Ambitions: The Business of Being a Woman
My Management Mentor - Your Guide to a Successful Sales Career
Burst Out of Your Comfort Zone
by Holly Rhoads
How often have you listened as someone rationalized his or her mishandling of a problem by externalizing its source: “I can’t meet my projections because...,” “I can’t get all my work done because,” or “It’s because of so and so that this happened”? Closer scrutiny almost always reveals the source of the problem to be internal, stemming from the person’s concept of self —specifically, a state of mind that prevents him or her from trying to break through his/her “success barrier. “This state of mind is their “comfort zone.”
The Three Stages of Productivity People typically experience three stages of productivity during their career. At first they tend to show a high level of productivity which may appear infinitely sustainable. However, in many cases, this is a false signal, and the increase can’t sustain itself. Their potential ends up being much less potent than it appears at first glance. They sprint, but can’t go the distance.
The second stage for these individuals looks like a leveling-off period. They are now entering their comfort zones. Instead of energizing themselves, catching their breath, and pushing forward to higher levels - both internally and externally-—they slow down and lose momentum.
During the third and, more often than not, final stage, progress slows as they become immobilized by their comfort.
How Do We Break Through Our Comfort Zone? All of us have a comfort zone. That is not the problem. The problem is failure to recognize when we are reaching this third level, combined with not knowing what to do about it. The issue is, will we reach down for that extra push needed to propel us up and out of our zones? How can we do that? When faced with a roadblock, don’t opt to change course and try to avoid it. Instead, push through to higher levels while working continually on your personal and professional growth.
Institute a visualization program to help you see your progress on a daily basis. Be aware that, in your comfort zone, things won’t look very bad at all, so you will become complacent and de-motivated, which begins the downward spiral.
Ask yourself, are you committed to reaching the highest levels of your potential? Remember that each time you break through to a higher level of achievement, you automatically carry with you a new comfort zone that must be left behind as you progress even further.
Look at your comfort zone as a barrier to success, but also as a motivator—because breaking through your success barrier to higher and higher levels will bring with it the exhilaration of accomplishment. Go for it!
Vol 5 Num3 article...
Breaking the Success Barrier
by Holly Rhoads
Everyone has barriers…
There is an invisible barrier that is holding you back. It is the reason why many of us aren’t achieving the goals we set for ourselves. It has been constructed brick-by-brick since we were very young. Unintentionally perhaps, by people who probably wanted the best for us, but nevertheless, there it is – blocking our path to success. What most of us don’t realize is that since it is part of our inner core it can only be torn down one brick at a time, and that doesn’t happen overnight.
We are impatient…
We live in a world that demands instant gratification. Instant coffee, buy now – pay later, instant hot water taps, microwave ovens, etc. When we set goals, we expect to achieve them instantaneously. We become impatient, and when our goals are not fulfilled fast enough, we become discouraged and give up. But each “give-up” is actually another brick being set in our success barrier.
You are the one in control…
There are only two options when it comes to the success barrier: You are either removing a brick or laying another. There is no such thing as the status quo in the universe. Things are either growing or dying. You are either tearing down your wall of limitations, or throwing up more barriers to stand in your way.
Face your fears…
Since that is a universal law, there is no choice. You must move forward. Do the thing you fear the most, and that thing will become your greatest asset. You cannot turn away from the things you fear. The “brick” will not disappear. It will always be part of you, unless you remove it. When you look at success from this point of view, you can see that the motivation to break your success barrier is built into every brick that is holding you back.
Break down the barriers…
Viewed in this light, a goal is actually a jackhammer. Each time you set a goal for yourself and act upon it, you are chipping away at your success barrier. As each brick is removed, the barrier wall becomes smaller and weaker. That is the reason why success breeds success. The toughest part of tearing down your wall is removing that first brick. The choice is yours. Remove one or place one. You have no other options.
Holly Rhoads is President of The Ruby Group, a local Sandler Sales Institute. Holly can be contacted at 330.929.9449 or hrhoads@therubygroup.com
Copyright ©2007. All Rights Reserved.
Vol 5 Num2 article...
Shoot for the Stars
by Holly Rhoads
People seldom have written goals...
It’s amazing but true: some people have trouble seeing farther than the end of their current workday. When you talk to these people, you’ll often find them drowning in their everyday problems. When you ask how they can go on this way, they give you a strange look, as if they have no alternative.
But you know better. You know each morning brings you closer to your goals and you can look past the wear and tear of the day–to–day “grunt work.” You won’t spend today brooding over what happened yesterday—or worse, worrying about what might happen tomorrow. You also know there’s an easy way to stay motivated, and guarantee your success. It’s as simple as building a goals program.
Goals keep you motivated on the tough days when you feel you’re slipping. And they give you the peak experiences on the days when you hit the target. The vision of a better future embodied in your goals gives you the reason to move through obstacles, not around them. Your goals answer the question, “Why?”
Goal setting does not have to be hard…
Goals don’t have to be glamorous or earth shaking. They don’t have to reach into some far distant future. You can start small with goals that take you through tomorrow, into next week, or next month; then add lifetime goals that reach as high and as far as you dare to dream. Large or small, you must have goals if you are to achieve.
Your goals have been there all along…
You can’t buy goals in a store or order them online. You can’t borrow them from your neighbors. So where do you find them? In your mind. And how do you free them? By ignoring the problems of the day–to–day grind, and leaping over the limits of old habits and fears. Take time to let your imagination soar. Allow yourself to dream. Imagine, “What if . . .?” and capture on paper the new pictures you see—even if your mind’s eye only shows them to you for an instant.
Then, once they’re captured, allow these small scratches on a pad—these glimpses of the future—to take shape as the masterpiece which is to be your future.
You can do it—if you dare!
