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When You Know It’s The Perfect Time To Get Obsessed

Written by Robin Thompson on January 24, 2018. Posted in Blog, Creating Wealth, Personal Development, Video. 2 Comments on When You Know It’s The Perfect Time To Get Obsessed

There is power in giving yourself permission to get obsessed. Here is when it's the perfect time to get obsessed.

For a long time in my business, I struggled with focusing in on a niche. I worried I was going to miss out on clients, that I wasn’t going to use my talents fully, or that I wasn’t throwing a “wide enough net.”

I even thought that the whole “niche” thing was a bit of a myth, and that as long as I knew the TYPE of business owner I wanted to work with, that was enough. My clients were getting amazing results doubling their income, their free time, and their influence, and I thought that was enough – but I still felt like the world’s best-kept secret.

Then I got obsessed, and everything changed.

I experienced the kind of business growth and opportunities you hear about in those webinar success stories, and that success continues to accelerate.

Let’s be clear, I’m not talking about obsession in the clinical sense, but rather giving ourselves permission, unashamedly and unabashedly, to dive deep into that which we are deeply interested in and passionate about.

Since I was 2 years old, I’ve had two pervasive interests – reading books, and microphones. But because I found these things so delightful, I had them classified as hobbies and filed them away in my brain in a compartment labeled, “PLEASURE ONLY: NOT FOR BUSINESS USE.”

It wasn’t until I allowed myself to pursue my interest-turning-obsession in voice acting and narrating audiobooks (the intersection of books and microphones) that I made the discovery that changed everything.

Simply put – in the circles of entrepreneurs I knew, everyone had a book, but no one had an audiobook.

My brain exploded into a frenzy of WHY????

And that’s when I went down the rabbit hole of audiobooks, podcasting, and audio marketing – reading articles, listening, researching, talking with people, asking question after question, and then experimenting…and then more questions…and then more experimenting.

Within 6 months of launching done for you audiobook production and publishing for nonfiction authors as a service, audiobooks became 75% of my company and I had doubled my sales for the year.

I continued to focus on my audio obsession, and had another 30% growth the following year, expanding my team and becoming the sole earner for my family – I semi-retired my husband so he could go back to university and go deep into his obsession too.

And here’s my favorite part.

I became more myself.

Bringing more of what I loved-those things that made me essentially ME into my work-allowed a space of freedom, confidence, and feeling ‘at home’ in my work. Do you think that helps with productivity, decision making, and leadership? HELL YES.

NOW, set yourself some time to pursue the interests you absolutely love and start a healthy obsession! Share your comments about what you’re ‘obsessed’ about or what you want to become obsessed about.

Want some help figuring out what obsession will boost your business?

How To Create The Year You REALLY Want

Written by Robin Thompson on January 13, 2018. Posted in Blog, Personal Development, Productivity, Video.

Here are several key elements that you need to create the year you really want.

Did your 2018 start with a bang, or a whimper?

When it comes to creating a satisfying, fulfilling year, I’ve learned that taking time to create what Stephen Covey would’ve called “big rocks” (major goals) at the beginning of each year is key.

Do you set up a vision and goals for yourself each year?

Here are several key elements that you need to achieve what’s most important to you THIS YEAR.

Remember creating the vision of your Perfect Day? Once you have that vision, take a moment to bring up how it feels in your body, mind, and spirit. Take note of the feelings and sensations, and write them down.**Pro Tip: by remembering how the emotions and body sensations feel, you can practice bringing those feelings and sensations up in your body, mind, and spirit on a daily basis. Feeling amazing takes PRACTICE, and this is a fabulous mental discipline.
Choose 1-3 key feeling terms that you want to guide or characterize your year. In 2018, my husband and I chose to make this the year of Curiosity & Wonder. You already know I’m a HUGE fan of curiosity as a tool to give ourselves access to more courage, dispel fear, and increase our productivity and focus. Adding Wonder to the mix allows me to truly enjoy the journey, find beauty in small things, and engage my ‘beginners mind’ and allow more contribution from others.**Pro Tip: Setting goals and actions in a space of physical and mental space that is positive will result in very different decision making than a space of fear, constriction, or control.
Set 2 primary business or professional outcomes and 2 primary personal outcomes for 2018. The old saying goes…“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”It’s more important to focus on a couple of primary outcomes that are the most important and impactful to you, rather than a laundry list that’s overwhelming.
For each of your 2 biz and 2 personal outcomes, create “horizons” that help you turn your big outcomes into smaller ones. I call these smaller goals or outcomes “horizons” because they represent, in a metaphorical sense, about how far out into the future you can “see.” In other words, when you’re eating an elephant, the horizons are the “one bite at a time” part of that meal.**Pro Tip: I set my Horizons to be every 2 months, then review, assess, and refresh for the next two months.

Left to our own devices, goal setting can seem a little overwhelming at times. There’s creating the Vision, then creating the steps between your current world and what you want to create, and then implementing it all! Right now, you may not know all you’ll need to know to have the outcome you want actually HAPPEN.

It’s ok, just take the first step by declaring what you want, and then part of the process is figuring out the how.

Check the video below for more ways to create the year you really want, plus more detailed tips, techniques, and inspiration!

Ready to create an incredible year? Schedule a Discovery Call and let's explore working together to bring your vision into reality

3 Techniques to Tame the Identity Monster in Your Head

Written by Robin Thompson on March 9, 2017. Posted in Blog, Leadership, Personal Development, Video.

Do you know those voices in your head that tell you all kinds of nasty things about yourself? That is Identity Monster – Here's how you can tame it

A colleague of mine sent me a panicked text while I was on a call with a client. He was so freaked out that I called him right after my session, but I wasn’t expecting what he had to say.

”I just got the biggest opportunity of my life,” he said. “It’s what I've always wanted.”

“But since I found out,” he went on, “I've spent the last four hours playing online soccer and I'm completely paralyzed.”

This is the Identity Monster in full attack.

You know those voices in your head that tell you all kinds of nasty things about yourself, right?

“There’s a million people doing the same thing as you, how can you possibly compete?”

“You can’t do this, you’re way too lazy.” (or fat, or stupid, or ugly, or poor)

“HOW much money did you spend? Oh no, what are you going to do now?”

“Who do you think you are, anyway?”

This is the voice of the Identity Monster. The favorite tools of the Identity Monster are a megaphone and an old school boom box with a tape set to “repeat.” The tape replays all the crap in your head that gets triggered when your comfort level is threatened.

This Monster's job is to maintain the status quo. Even when good things are happening, the Identity Monster really sucks at telling the difference between a threat and an opportunity, so it reacts pretty much the same way in both scenarios.

Oh, the glorious neurology of it all!

Here are three ways to tame the Identity Monster, get yourself off the ledge, and back into the groovalicious flow so you can have more of what you want in life – because that’s why you’re reading this, right? In the video I go into more detail on all three of these techniques, plus you get to see a little piece of one of the places I’ve lived in Costa Rica, which is just good for your brain.

1. Revisit your big picture

Take the focus off of your current reaction and circumstances and put it on your larger view in the world – the legacy you want to leave, the impact you’re out to make, your inspiring vision of the future, and so on. If your thoughts and actions are ‘facing outwards’ instead of on your internal voices and neurological hamster wheel, it disrupts the repetitive thoughts to guide you back on track.

2. Create new brain wiring with a Daily Workshop

Create a sacred space for yourself on a daily basis, even if it's 15 minutes to start. Use that time to get present to what you're most excited about, what you appreciate and what you're grateful for, and the one or two goals or accomplishments that you're focused on for that day. Even celebrating small accomplishments (some days, that’s getting out of bed or going a whole morning without getting distracted by Facebook), when done repeatedly and consistently, helps you maintain a more solution-focused state of mind.

3. Challenge the voices in your head to a battle of wits!

When those nasty voices in your head pop up, you may have noticed that if you try to directly combat them, they come back twice as strong. This is known as the “I'm rubber, you're glue” Principle. Very technical. Instead, use your brain’s natural abilities to break up the beliefs using techniques like evidence gathering and disarming humor. These techniques are not only highly effective, they can be incredibly entertaining as well. What does your Identity Monster sound like?

You can find details and examples of these techniques in the video – enjoy and send me a tweet to let me know which one is your favorite!