August 2020 « Confidence Coach

Freedom

Freedom is a simple exchange away.

Do you know what I mean by that?

Freedom is a common theme that I hear as a business coach.

The reason why most people start a business is to have freedom of time and money.

But, you have to make the choice or at least be aware are you getting freedom from something or are you getting freedom to something — and where are you in that exchange.

Most entrepreneurs and business owners are in the process of freedom from something.

As we coach business owners through this process, we have them exchange the idea of freedom from something that they’ve come from before in their business to freedom to something that they want to create — maybe it’s an experience and it’s what their business will provide them with.

We work on the mindset of freedom from whatever that is to freedom in the future for what you want in your life.

Freedom is a simple exchange away.

If you’re ready for more freedom. Reach out. Let’s talk.

by Scott Ballard , August 30, 2020

A Good Reminder that Someday Never Comes

Are you in the habit of putting off things until “someday”? With all that has gone on the last few months, most of us realize just how precious life is and maybe there are certain things that we shouldn’t put off until someday.

Do you know why I am saying this?

Because “someday” never comes. We only have today and what we make of it. Yes, we can plan and we can schedule things out, but as most of us have seen, some things are out of our hands when it comes to how we operate our business or make choices for our families.

So, the important thing is to make the very best of today. If there is something that you can do today to build your business to the next level or help someone out, do it now. There’s no guarantee that you have tomorrow to do it.

I’ve given this illustration before of how fast a life goes by. Let me give it to you again.

I want you to do an exercise for me using a tape measure.

Take the tape measure, set it on the floor, and mark that very first notch as the day you were born.

The next few dashes – mark graduation, marriage, birth of kids, etc.

Also put a mark down for the day you started your business.

Then the inevitable question becomes this: How long is that tape measure?

How long do you think you’re going to live?

Have you thought about what’s outside of that tape measure — what is your legacy going to be?

Or have you forgotten why you’re doing this business? Did you start it so that you and your family would have the freedom to do the things that were important to you?

Maybe you’re just drifting, inch by inch, year by year along your life and in your business. Or you feel like Covid has changed your trajectory.

Let’s get back on the path; back on the horse so to speak.

If you’re looking for the mark on the tape measure that says “Someday,” it’s not there.

This isn’t a dress rehearsal. Your life is represented in this tape measure. It has a beginning, it has a messy middle, and it has an end.

Are you ready to face the truth?

Someday NEVER comes!

Reach out and schedule a free coaching session with us today if you’d like help getting back on track to start doing things now, instead of tomorrow. Each day is a gift to be thankful for. Don’t waste it.

by Scott Ballard , August 27, 2020

Seven Strategies for Difficult Times

A while ago Angela Perkins of Xenium HR asked me if I would share my “Seven Strategies for Difficult Times” in a webinar which I recently did. Brandon Laws did an excellent job moderating and it was really a fun time. I hope the information shared in the webinar will benefit you so I’m giving you the link here so that you can listen at your leisure. These seven strategies can help you maneuver through these difficult times we have been facing over the past few months. Here are the seven areas I spoke on:

Take your eyes off yourself
Focus on your relationships
Focus on creating value
Focus on your opportunities
Focus on your progress today
Focus on who you can be and how you respond
Focus on what’s available and be grateful

At Confidence Coach we are here to offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. We are here to help and encourage you.

by Scott Ballard , August 16, 2020

Why are business owners lonely?

Something I’ve discovered over 13 years of coaching business owners, entrepreneurs and CEO’s is that no matter how successful these people are, they are lonely.

In fact, the more successful they are, the lonelier they become.

If you step back and think about it, it makes total sense.

Nobody understands their problems.

Nobody understands the decisions, the choices, or the sacrifices that they make on a daily basis.

Nobody understands the responsibilities that they have for hundreds and thousands of people, their jobs and their livelihoods.

Nobody really listens.

Everybody that comes to them wants something from them.

It’s lonely at the top.

I know that.

I know you and I understand.

I’m here to listen, to learn and ask you the really hard questions.

Remember, you don’t have to be alone. At Confidence Coach we are here to offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. We are here to help and encourage you.

by Scott Ballard , August 9, 2020

Compassion and Courage

At this time, people need compassion and courage more than ever. I wanted to share a new word regarding this that I learned from my coach Brian Johnson of Optimize. This word really resonated with me because it is so true and powerful.

I’ve heard it said that Aristotle thought that courage was the #1 virtue we need to put all the other virtues into place. If that is so, then “encouragement” is a super-underrated virtue.

You know that I am a true believer in encouragement and that my gifting is in being an encourager to others. So, you can understand why this struck me as being so important!

Everyone needs encouragement in times like these, but they also need compassion.

But, we need to move beyond “suffering with” others (which is the definition for compassion) in the middle of challenging times to HAVING COURAGE TOGETHER during these extraordinarily challenging times.

New Word to Think About:

This is where Brian’s new word and definition come in that I just love:

“Comcourage.

To have courage together.

Here’s the definition for compassion: ‘sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others: the victims should be treated with compassion.’

Etymologically, compassion comes from the Latin com + passio. It literally means ‘to suffer with.’

Here’s my proposed definition for comcourage: ‘fierce belief in the strength of others to meet their challenges combined with a willingness to act together in the presence of fear to conquer and grow from those challenges: the aspiring heroes facing challenges should be treated with comcourage.’

Etymologically, comcourage comes from the Latin com + cor. It literally means ‘to have heart with.’

Let’s remember: Just like the heart pumps blood to our arms and legs and other organs, COURAGE vitalizes all our other virtues.”

I hope you are as encouraged by this new word as I was. Go out and inject some courage into the ones you love and work with.

And, may we all be willing to face challenges together. Remember, you are not alone. At Confidence Coach we are here to offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. We are here to help and encourage you.

by Scott Ballard , August 2, 2020