Tips & Talk 94 – Ignore the “What If’s”

Hi there,

it's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk

Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions

and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small

business. If you'd like to submit a topic,

DM e over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.

Before we get started,

I'm gonna share a secret with you.

One of my superpowers is the ability to get an enormous

number of tasks and projects done each and every week.

I easily meet deadlines,

rarely forget to do something,

and know at the start of each day what needs priority,

attention and action type A personality.

Yes, and a follow through on the Kobe assessment,

which should have given me the clue,

but it wasn't until people started commenting to me that I

realized not everyone naturally knows how to do this.

It's the biggest single contributor to the growth I always see

in my businesses without spending hours and hours working either.

It's about focus and doing the right things efficiently.

Prompted by all the questions on how I do this,

I went about finding a way to help you perform at

a higher level too.

I analyzed my methods and formalized my process,

which is one many of my coaching clients.

Now, also follow.

You can use it too.

It's all part of a tool called the Inspired Daily Planner,

made specifically for gifters,

bakers, crafters,

and makers.

Make no mistake,

this is not your ordinary planner.

First off,

it comes with a video explaining my productivity strategy and the

physical planner isn't dated,

so you can start using it the second it arrives at

your doorstep,

and that's not all included for each day is a motivational

or business building tip and plenty of space to capture and

book in time for to-dos scheduled appointments and all those ideas

that are now getting lost.

You can watch the video for free and then get your

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slash inspired.

It's story time.

I wanna introduce you to a friend of mine who I

met through my local Chamber of Commerce.

We've known each other for years now and have shared many

personal and business stories throughout this time.

To me,

it's always so fascinating how interesting people's pasts can be,

but these stories only come out when you get to a

certain level of friendship and are in the right environment.

At one of our chamber,

after our events whine in hand,

one conversation led to another with my friend Alan and his

late wife Jeanie.

We got into reminiscing about surprising stories from our past.

All three of us were trying to one up each other

by sharing things you'd never expect based on who we are

today. It was such a fun conversation and full of amazing

revelations. I talked about being known as the Sunday Night prankster

in college,

my venture into cow tipping and being an NFL cheerleader.

You can hear all about this last one back in tips

and talk episode 78 if you're curious.

But Alan,

hands down had the best story of the night.

He shared how when he was younger,

he was a full on hippie and played in a rock

band. He even pulled out his phone and showed me a

picture as confirmation.

Oh my gosh,

my friend Alan,

this buttoned down,

highly professional guy,

transformed from what I saw in this photo.

Unbelievable and worth more than a few laughs and teasing,

of course.

Anyway, the best part of this story is yet to come.

Obviously, I wanna know more about the band and what happened

to him from there,

and this is the really crazy part.

We talked about his life in the band.

I've forgotten now what it was called at that time,

but as you can imagine,

there were dynamics with the band members investing a lot of

time without making much money,

and he was losing interest and questioning whether he wanted to

continue down this path.

The breaking point was when the lead band member told them

about the next song that they were going to add to

their playlist.

It was called,

does anybody really Know what Time it is?

Yes, this song,

does anybody really know what time it is?

Alan was like,

this is the stupidest sounding title I ever heard,

and that was the last straw for him.

He left the group.

Now, for those of you where this doesn't ring a bell,

the song,

does anybody really know what time it is,

was the song that put the band Chicago in the spotlight

and on the map of stardom,

record deals,

tours, the whole works,

but not including Alan.

He had already left the band and went on to have

a very successful law career,

so I asked,

do you ever reflect back on what could have been if

you didn't leave the band?

Honestly, I've forgotten now what his answer was to that question,

but I do remember his follow up.

He said,

if I had stayed in that band,

I may not have ever married Genie the love of my

life or had a family or a stable life here in

the suburbs or built my legal career.

I have no regrets,

and I know this to be true.

To know Alan is to see his passion for the life

he leads and all the good and joy he extends to

those around him.

Now, why did I take this whole podcast episode to tell

you this story?

Because there are some valuable lessons to take away.

First, if you're questioning your current situation because it's not fulfilling

anymore, it's okay and you should make a change.

Maybe it's making adjustments or completely switching it up.

Making a decision is always better than in decision,

even if your decision is to revisit the issue in a

few months.

Second, once a decision is made,

an action taken,

keep your eyes moving forward.

Looking back is great for learning and being wiser as you

continue on,

but looking back and wishing things could have been different is

defeatist. We can't change the past.

Focusing unproductive energy on what could have been isn't helpful,

and as I see it is a waste of time when

you could be creating an even more beautiful future and finally

live without regrets.

Just like Alan says,

if we're lucky we get many days on this earth,

of course we're going to make choices during this time that

hindsight were mistakes or a different choice might have led to

a really great outcome.

Don't you wish you had the wisdom you have today when

you were in your early twenties?

I know I do,

but that's not how life works.

And now when it comes to business,

I've observed in myself and others that it has a way

of taking over our lives.

We all need to remember that our business doesn't define who

we are and is only one part of our life.

We tend to stay in unfulfilling spaces too long.

We often fear the risk of change.

Sometimes the known is more comfortable,

even if it's not making us happy because change is too

scary. As a new year approaches and it naturally feels like

a time for analysis and adjustment,

I urge you to reflect on where you are and be

bold in moving forward in a new way.

You already intuitively know if there's an area of your life

that calls for improvement,

no regrets and no more waiting.

It's time to make the change.

That's a wrap.

I'm a get to the point kind of girl,

and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

sessions. Now it's your turn.

Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.

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