Tools for Winning the Game

I was in a motorcycle shop recently, looking to upgrade my bike for the third

time in less than six months, and the salesman asked if he could offer me some advice. I said, “Sure.” He said, “Why don’t you buy a bike that you can grow into instead of always buying something that feels comfortable now?”
I was really thrown by his question.

He was saying that if I buy a bike that I am comfortable on today, I would be back again soon looking for the next upgrade. Why not stretch my comfort zone and my budget and go for the bike I want to end up on eventually?

This was my kind of sales guy—he was throwing me a challenge and I love a challenge. I don’t know if he knew this about me, but it worked. We made the deal and I was to pick up the bike the next day.

That night, I did not sleep a wink thinking that maybe I had made a mistake: the bike is too big for my ability, I won’t feel in control of it, all kinds of negative voices came flooding in.

In reality, after a few days on the new bike, it felt like it was made just for me. I could not be happier, and the salesman was absolutely right. I would have settled for less had I not stretched myself when deciding what I really wanted.

Where is Your Comfort Zone?

How many times do you set goals or create a vision in your life based on what you think you can achieve instead of what you truly might like to achieve? Do you set goals that are safe or ones that you will have to stretch a bit to grow into?

Where in your life are you settling for less because voices of fear are telling you that you may not be able to achieve more?

In order to increase the quality of our life’s experience, we all need to continually explore and expand our comfort zones. The smaller our comfort zone, the smaller our world.

Make a conscious effort to experiment with your personal comfort zone.
Let yourself feel the adrenaline level rise a bit. Allow your anxiety level to increase. Feel your heart rate and breathing going faster.

Try some of these small ways just to get used to the feeling.

• Drive a different route to work.
• Volunteer for a project that you’re not sure how to do.
• Order something from the menu you've never tried before.
• Sleep on the other side of the bed.
• If you tend to be the serious type, try acting a little goofy.

Why would you want to give yourself the stress of stepping outside your comfort zone? Because that's where growth takes place. Just like a muscle gets stronger when you exercise it outside of its normal range of use, you get stronger when you get out of your usual routine. And just like your muscles, once you stretch beyond your current capabilities, your range of possibility increases.

As you try new things, you gain confidence. Confidence makes you feel powerful and good. And when you are confident that you can expand your comfort zone, you allow yourself to try even more new things.

Let’s say you volunteer for a project at work that you have no idea how to do. Once you commit to the task, your subconscious goes to work for you, looking for ways to be successful. I have made my career by saying, “Let’s go for it,” without knowing exactly how. Colleagues may respond by saying, “We don’t know how,” and I say “We’ll figure it out,” and we always find a way. Each time I do this reinforces what I have always said: anything is possible if you think it is.

Expanding your horizons is not a painless process, because it is well worth it when you consider the alternative: Stay comfortable and never grow! You get to choose

The more I practice stepping out of my comfort zone the more comfortable I feel when I am out there. I have actually become comfortable being out of my comfort zone.

The point I’m making is this: the next time you are setting a goal, creating a vision, or just trying something new, try going a little further than what might feel comfortable, and see what happens.

Have some fun with this. I know I am having a ball on my new bike!

“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”—Audre Lorde

“Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where all the fruit is?”—Frank Scully

“The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” —Charles DuBois

Every month, I try to offer you, my readers, tips that might be helpful in your business. This month, what I discuss will allow you to become more effective in your daily life, which in return can help you become more successful in your business.

This month’s tip is inspired by a close friend and mentor, Ed Fleming. He often shares this quote by Brother Andre: “Good stimulus in, makes for good thoughts, which makes for good actions, which makes for a good life.”

I could not agree more. When I decided to stand guard over what I was willing to allow into my consciousness, the quality of my life improved 1,000%.

I now feel good most of the time because I have consciously decided how I want to feel and who and what I want to allow into my experience. I heard Wayne Dyer talking about his answering machine message that says something like “You have reached the voicemail of Dr. Wayne Dyer. If you are calling with good news, please leave a message. If you are calling for anything else, don’t bother”.

Here are two action steps you can take to improve your stimulus input.
When I incorporated these suggestions in my life, they made a world of difference.

1. Eliminate or reduce the toxic people in your life. These are the people who are always negative or complaining or draining. Place yourself around people who make you feel good

2. Eliminate or at least reduce the time you spend watching television, especially broadcast news. News broadcasts are slanted to emphasize extremely negative material.

I am not suggesting that you stick your head in the sand and withdraw from the world. Instead, just be aware of what kind of energy you are allowing into your experience. Does it feel good? If not, why let it in?

News with a more ACCURATE view of reality

Here is a great resource for daily news with a more positive slant.

If you're looking for an alternative to the "traditional" news that generally tends to send your thoughts straight to what you definitely do NOT want more of, have a look at this intriguing site.

Click here to visit HappyNews.com

"We believe virtue, goodwill and heroism are hot news. That's why we bring you up-to-the-minute news, geared to lift spirits and inspire lives."

That's the credo of the maverick news website, HappyNews.com, created by 36-year-old Byron Reese of Austin, Texas, USA, to offer a more accurate view of reality than the distorted perspective found in most TV or print news outlets.

Steve Kennedy is a personal coach specializing in working with entrepreneurs.
For a free 1/2 hour coaching session or to get more information directly from Steve, contact him at: steve@winningthegameofbusiness.com

Copyright (c) 2005, all rights reserved. You may copy, forward or distribute Tools for WINNING The Game Newsletter provided the copyright notice and full information for contacting Steve Kennedy are included.
You may contact Steve by email at: steve@winningthegameofbusiness.com

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Life and the Art of Motorcycle Shopping¾¾