Stuck? These Will Get You Unstuck and Surprisingly Fired Up

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I am really miffed at myself.

At the start of the year, I set myself the goal of clarifying my purpose and creating a business Manifesto worthy of that calling. I have left it late; and I mean positively gut-wrenchingly late.

Here we are in December with the Credo on my about page still packing a feeble punch. Of course, I had tinkered with it and tweaked the edges throughout the year. But if I am honest, I didn’t dig deep. I shied away from the commitment to making the changes necessary; to go 100% bold in setting out the mission.

Imagine the horror. I’m in the business of helping my clients get unstuck and here I am mired in the muck of procrastination. That leaves me feeling frustrated, vexed and utterly STUCK!

I do not plan to meet the new year clad in a wimpy purpose. It just will not do at all. Time to get a grip! You want in?

Let’s go! You are invited to be my road trip companion. The journey to clarify my purpose, step into that calling and write my business Manifesto starts right now.

Dead End. Here is where I made a mistake. I took the traditional route. I searched for ideas of how to uncover my purpose and create a Manifesto at the usual watering holes frequented by the ‘big names’. Following their trail led me to spend far too long ‘researching’. Spying on what the ‘big names’ were doing paralysed me.

Comparing my business’ status to their glossy profiles of success almost drove me crazy. Instead of creative inspiration, doubt infiltrated and settled in my mind. Time-weary and fed up, I eventually realised that I was barking up the wrong tree.

Why was I doing this?

I hate doing things the way everyone else does them.

I had to stop pandering to the feeling that I must follow the conventional, tried and tested method of creating the standard vision and mission statement like the ‘big names’ .I quit putting myself through this ridiculous rigmarole. It was absurd to search for the quick fix how-to template when I am committed to doing things differently.

This course of action was particularly preposterous as I am in the business of crafting a tailored and unique approach that can make a meaningful difference to my clients’ lives.

"To heck with the status quo. The difference-makers don’t live there!"

I redirected my energy to seeking out the rebels and independent-minded folk.I wanted to connect with the ruckus-makers who are not afraid to break a few rules and kick industry clichés, guru-endorsed best practices to the curb.Here are 5 of the best of what I learned.

1. How To Tell Your Business Story: I can’t begin to tell you how this cracker from Henneke Duistermaat of Enchanting Marketing helped to yank me out of the mental quagmire.She pulls no punches.

“Let’s be honest, the web is full of gobbledygook-filled mission statements, conjured up by committees with the only aim not to offend anybody.

Big corporations can afford to be boring. Because they have tons of money to buy brand awareness.

But for small businesses and freelancers, life is different. We don’t have heaps of money, so we have to fascinate our audience and spark action.

A good business founding story takes readers on your journey, gives them a glimpse of who you are, and helps gain an emotional buy-in. Just reading your story makes people feel better already, so they start imagining how good it would be to work with you.”

Then she gets down to brass tacks with this 4 moment business story crafting guide.“First, define the four key moments of your business story:

• Which problem do you solve?

• Which insight sparked the start (or pivoting) of your business?

• What are you doing now to fix the problem?

• What’s your mission?

When you connect your mission to your founding story, you energize and motivate your audience.”

Get your fill of this bounty of brilliance HERE.But don’t confuse a mission with a mission statement. This common error can keep you stuck and cause your business to stagnate.

“Missions are for people who DO. Mission statements are for people who DON’T.” James Altucher.

2. Find courage to face the challenging questions. Here are 6 questions I am asking myself right now. Wishy-washy, pat answers will not cut it if you want to anchor your business to real value and meaningful difference.

• Who am I in a professional context and is it aligned with my values and how I live?

• How can I consistently show up and present my authentic self to my clients, collaborators and to the world?

• What makes you unmistakable - what do you offer that can’t be found elsewhere?

• What is my Unique Value Proposition (UVP) – the extreme value and fantastically useful products and services I want my business to be known for?

• What meaningful difference am I making through my connections, interactions and in my business?

• How can I share my business story in authentic and compelling way so that it resonates at the right pitch for my client community telling them how they can get solace, inspiration, unstuck and transform from blah to cooking with gas?

"Challenge yourself to set your business to deliver extreme value and meaningful difference"

Answer these questions and you will learn quite a bit about your business ‘why’; perhaps even more about yourself in the process.

3. Don’t Go It Alone: Invest in yourself and your business. Hire a mentor or coach; or join a mastermind group to help you get fired up.5 ½ weeks ago I started working with a business coach. It was a huge step in cutting out the distractions and excuses, gaining clarity, stretching myself beyond my comfort zone. I have rediscovered the the drive to press ahead.There’s something incredibly motivating about working with someone who has had success in the business discipline that is new to me, helping me to get focused and holding me accountable to deliver the goods.

Support + Accountability = Results

4. Gently Limber Up Your Manifesto Writing Muscles with the 5 Adjectives Exercise. You have got to listen to this James Altucher interview with Chip Conley – ‘How To Find Your Calling (what I learned by accident because of AirBnB!’ In this podcast interview, Chip Conley, the head of hospitality for AirBnB shares this easy-peasy yet powerfully motivating exercise from his earlier days as a hotel owner.I did this exercise for an uninterrupted 10 minutes. My goal was to get 5 adjectives about business out of my head and on to paper. But once I started, the words started to flow. I stopped at 9.

Irreverent, quirky, rebellious, revolutionary, creative, helpful, useful, valuable, transformative.

Try this exercise for yourself. It might help loosen your mind muscles to help you get cracking again.

5. The Rant: I L-O-V-E this!Who knew that having a good old rant can help reveal your purpose and set you on the right track for writing your business manifesto? Start with your belief that there exists a wrong-doing and injustice to be corrected. Do have it in your mind? Let rip!

“Let everything you don’t like about your world pour out onto a page. Use what you uncover to highlight what you do believe, and what your business is trying to change.”

Sharon Tanton in Valuable Content (VC) blog writes - ‘How to write a meaningful manifesto for your business’.

She doesn’t advocate you embarking on a wild ranting spree. The rant is step one of a practical and cathartic process to creating a meaningful and unique manifesto for your business. Read her article for the full scoop.

Grab your ringside seats as I get fired up to vent my spleen – all in a good cause, of course.For my readers with a weak disposition and easily offended sensibilities – look away now.

For those of you with a stronger constitution, let’s continue on this journey. I hope you too find these uncommon approaches to revealing your purpose really helpful in your own business!I’d love to know: if you’ve ever felt stuck, what most helped you to get unstuck and fired up to get moving again?

That’s all for now. Toodles …