I hope you FIND YOURSELF in a slump.

I’ve been coaching a business client over the past 2 years, and man the success that they’ve experienced has been exceptional.? In the past 18 months, they’ve doubled their revenue, rebuilt their client engagement strategy and have added staff to their team to ensure operational efficiency.? Things have been going great, but they feel like they’ve just been in a bit of a rut lately, a funk, you know, they’ve recently found themselves in a slump.? From their perspective, everything seems to be piling up and falling apart. The frustration and challenge has been overwhelming. "It just seems like all the excitement I've had, celebrating the success of my hard work is all for nothing, cus now it's falling apart".

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My reply had a great spin to it, turn a negative into a positive sort of thing, and I really meant it.? With a smile on my face, I said “Man, that sounds awesome! What an opportunity.? Let’s not waste this.? Remember – It’s as easy as PIE… Process, Immerse, Emerge!”

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Think about what would happen if you took a seed, let’s make it sunflower seed like this one Take that seed and just throw it on the ground.? Throw it on the ground and walk away.? You could be inside, outside, on this iconic red dot on the carpet that I’m standing on, it doesn’t matter.? The chances of it growing are slim to none. - This one’s probably just gonna get sucked up by a vacuum cleaner.? Seems obvious right?? Yet, we do this all the time!

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Merriam Webster defines a slump as a “marked or sustained decline.? To fall or sink suddenly”.? With that kind of uplifting definition, it’s no wonder that we are conditioned to be ashamed of and loath being in a slump.

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We are conditioned by society to - Suck it Up! Wait it out! Just Deal with it!? This too shall pass!!!

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Man, I used to really like that expression…? This Too Shall Pass… It let me off the hook so many times! Now I hear it and I think, what a waste of an opportunity!?

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I beg of you, do not let it pass.? Don’t suck it up, devour it!? Take it home and introduce it to your family.? Call your Mom and tell her all about it!!!

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A slump is one of life’s most intelligent and powerful teachers.? It is one of the greatest gifts that you can receive.?

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It holds all the answers and literally gives you the instruction manual of what you need to change in order to break through to the next level.? It’s the gift of being able to build momentum.? The gift of unlimited growth potential.? Remember that scene in Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams whispering to the boys at the Welton Academy… CARPE DIEM, seize the day.

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Colonel Sanders got turned down 1009 times before selling his recipe.? June 1934, Babe Ruth went 0-21 at bat.? July 1986, Barry Bonds 0-23.? My first love, Donna Stewart.? She was my everything and we were going to be together forever.? But then I found her holding hands with Dwayne Matthews at lunch time.? Yup, Grade 5 for me was really tough.? We’ve lived through The Dot Com bubble 1999, ?The Financial Crisis of 2008, and most recently, The Pandemic.?

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What would have happened if no one pushed through?? Sucking it up and waiting it out clearly isn’t the answer.? What if Babe Ruth said forget it, threw his bat away and become an accountant.? What if Colonel Sanders was in fact, chicken?? And what if I gave up on love? I sure wouldn’t have this in my life.? And yes, Dwayne and Donna are still together.? Married 23 years with 3 beautiful daughters.?

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Those who thrive in this world are the ones who immerse themselves in their slumps and use them to their strategic advantage!

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Since the Coronavirus pandemic, the average number of new businesses started by quarter in the US has been over 1.35 Million, compared to the previous average of just over 875,000.? A 55% increase!!!? Yet we are told to “Stay Home, Stay Safe”.

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So how do we apply this to become one of the thrivers?

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Without immersing ourselves in the process of working through a slump, how are we ever supposed to grow?? Like a seed, if we’re not given a trough to spend time in, if we’re not immersing ourselves fully in the soil, getting our hands dirty, if we’re not doing the work, the best we can hope for is to barely breakthrough alive.? The point here is that these slumps are important!!!? We need them and they are crucial to helping us reach the top.? We need to utilize them to gain momentum.? They are the opportunity in disguise.? They give us time to improve.

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With mental health being at an all time low around the world, it is more important than ever to learn how to deal with slumps.? We need strategic digestible methods to help us, not massive organizational change.? I know so many business change agents with brilliant ideas to redefine the workplace, but the magnitude of these changes is often way to severe to be able to be implemented. ?I’m talking about strategic shifts that have an immediate impact.

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Remember that acronym from the beginning? Easy as PIE - Process, Immerse, Emerge!

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A slump is to be used to gain momentum.? It’s the most important part of the curve.?

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First, we need to Process where we are at.? Take inventory of what got us here.? Respect the fact that we are here.? Honour the fact that without the high’s, we’d never have the lows. The Ying and the Yang.? The world works by maintaining it’s equilibrium.? We must Process this part of the journey.

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Second, Immerse yourself!? This is where we get to do the work.? Get your hands dirty.? Figure out how we got here and immediately start on the plan of how we are going to use the curve to gain momentum.

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Third, Emerge!? With all the knowledge and momentum that we’ve just gained, it’s time for us to fly.? To Emerge stronger, to get out of the gate running.

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I would like to thank you for allowing me to share some ideas today.? Seize the day, and my wish for you is that one day soon, you FIND YOURSELF in a slump!