choices Archives « Confidence Coach

Stuckedness

Here’s a new term for you: “stuckedness.” Life is too short to stay stuck.

It’s not your challenges that are holding you back from reaching your full potential and your best future. Instead, it’s the lack of action to overcome these challenges. You need to grow and change through the experiences that you live.

Are you living your best version of yourself? Or, do you feel stuck in one area or maybe several areas of your life?

Stuckedness Statements

Over the last five years, I’ve been keeping track of people’s “stuckedness” statements and how they’ve gotten stuck in their business and/or their life. I’d like to share some of those statements with you. See if you recognize yourself saying some of these things.

I don’t feel worthy (or better known as the imposter syndrome). I’m really good at what I do, however, there are so many others who have been doing this for so much longer with so much more education or experience or maybe a larger following. It makes me feel like an imposter. Why would somebody even consider me when they could just go to one of my competitors in the industry?
Nobody will ever pay me that much money for the service (or product or experience) I provide. I have a great fear that I’ll never be able to make more money than what I need to survive on.
I’m stuck. My stuckedness is — I have dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, a learning disability, etc. Because of that, I can never get past where I’m at today. I’m stuck here in this crappy job or in this business that owns me and controls me 80 hours a week.
I’m afraid of what people will say. I am afraid if I start this business, or if I buy that location, or if I hire that person, or, or, or whatever. I’m afraid of what they (the great “they” out there) might say about me. Am I greedy? Am I selfish? Have I sold my soul for the dollar.
I don’t have time to finish that degree. I don’t have time to have a relationship. I don’t have time for my kids. I don’t have time for my marriage. (These are the lies that say you don’t have enough time.)
I’m stuck in my head. I’m overanalyzing, overthinking, over planning, over worrying, to the point of never doing anything.
Whenever I think about my future, I can only see or think or believe that it’s not going to work out.
I’m afraid to hire someone. I’m afraid to make an investment. I’m afraid to leave my current security to go after something better.

These are just some of the “stuckedness” statements and comments that I’ve heard over the last five years from clients that reached out to work on their problems. These statements were holding them back from taking what we call “brave” or “massive” action to face their fear and become 100% committed to doing something about it. I’m thrilled to say that all the clients that shared the above statements with me have resolved their issues. Not only have they resolved them, but they’ve overcome them and are succeeding far beyond their wildest dreams as a result of getting unstuck!

One-on-One or Mastermind

My great passion, joy, and gift in this world is to bring insight, breakthrough, and transformation. I love to bring miracles into people’s lives through one question or one conversation that changes everything. I do this one-on-one with people and also through a group coaching program.

There’s currently room for two one-on-one coaching clients right now. We also have room in our next mastermind group which will start in August of 2021. If you’re interested in taking on one of your places that you’re stuck and take that part of your life to the next level, reach out to me by either emailing me (or hit reply) or schedule a free consultation. Let me know the area of your life, whether personal, business or both, where you feel stuck. I look forward to hearing from you.

by Scott Ballard , June 20, 2021

Your Tombstone

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into a graveyard on every tombstone there’s a date the person was born and a date the person died and in between there’s a dash.

Well, to me that “dash” is really your life.

My question to you today is what are you going to do with your dash?

What do you want your life story to be?

What do you want the legacy, impression, influence or impact to be with your dash?

We all think that our last day’s not coming, but we all know in our heart of hearts and mind of minds that our last day is coming.

My challenge to you today is to start living in your dash.

by Scott Ballard , June 6, 2021

Who Do You Want to Become?

Instead of thinking about what you want to become or who you want to be like — think about who you want to become. Then start making choices, habits, decisions, thinking and triggers that help you become who you want to become.

Let’s say you want to become a better leader in your business. Then start being, acting, and choosing to be like a leader.

Let’s say that you want to be a writer. Then start writing every day for five minutes.

Let’s say that you want to be a better father or a mother. Then act like one.

Act like what you want to become and who you want to be.

If you want to be a hero, then act like a hero.

Over time if you develop these new actions and habits, then the way you think and act will automatically appear in your life.

So think about the question of who you want to become and then start to act like it. Start to think like it. Start to make choices around the person you want to become in order to be where you want to be three years from today.

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 , November 8, 2020

What are You Creating in Your Business?

Can you answer the question “What are you creating in your business” in a sentence?

Or, could you write it out on a napkin?

Can you draw it out for me?

This may seem like an incredibly simple question, but you’d be surprised how many people struggle to answer it when I have asked them this question.

What are you creating?

Are you creating something that is going to require 80 hours a week for the rest of your life in your business?

Or are you creating something that is actually serving you, your life, your family, your friends,

your hopes, dreams and aspirations?

So I want you to really think about this. By what you are doing right now, what are you creating?

Is what you’re doing right now getting you closer to the goals, dreams and aspirations you have for your business?

Are you stuck or are you going backwards?

Does your business own you or do you own your business?

When was the last time you actually seriously thought about your actions, your choices or your decisions?

When did you last think about the results you were getting in your business and changed what you were doing so that you could actually achieve the results that you wanted?

I’d love to have that conversation with you about this. Reach out and let me know.

by Scott Ballard , July 26, 2020

Fear is a Feeling

Fear is a feeling; it is not a fact.

Just a thought for you today.

I’ve been noticing two different things with people.

Number one, people that seem to be controlled or manipulated by fear are people that are watching an inordinate amount of news.

And, the second thing I’m noticing is that people that have this fear are business people that are more concerned about their competition than they are about what they’re doing in their own business.

At this time, remember this fear is a feeling.

Let me restate that again: fear is a feeling.

It is not a fact.

Be careful and be intentional about what you watch, what you listen to, who you follow, and how you’re investing your time.

Invest in things that are factual.

At Confidence Coach we 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. We are here to help and encourage you.

by Scott Ballard , June 28, 2020

It’s Gonna Be Okay

I just wanted to tell you that it’s gonna be okay! Part of my belief in that is a matter of perspective. We may not return to our original normal but we will have a new normal.

Here are some questions to get you thinking and to check where your perspective is:

Is what you’re thinking about leading you to peace, life and a better future?
Or is your thinking leading you to more doubt, more fear, and more uncertainty?
What did you learn during this season that you want to keep doing in your business?
What did you learn that you are going to omit or get rid of?

You need to be aware of what you are thinking, watching and talking about. You get to choose your perspective of how and what you think about.

There’s a story about two salesmen who went to Africa a hundred years ago. When the first one arrived on the continent, he sent back a telegram to the home office. “Coming home on next ship. No one here wears shoes.”

When the second salesman arrived on the continent, he also sent a telegram to his home office. “Send all the inventory you can. No one here wears shoes. Huge market!”

You and I get to choose what we think about and where we place our focus.

Choose well! You usually get what you see. It’s all a matter of perspective.

At Confidence Coach we 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 , May 31, 2020

Focus on Your Gratitude

When times get tough, everyone has to make a fundamental decision: to complain or to be grateful. What do you choose?

In an environment where negative sentiment is rampant, the consequences of this decision are much greater. Complaining only attracts negative thoughts and people.

Gratitude, on the other hand, creates the opportunity for the best thinking, actions, and results to emerge. Focus on everything you’re grateful for, communicate this, and open yourself each day to the best possible consequences.

What are 3 things you are grateful for today? Start with the small things and then you will build on your gratitude muscle.

At Confidence Coach we 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. Let us help you make progress.

by Scott Ballard , April 19, 2020

Are You a Grateful Person?

Do you consider yourself a “grateful” or positive person?

Are you in the HABIT of being grateful for things that happen in your life or do you tend to be a pessimist?

I want to encourage you that you always have a choice to react in either a positive or a negative way. Even in difficult circumstances, if you develop the practice of thanksgiving and gratitude, your outlook and attitude with improve.

What is your first reaction when things aren’t going the way you want? Next time this happens, stop and think twice about how you are going to respond.

As we say, think about your thinking. Here are some questions that come to mind that you should ask yourself first:

How am I going to react to this?
How am I going to process this?
How am I going to think about this?
How am I going to respond?

That’s what it all comes down to: MAKING A CHOICE to be thankful and grateful in spite of your circumstances.

Do you choose to view a situation positively with gratitude or dwell on the negative?

Gratitude was a choice that I made at a very young age.

School was extremely difficult for me, and I had teachers telling me that I was stupid! (Hopefully this isn’t happening in the schools now like it was back in the ’60s.)

Luckily, I had an extremely loving and caring family so all my self-worth was not based on the education system. I also had a faith and belief in God that sustained me. (I wrote a book a few years ago that tells my whole story and the practice of gratitude.)

I decided at a very young age to think about everything in my life that I was grateful for.

Every night before I went to sleep, I sat in my little bunk bed and thought about what I was grateful for. Here are a few of those things I thought about:

I’m grateful for my grandmother and how much she loved me.

I’m really grateful for how much my parents care about me.

I’m really grateful that today I got to play football.

This may sound trivial because it’s just a little kid thinking about little things. But, it’s that kind of thinking that has made me the positive, encouraging person I am today. In fact, that’s the number-one thing people say about me: that I am one of the most positive, encouraging people they’ve ever met.

The reason for this is simple:

GRATITUDE.

I’ve made it a daily practice in my life to list out all the things I am grateful to God for. Gratitude has allowed me to be able to serve people without any expectation of them ever being able to do anything for me. Instead, I am simply grateful for the opportunity to serve and how good it makes me feel in my heart and soul.

Often people wonder why they are so discontented, unhappy and stressed. They have anxiety. One of the main reasons for this is spending too much time thinking about what we don’t have instead of what we do have.

Gratitude is like an inoculation against being discouraged, upset, afraid or depressed.

We all have low times, but gratitude can help us make our way through them.

When I am feeling down or depressed, I stop and think about what I am thankful and grateful for. When I focus on those positive things, I start to appreciate them more, and they become more valuable to me. I think about God, my wife and kids, grandkids, friends, clients, experiences, places, etc., and realize how very blessed I am!

You too can live a different life with a different purpose and a different intention. Start leading a life of gratitude. Take into account – on a daily basis – everything you are grateful for.

Please share with us how gratitude or choices have made a difference for you and what you’re grateful for today.

For more on Gratitude check out The Biggest Disability is a Bad Attitude.

by Scott Ballard , November 10, 2019

You have a Choice

Do you sometimes feel like you don’t have any choice in making a change that will take your business to the next level? Don’t fall into that trap.

You always have a choice.

Sometimes that choice is simply in how you respond or react to change, adversity or a particular situation.

The first and most important choice is to have a mindset to look at situations, difficulties, challenges, obstacles, barriers in your business as opportunities. The bigger, more difficult and the more challenging a situation or problem is — the greater the opportunity you have to build a bigger and better future for you and your business.

One of the ways to do this is get clear:

Identify. Get out of your mind and onto a piece of paper exactly what this obstacle, barrier or challenge is.
What’s in the way. Decide what are all of the things around it that are preventing you from moving past it or finding a solution to go around it.
List them out. List each obstacle or situation out so that you can break them down. Ask yourself the question for each one: What is a simple, basic thought to transform this barrier or obstacle?
First Step. What is a simple first solution or step that would take us past, through or over the top of this obstacle?

A lot of our coaching is “thinking about your thinking”. Be aware of how you’re reacting to challenges and problems in your company, business or corporation.

I’d be curious to hear what the biggest obstacle is that you are facing. What do you feel is keeping you from reaching the next level in your business?

What’s in the way?

Identify and work on what’s in the way; then you can also get clear about solutions and next steps. (Which will also help you figure out the team and resources that you will need in order to move forward.)

Today’s all about choice. But, first you have to choose to think about these obstacles, barriers and problems in a whole new way.

That’s the challenge today — think about what’s in your way. Let us know what that is and/or schedule a free consultation and let us take you through this little exercise and help you turn your obstacles into opportunities.

by Scott Ballard , October 20, 2019

The Power of Your Mindset

Today I just wanted to talk a little bit about the power of your mindset as a business owner, entrepreneur, CEO or leader. One of the things I want you to stop and think about for a minute as you’re leading, managing, going about your business is:

What are you focusing on when it comes to your business?
Are you focusing on what isn’t working and what the problems are?
Or, are you focusing on what is working and what you can build on?

And what I mean by that is: what we focus on, what we put our mental energy into, our emotional energy or thoughts into really becomes what the result is down the road. Sometimes you don’t realize that and you are asking yourself “how did we end up where we ended up a year ago?”

Well, where you ended up and where that all started was in your mindset, your thinking or what you’ve focused on. Remember to get clear about what the result is that you want in your business in this next year, and then focus intentionally daily on your decisions, your choices, the way you talk about your business, the way you interact with your business with that result in mind.

Don’t focus on what you don’t want, but focus on what you do want the business to manifest. Focus on the result that you want to get from the business. Whether that’s a financial return or a new product launch, maybe it’s a new store to be opened up, or whether or not to go online. It could be a myriad of things. But think about what your mental focus is, your mindset, the amount of energy that is going into what you want.

Because I think what you’ll find is if you really take inventory, a lot of us spend a lot of time on thinking about things or have a mindset focused on what we don’t want.

We need to turn that faucet off. Turn on the faucet of what you do want, what you want in the future, and thinking in your mindset around that as you go through the day in your business.

So, once again, thanks for reading. We’re at confidencecoach.org. Subscribe to our YouTube channel too. We’d love to talk to you about your mindset. And if you’d like some coaching, reach out to us for a catalytic conversation. Thanks.

by Scott Ballard , July 29, 2018