Getting Behind the Wheel is Scary

Did you ever think about what it was like that first day you got behind a wheel of a car as a driver? Perhaps you were in Driver’s Education class and it was a?fake?steering wheel. Perhaps you were “down on the farm” driving the tractor or ride-on lawnmower. Perhaps you were with your Dad (as I was) learning in the empty K-mart parking lot, early on a Saturday morning.

Close your eyes for a minute and remember what it was like that?VERY first?time. (For anyone who failed their driving test, especially more than once, I apologize in advance for bringing up these memories and any anxiety they might subsequently cause). Assume that THE CAR has an automatic transmission, since that shortens the steps we have to discuss.

Here we go, say it with me, step by step: You open the door, you sit in the driver’s seat, you adjust the seat for optimal distance from the pedals and the steering wheel, you fasten your seat belt and adjust the mirrors. So far so good.

No great risk, and no great reward (after all you haven’t gone anywhere, yet). But you feel good, you feel optimistic that YOU CAN DO THIS! Right?

Then, you turn the key and start the engine (or if you are super younger than me, you push a button to accomplish this step). Now the crazy stuff starts. You put the car into “drive,” turn on your turn signal as a warning to others to get the heck out of the way, and look in all directions for those “others” who don’t heed your warning signal. You press on the gas, turn the wheel towards the road and?slowly?ease into the driving lane. Yeah….you made it! You take a?big?breath and then realize that there’s more….lots more.

Photo Credit: Why Kei, from UNSPLASH

AND, you need to learn these additional steps?quickly,?since you are out there, ON THE ROAD and DRIVING! OH MY GOD!!! Braking, turning, accelerating, stopping, signaling, stopping the signaling, and... don’t get me started on what you need to do if it is raining: headlights on, windshield wipers on, defogger on! Geesh, it's a lot to think about, RIGHT?

Now…open your eyes and think about the last time you drove a car, today or yesterday. Did you think about?each?of these 10-15 individual steps it took to get into the street? Of course not, it is all “second nature” to you now, and you don’t have to break it down and think about the order anymore. It is a habit, it is automatic, and it takes?NO Brain Power. Get in, turn the engine on and go…simple, easy,?and may I dare say,?fun?

Did you go from the fearful, anxious, never-done-it before "student" to the accomplished driver of today overnight? I don’t think so. Habits take time to become routine. They take practice! In fact, they take 21 days of practice, to forge a new habit.

So what if you had habits for attracting new leads, new clients, into your business? Habits that you performed every day, and after 21 days of doing these habits, they became second nature to you, so they were part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth, combing your hair, making your bed, getting your morning coffee, driving to the office (or walking into the next room, as it is for me)?

You didn’t magically wake up one day as a young child and start brushing your teeth every day! You had to?learn how to do it, and then you had to?practice?doing it correctly. Your dental visits provided the feedback on your practice, telling you whether you were getting your teeth clean, or not. This feedback is important, so you don't commit to doing it incorrectly.

What about driving? You may have a person in the passenger seat that provides the feedback for your driving habits. What else gives you feedback on these habits? Maybe past tickets, points on your license, or the number of accidents you have been in?

What about rewards? Do you get safe driving discounts on your auto insurance, or maybe compliments from the "backseat driver"? Do your cars last forever without a single dent, scratch or bent fender? These might be testimonials to your excellent driving habits.

You need practice, a feedback loop that tells you how you are doing, so you can self-correct and a reward for anything you want to turn into a habit. That’s what I do, I coach solo business owners on establishing easy, fun, habits for marketing your business and getting more clients. Here's what you might need:

1. Establish the goal?of what you want to achieve. You want more clients so you can grow your business. The Plan is the process you use to attract more clients, and I will talk more about this more in next week’s newsletter. Think of the plan is something like a?roadmap.
2. Commitment to the process, and knowledge that it will take some time. If attracting clients and building a business as a solo were easy, we’d all be millionaires, right?
3. Practice.?Habits take 21 days to become routine. This means that you need to build time into every day to practice your new habit. Knowing what might interfere in your practice helps you put plans in place to overcome those obstacles. (NOTE: This is where a coach, and/or accountability buddies come in handy (just saying)).
4. Action Mindset. Just thinking about it will not get you there, you have to take action. You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses. It is important to know where you are right now, where you want to be and what needs to change. Then you have to make it happen, by taking action. I like to think that taking action is my “default mode.” Feel free to steal that and make it your own.
5. Reward.?Think about what what your life will look like once your habit becomes routine. Be sure to build in a reward. Make it something that you?really want and value. How is your life going to look different once you attract all the perfect clients that you need??Draw that picture and post it?somewhere near your work station.

Before I close, let’s me tell you a little story about REWARDs. My next door neighbor, Teresa, wants to quit smoking. She has been a smoker since age 16 and she is turning 56 this year. Forty years of a bad habit. When I asked her why she wants to quit she replied, “so I can save $70 a week, instead of spending it on cigarettes.”

After I picked myself off the floor (NOTE: when I smoked in 1980, the packs were 75 cents--I quit when they went to a dollar), and pushed my gaping jaw shut (for someone who lives via a budget, $70/week for something innately unhealthy seems like WAAAY too big a price…but that’s just me), I asked her to approach this reward a different way.

“Instead of thinking about what you are?saving?on cigarettes, think about what you would be?doing with that $70?each week once you quit.” You see, she won’t be saving it, not really. She just?won’t be spending it?on cigarettes. Padding her savings account with that extra money is?NOT?a motivating reward. But if she starts putting that $70 a week in a vacation fund, and then begins visualizing the beach vacation she could take. That is much more motivating.

Let's put this to work in marketing our business with daily habits that bring in new clients.

Think about the rewards: if you had daily habits that brought in more of your ideal clients, what would that make possible for you in your business? In your life?

That is your reward?for daily marketing habits. Let me know what you are "going for" by hitting "REPLY" to this email.

Ciao,

Diane

P.S. If you are interested in learning more about the Driver’s Seat, my VIP membership for learning and implementing good marketing habits as a solo business owner, you can learn more by clicking?here.