, assignments and projects at the same time. However, as the old saying goes, “what got you here isn’t going to get you there”. In other words, while one of your strengths may be to “wing it”, that’s probably not going to continue to make you successful in your business or career. Or while you have been successful at multi-tasking or moving from one thing to the next, at some point, that’s not going to continue to work for you as you move up the ladder in your career or become more successful in your business.

Getting in control of your own schedule is crucial. And with good intentions, discipline and consistent practice, it can be accomplished. Here are five “tried and true” tips that have worked for me and my clients:

1-Keep a Time Log for 2 weeks-Keep a piece of paper near your desk or computer and keep a time log-by hour of how you spend your time. At the top of each page put the day with each hourly increment starting from when you wake to when you go to sleep. Be sure to be as detailed as possible noting what you’re working on (i.e. e-mail, project, meeting etc) what time you started and when you finished. It’s important to keep this for 2 weeks to be sure you cover a portion of time when things may only happen once, or things that routinely happen. At the end of two weeks, take the time to really analyze where there are time sucks. Where are you spending too much time, perhaps with e-mails, looking for things in your office, or on your desk? Are you moving from one thing to the next without completing the first project? While this task can in itself feel overwhelming, all of my clients who have completed this exercise have found it INVALUABLE to help them get more organized and dramatically improve their productivity.

2-Organize Your Work Area-If your work area is a disaster, or there are piles and piles on your desk, (oh, I know, you know where everything is, or you’re afraid if you file it away, you will forget to do it) there is no way you will ever feel or get in control of your own schedule. Schedule a time this week to spend the time getting your work area organized. Buy some cheap boxes or baskets, label them and put like papers and info into each of them. Throw away what you don’t need and create a “projects for the future” basket which you schedule to look at once a month for new ideas.

3-Don’t Leave Your Office For The Evening Without Planning For The Next Day-I never leave my office without making a list of the things I have to do the next day. That way, I don’t waste any time when I get into my office the next morning, trying to figure out what I need to do that day. I already know from my planning the previous night. I also prioritize my list by the most important. Research shows that most people are most productive in the morning hours and it’s the best time to do the “hardest stuff” first.

4-Finish One Priority Before You Move To The Next-When working your prioritized list (that you made the night before!), go as far as you can with the first priority, until it’s either completed or you can’t go any further, before you move on to the next one, and so on and so forth. This way you start to complete projects, rather than just getting a little done here and there without really completing any of them.

5-Respect Your Time-This means to value your time. If you’ve scheduled some personal time to work out, or take a walk, or take time off-stick to it. Don’t let other people, or other “time sucks” pull you off your schedule. It’s important to schedule free or personal time into your calendar and stick to it-just as you would if it were a client appointment. This will greatly begin to reduce your feeling of overwhelm because you are able to make some space in the day for yourself.

I strongly encourage you to take these five tips and implement them today. Give it two weeks, being as disciplined as you can in following these five things and see if it doesn’t make a difference in lowering your stress level and helping you feel more in control of your time and schedule!

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So, What Do You Value?

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“Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and VALUES are in balance”

Brian Tracy

One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your business is to get clear on your values. This not only allows you to understand the points on your internal compass, it also motivates you to head towards them! They can be used as a framework for which all decisions you might make can be held up against for consideration.

Most of us take a lifetime to understand who we are. Through life’s experiences, some unpleasant, we gradually come to know what we value, what we believe and what we have for gifts and skills to make a difference in the world.

Unless we know ourselves and understand our values, we become attached to what lures us in, and mere objects of other people’s will. We can become outer-directed and lost inside. We can easily be attracted to money, power, control and prestige. The chase for these things often leaves us feeling empty and yearning for something more.

The three most important rules to understand with values are these:

1-There are no right or wrong values. Only right or wrong for the individual. Your values are right for you and mine are right for me. It’s highly unlikely any two people will have exactly the same values because there are an infinite number of permutations.

2-Only you can determine which values are most important for you, someone else cannot determine your values.

3-If somebody’s values do appear to be blatantly wrong-refer back to rule #1

Assignment

Make a list of your values. You might want to take a look at a list of possible values to help you get started.

1-Circle the key values

2-Now identify your top five. Don’t try to override your gut feelings with an internal conversation that goes something along the lines of : “I suppose I should really have family at number one, otherwise the wife/husband/kids will kill me.”

3-Examine these top 5 values by responding to these questions:

  • Are you living out these 5 values? In your family? In your business? In your community?
  • How are you doing with these values? Very well, or not so well?
  • Where are you living out of alignment with your values?
  • If these values were missing from your life, how important would that be to you?

Value-centered living or leadership is acting on our beliefs and our values. When we use our values to make decisions or help us lead our business or lives, we become inner-directed and outwardly motivated.

NEW Monthly Lunch Hour Teleclass Series Begins Tomorrow

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I’ve recently heard from quite a few leaders and entrepreneurs who’ve said they would really enjoy having a class once a month on a particular topic. with other leaders and entrepreneurs to share struggles, ideas, tips and resources.  So, I’ve created the “Lunch Hour Teleclass Series” which begins (tomorrow) Wednesday, August 30th from 12-1:30 pm EST.  This series will run the last Wednesday of every month and include a teaching session and discussion, led by me, around a topic that’s relevant to leaders and entrepreneurs.  It will also include a 30-minute coaching session with someone on the call on an issue relevant to their business.

The first topic: “GET INTO ACTION-8 SIMPLE STEPS TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION IN YOUR LIFE AND BUSINESS

If you are looking to significantly grow your business, reach your goals and maintain better work/life balance, this call is for you!  Each workshop will also include a 30 minute coaching session with an attendee regarding a current challenge in their business. 

 Register NOW for this not to be missed opportunity to:

  • Improve your skills
  • Learn from other entrepreneurs
  • GROW your business with practical tips and resources that you will take away and be able to implement IMMEDIATELY!

I would like to organically grow this series as it unfolds, to be sure to cover the kind of topics and discussions that are meaningful and relevant to the people on the call-so it will be VERY interactive.  I so hope you can join us tomorrow!!

REGISTER HERE TODAY!

Do The Thing You Fear The Most…

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You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

I have always been moved (and motivated) by this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. And this quote was much on my mind last week when I had the opportunity to go waterskiing for the first time in over ten years! And in the salt water no less! I had learned to waterski in a lake when I was a child, then didn’t do much after I was in my twenties. I think I’ve been twice in the last 30 years. When I had mentioned early last week to a friend who owns a boat and often water ski’s , that in my 50th year, I had on my list to water ski again, he called me on Sunday (a beautiful day) and said, “this is the day-get ready”.

I was excited, but also VERY nervous and scared. While this was really something I wanted to do, all of the sudden, my stomach got a bit tight, my palms started to feel a bit sweaty, I got a very serious look on my face, according to my eight year old, and I started to think of all the things that might happen if I actually tried it. I might really hurt myself, an old knee injury might reappear, my back hadn’t been so great recently, I might get tripped up on a lobster pot. I wear contact lenses and had to take them out in case I took a big spill and that made me feel even more vulnerable.

The negative-worse-case-scenario-thinking went on and on and on…. This is how many of us react when we come face to face with our fears, even when it’s something we really want, or know is best for us. Whether it’s deciding to finally quit our corporate job and start our own business, or making that fifth sales call on a potentially big client who’s turned you down four previous times, or maybe it’s asking for help on how to become a better leader for our organization, or finally realizing in order to grow your business, you need to ask for some support and guidance to help you finally make the move.

In my experience of coaching clients for over ten years, have found that most fear comes from the fear of failure: loss of income, job, relationship, self-esteem, confidence etc. As I sat on the boat contemplating whether I was actually going to water ski, I thought about all the big, hairy audacious goals I had asked of my clients, requesting they face their fears, take action and make the huge strides in their businesses and personal lives that they wanted. My job is asking people to do the thing they fear the most…because you know you’re onto something really good when you get to people’s fears. So there I was standing on the dock, wondering if I should get in the boat, or give up my water skiing notion.

I decided to use the Greek’s “burn the boats” theory, when the Greek’s came ashore for a battle, they burned their boats upon arrival, so they would be stranded on the island and it insured their confidence in winning the battle. I left my contact lenses ashore, donned my wetsuit and life jacket and jumped in the boat where we headed out beyond the lobster pots, jumped in the water with my skis on with my kids shouting, “Mama, just say, ‘I think I can, I think I can’ and you will.” I jumped in the water and got up on the first try. It was exhilarating! We made one big loop then I motioned to take me in, where I dropped the rope. That’s when I thought of one of my other favorite quotes:

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” Anais Nin

Where can you expand your life? What fears can you make friends with today, in order to gain strength, courage and confidence? Remember, you must do the thing you fear the most… If this particular post resonates with you and you would like help and support in creating a plan of action for your business or personal life, please feel free to contact me at 207.767.2634 or at mandy@mandyschumaker.com.