003 - Looking Through The Lenses at Your Business and Life

What If Anything Were Possible??

How would you capture it? How would you tame your thoughts to align with this new vision? Constructive daydreaming is an excellent way to Utilize Your Time. But random thoughts are not productive. The theme this week is to harness your thoughts around creating You 2.0 and to warn you that the world is not ready for you to expand.?

Over the next 5 minutes, you will discover a framework for doing just that. Today is all about aligning your acquired training and perceptions to amplify your ability to achieve your desires.??

Simplicity is the answer to nearly all difficult situations. We have all heard KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid, but this is an explanation of what happens when you keep it simple all the time.??

Through your daydreaming, a plan has emerged. You have decided to start a business that will coach others in a particular specialty you have. Your initial research demonstrates that you are in a market filled with competitors, and you are not sure how to stand out in the crowd. Using these five lenses effectively will help you identify the best way for you to choose to market your new business.??

Microscope?

The microscope lens has you look through every detail of your being to get down to the smallest parts of why you are unique in your market. This exercise allows you to capture all the essence of who you are, what you offer, your strengths/weaknesses, passion, purpose, etc. Write all this down. This is the full list of everything you offer to your potential customers.??

Once you have the full list written down, go back over it and analyze it against you versus everyone else. If everyone has this skill, strike it off the list. It is not unique. Take all remaining pieces and create a new list. This list of uniques are the core of your purpose. These are skillsets, philosophies, actions, habits, and routines that only you utilize in your system. Your message begins here.?

Crat your initial messaging and start A/B testing your delivery with the network of people who you surround yourself with. The feedback from them will help you move into your market faster and more effectively. But before you go to market, you need to look through the next lens.?

Telescope?

Yes, the next lens is to look far into the distance. Quite honestly, no business should move forward without looking into the distance to see where it is heading. This should be used in a couple of ways.?

1. Future proof the business?

No one can guarantee what kind of result a company will have, but when you set your mind on what your future company looks like, you make decisions in the present that make sense and support the growth toward that future company. Usually, these visions include volume of sales, number of customers, specific impact on a cause, etc. But it can also be more specific to you. It could be a future of freedom from geography. It could be freedom from finances. It could be creating a new product line and launching it. In either case, each creates a specific vision and path that you will be on. From there, you can set the tone for what needs to be done along the way. You will not be surprised when issues, distractions, and obstacles jump in the way to pull you in a different direction.??

2. See obstacles before they are issues?

You see this all the time in movies, the explorer pulls out the telescope to focus on a future point to see if anything along the way presents a danger. This is definitely a lens you want to take seriously. Say your coaching business needs to produce a product, looking through this lens will help you look for competing products that potentially have copywrite protection. There is nothing worse than producing something only to be sued... That said, you should not focus on what your competitors are doing. That will slow you down, instead you should...?

3. Focus on the finish line??

When your eyes are fixed on the destination, your determination to get there is far higher than when you are merely trying to outrun the person next to you. Every time your eyes shift to see where your competition is, you take energy away from the goal. Every single decision you make should pull you in a straight line toward your destination. The fastest way to get somewhere is in a straight line. Use laser focus to make sure you are fixed on the finish line, and nothing else.?

Glasses?

Once you have distilled your strengths into uniques, and built the vision of your path, use glasses to remain focused. This lens will allow you to see what you need to do right now. What is the one thing you need to accomplish today to move yourself toward your destination? What habits do you need to succeed every day? What routines do you need to stay on track? How do you micromanage yourself? Daily focus is one of the hardest to master.??

Mirror?

Whereby you cannot look through this lens, the reflection view is wildly critical to your growth. At least weekly, you should reflect on your progress so you can course-correct frequently. Are you on track with your goals? Did you move the needle this week? How was your daily activity? Do you need to change anything? Do you need to learn something new? This reflection will uncover parts of your growth that you didn’t see in the glasses phase. Make sure to always take the time to use the mirror phase. That said, it is important to use this lens to enhance your honest view of yourself. This will help you avoid the dangerous imposter syndrome that plagues so many entrepreneurs.??

Kaleidoscope?

This is the most dangerous of the lenses. This is the shiny objects lens. As you start getting momentum behind you and you start establishing your brand, others are going to present you with opportunities. It will sound great – affiliate programs, new commission sharing opportunities, brand aligning. It can be called a million different things, but what it does is dilute the clarity of your vision. When you look through the kaleidoscope you see several fractured parts of a lens with a layer of colors in a constantly moving environment. This completely moves you away from your focus. When you look through a kaleidoscope, see it for what it is and say, “thanks, but no thanks.” Get back to work with your lenses.???

It is critical to sell your unique to the market. In order to do so, you must first identify what differentiates you from the others (microscope), see the future you want to build (telescope) know who your audience and what you do every day to reach them (glasses), AND take the time to reflect on your journey to stay true to the course (mirror). You are here on purpose. Harness that purpose and reach the world with your message.?

It is easy to get caught up in the business of making money. But it is more important to make money working in your wheelhouse. You will sell better. You will message better. You will prospect better. You will Utilize Your Time better.??

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