Tips & Talk 94 – Ignore the “What If’s”
I have a story for you about a friend I met years ago through the Chamber of Commerce. You’ll be as surprised as I was when I tell you.
After this event I’m going to share with you, Alan could have kept looking back and wondering what his life would have been like if he’d made a different choice. Did he? Nope!
Alan demonstrates 3 solid life lessons based on his experience and where he is today. Good things for us all to reflect on and learning to take into our futures.
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Transcript
Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk
Speaker:Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions
Speaker:and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small
Speaker:business. If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DM e over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.
Speaker:Before we get started,
Speaker:I'm gonna share a secret with you.
Speaker:One of my superpowers is the ability to get an enormous
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Speaker:rarely forget to do something,
Speaker:and know at the start of each day what needs priority,
Speaker:attention and action type A personality.
Speaker:Yes, and a follow through on the Kobe assessment,
Speaker:which should have given me the clue,
Speaker:but it wasn't until people started commenting to me that I
Speaker:realized not everyone naturally knows how to do this.
Speaker:It's the biggest single contributor to the growth I always see
Speaker:in my businesses without spending hours and hours working either.
Speaker:It's about focus and doing the right things efficiently.
Speaker:Prompted by all the questions on how I do this,
Speaker:I went about finding a way to help you perform at
Speaker:a higher level too.
Speaker:I analyzed my methods and formalized my process,
Speaker:which is one many of my coaching clients.
Speaker:Now, also follow.
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Speaker:It's all part of a tool called the Inspired Daily Planner,
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Speaker:physical planner isn't dated,
Speaker:so you can start using it the second it arrives at
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Speaker:and that's not all included for each day is a motivational
Speaker:or business building tip and plenty of space to capture and
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Speaker:inspired daily planner@giftbizunwrapped.com
Speaker:slash inspired.
Speaker:It's story time.
Speaker:I wanna introduce you to a friend of mine who I
Speaker:met through my local Chamber of Commerce.
Speaker:We've known each other for years now and have shared many
Speaker:personal and business stories throughout this time.
Speaker:To me,
Speaker:it's always so fascinating how interesting people's pasts can be,
Speaker:but these stories only come out when you get to a
Speaker:certain level of friendship and are in the right environment.
Speaker:At one of our chamber,
Speaker:after our events whine in hand,
Speaker:one conversation led to another with my friend Alan and his
Speaker:late wife Jeanie.
Speaker:We got into reminiscing about surprising stories from our past.
Speaker:All three of us were trying to one up each other
Speaker:by sharing things you'd never expect based on who we are
Speaker:today. It was such a fun conversation and full of amazing
Speaker:revelations. I talked about being known as the Sunday Night prankster
Speaker:in college,
Speaker:my venture into cow tipping and being an NFL cheerleader.
Speaker:You can hear all about this last one back in tips
Speaker:and talk episode 78 if you're curious.
Speaker:But Alan,
Speaker:hands down had the best story of the night.
Speaker:He shared how when he was younger,
Speaker:he was a full on hippie and played in a rock
Speaker:band. He even pulled out his phone and showed me a
Speaker:picture as confirmation.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:my friend Alan,
Speaker:this buttoned down,
Speaker:highly professional guy,
Speaker:transformed from what I saw in this photo.
Speaker:Unbelievable and worth more than a few laughs and teasing,
Speaker:of course.
Speaker:Anyway, the best part of this story is yet to come.
Speaker:Obviously, I wanna know more about the band and what happened
Speaker:to him from there,
Speaker:and this is the really crazy part.
Speaker:We talked about his life in the band.
Speaker:I've forgotten now what it was called at that time,
Speaker:but as you can imagine,
Speaker:there were dynamics with the band members investing a lot of
Speaker:time without making much money,
Speaker:and he was losing interest and questioning whether he wanted to
Speaker:continue down this path.
Speaker:The breaking point was when the lead band member told them
Speaker:about the next song that they were going to add to
Speaker:their playlist.
Speaker:It was called,
Speaker:does anybody really Know what Time it is?
Speaker:Yes, this song,
Speaker:does anybody really know what time it is?
Speaker:Alan was like,
Speaker:this is the stupidest sounding title I ever heard,
Speaker:and that was the last straw for him.
Speaker:He left the group.
Speaker:Now, for those of you where this doesn't ring a bell,
Speaker:the song,
Speaker:does anybody really know what time it is,
Speaker:was the song that put the band Chicago in the spotlight
Speaker:and on the map of stardom,
Speaker:record deals,
Speaker:tours, the whole works,
Speaker:but not including Alan.
Speaker:He had already left the band and went on to have
Speaker:a very successful law career,
Speaker:so I asked,
Speaker:do you ever reflect back on what could have been if
Speaker:you didn't leave the band?
Speaker:Honestly, I've forgotten now what his answer was to that question,
Speaker:but I do remember his follow up.
Speaker:He said,
Speaker:if I had stayed in that band,
Speaker:I may not have ever married Genie the love of my
Speaker:life or had a family or a stable life here in
Speaker:the suburbs or built my legal career.
Speaker:I have no regrets,
Speaker:and I know this to be true.
Speaker:To know Alan is to see his passion for the life
Speaker:he leads and all the good and joy he extends to
Speaker:those around him.
Speaker:Now, why did I take this whole podcast episode to tell
Speaker:you this story?
Speaker:Because there are some valuable lessons to take away.
Speaker:First, if you're questioning your current situation because it's not fulfilling
Speaker:anymore, it's okay and you should make a change.
Speaker:Maybe it's making adjustments or completely switching it up.
Speaker:Making a decision is always better than in decision,
Speaker:even if your decision is to revisit the issue in a
Speaker:few months.
Speaker:Second, once a decision is made,
Speaker:an action taken,
Speaker:keep your eyes moving forward.
Speaker:Looking back is great for learning and being wiser as you
Speaker:continue on,
Speaker:but looking back and wishing things could have been different is
Speaker:defeatist. We can't change the past.
Speaker:Focusing unproductive energy on what could have been isn't helpful,
Speaker:and as I see it is a waste of time when
Speaker:you could be creating an even more beautiful future and finally
Speaker:live without regrets.
Speaker:Just like Alan says,
Speaker:if we're lucky we get many days on this earth,
Speaker:of course we're going to make choices during this time that
Speaker:hindsight were mistakes or a different choice might have led to
Speaker:a really great outcome.
Speaker:Don't you wish you had the wisdom you have today when
Speaker:you were in your early twenties?
Speaker:I know I do,
Speaker:but that's not how life works.
Speaker:And now when it comes to business,
Speaker:I've observed in myself and others that it has a way
Speaker:of taking over our lives.
Speaker:We all need to remember that our business doesn't define who
Speaker:we are and is only one part of our life.
Speaker:We tend to stay in unfulfilling spaces too long.
Speaker:We often fear the risk of change.
Speaker:Sometimes the known is more comfortable,
Speaker:even if it's not making us happy because change is too
Speaker:scary. As a new year approaches and it naturally feels like
Speaker:a time for analysis and adjustment,
Speaker:I urge you to reflect on where you are and be
Speaker:bold in moving forward in a new way.
Speaker:You already intuitively know if there's an area of your life
Speaker:that calls for improvement,
Speaker:no regrets and no more waiting.
Speaker:It's time to make the change.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl,
Speaker:and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn.
Speaker:Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.
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