Ep 43 - 4 Actionable Steps to Stay Motivated as a Business Owner

Ever wondered what to do when your drive and motivation just isn't there? When goals seem very distant and your actions fall short of the outcome you're hoping for, it's so easy to lose steam. But here's the thing: waiting for motivation to strike won't get you moving forward. Join me as I share 4 actionable strategies for pushing through even when motivation wanes. Tune in now and let's break free from the motivation trap together. Are you that driven entrepreneur who believes that working harder holds the key to your dreams? Are you drowning in the day to day task wishing you had more time to strategize and cast the vision for your business growth? Hi. I'm Donna Dube, your guide on this entrepreneurial journey. I've walked in your worn out shoes, burning the midnight oil, convinced that sheer hard work was the secret to success. Just one more email, one more task, until I found myself on a one way track to burnout. But here's the twist in the tale.

I discovered that success isn't just about working harder, it's about working smarter. It's about being intentional with our time. It's about steering our ship with focus because no team, system, or automation can outperform a lack of direction. In this podcast, I am sharing with you all the strategies for business growth that it took me years to learn. If you're ready to step out of the daily overwhelm so you can amplify your profits, then I'm ready to teach you. I believe the only limit to your business growth is the one you set for yourself. Go grab a notebook, warm up that cup of tea, and let's do this. Entrepreneurs, buckle up because I'm about to lay it all out for you.

In an Operations in Your Pocket strategy session, we dive deep dissecting your business challenges and laying the foundation for your growth. A 90 minute call where we unravel bottlenecks, untangle the mess, and strategize your path to success. We'll craft a personalized 90 day action plan designed specifically for your business, ensuring you get unstuck and start seeing tangible results. But it doesn't end there. You'll walk away with a recorded session for reference, a custom 3 month action plan, and a follow-up call to keep you accountable and on the growth track. Oh, and did I mention email support for a week after the call to get all your questions answered? Yep. It's all part of the package. Are you ready to up level your business operations? Head over to ceoamplify.ca/ops, to book a free clarity call and let's ensure this is a good fit for you.

Clarity brings action, action brings transformation, and transformation brings success. Head on over to ceoamplify.ca/ops to book your free clarity call. Hello and welcome back CEOs. So glad you're here. Today, I wanna talk about motivation because I don't know about you, but for me my motivation is definitely at its highest when I set new goals. Now, don't get me wrong, I love setting new goals and I love starting to attack them.

I just get a surge of enthusiasm and excitement when I have a new goal to reach, but sometimes along the way of implementing and taking action on that new goal, I kinda lose my steam, and I'm sure this has happened to you before as well. You know, you make a sound strategic decision and then it's time to implement. And if you're getting stuck too, then I wanna reach out and have you listen to this episode because I think it'll really help for you to understand that there are strategies we can use when our motivation is lacking. And over the years, I've really realized that while reaching goals is a celebration and I love doing it, who I become along the way is the real win. So as an example, one of my goals this year is to publish an episode of this podcast every week. And strategically. I mean, the goal is to increase my visibility, but from a more personal side, I want to record content with more ease and not have to rely on social media as an avenue for organic visibility. Now I'm not knocking social media.

It works for some people. For me, it's just not my favorite place to be nor spend my time. And so really I wanna be able to use this podcast as a different avenue to get in front of new people who, you know, can benefit from what I have to share. So by me sharing this goal with you, I keep myself accountable even when I'm not motivated because I know that at some point during this year, the honeymoon phase of this new podcast and having an episode every week is gonna end and it's gonna become all about the habit. And so that's why today I really wanna focus on the topic of motivation because I'm sure for many of you, the excitement of setting those big goals in January has worn off by now and you may be feeling a lack of motivation. So before we dive in too deep, what is motivation really? Well, I don't have the dictionary, response here, but I really do think of it as fuel. It gets you up in the morning and ready to hit the ground running. We've all had days like that.

Right? And for most of us it feels good and we're very productive. But what do we do when that motivation isn't there? When our goals perhaps seem very far away and their first few actions, you know, maybe they don't even even turn out. We don't see the result that we're expecting. Well, here's the truth. We're not gonna get very far if our actions depend on our feelings. And if we're constantly waiting for motivation. So I wanna be truthful here, even though you may be enjoying running your business, there are days when we all feel kind of blah and we don't want to work. And I know I'm not the only one.

My clients have goals and feel blah and meh some days too. So how do we turn that kind of blah lack of motivation into actual progress? How do we help ourselves and others stay focused and on course even when they we don't feel that same motivation? So I've got 4 things that I have found have really made a difference to motivation because motivation doesn't appear just from sitting on your hands. It's from taking action. So 4 of the habits, 2 that I'm gonna talk about today, 2 are to your thoughts and other 2 are related to systems that you can create for yourself so that you don't have to wait for motivation. Alrighty, let's dive in. The first one is focusing on your why. Your why is the big picture. Right? It's the greater purpose for why you would even take action in the first place.

And sometimes it might feel like you have to muster up all the energy to do one little thing because it's hard to see at that moment the impact of many small operations, but over time they stack up. They build up. They grow, and combined they make something bigger. So don't focus on the action. Focus on the purpose and remind yourself why the goal is important in the first place and that how every little action, every little step that you take leads you to a greater purpose. Even if you can't see all of that right now. Focus on the why, not the action. Alright.

Number 2 strategy is to reflect on past successes. So we all know as entrepreneurs, there's gonna be failures. They're gonna be negative feedback along the way. There's gonna be positives too, but sometimes the failures and the negative can add up and really deflate us. Right? So I want you to reflect on your past successes, and I'm not telling you this as, you know, an ego trip and to say how great you are. No, it's more of a reminder that even in past achievements, there were bumps along the way, but you had the capabilities to get past those bumps and to do hard things, and you still have that capability and can still keep going. Your past successes are really a testimony to what you're capable of today. So remember how you got to where you are and know that this goal is your next success.

Alright. Number 3 is create a routine. So I find this one really helpful on days when I have low or no operations, routine gives me the structure to help stay on track. So as an example, remember I told you earlier in the episode that my goal this year is to publish a podcast episode weekly and to make that happen. I can't just rely on motivation solely because it won't happen weekly. So I'm relying on blocked off and nonnegotiable time in my calendar for preparing and recording. There's a big blue block of hours in my calendar weekly dedicated to my podcast episodes. It's structure and it's routine.

So instead of relying on motivation on those days when I feel like it, Now I'm committed to the structure and the routine. So I get to that day in my calendar. Oh, there's my podcast block. Time to prepare and to record. It's no longer relying on my motivation and what I feel like doing. And I know that when my motivation is low, it's so easy for me to find a reason and talk myself out of doing whatever action is in front of me, But I can remove the excuses by making it a habit and showing up for the routine. So how about you? What area can you build a routine in, in your business? Commit to the routine because waiting for motivation to strike is not consistent and will not bring you consistent growth. Alright.

And the 4th strategy is to reward yourself. I don't want you to wait to complete that big goal that you set in January to reward yourself. No. Don't wait for such a big thing. You don't even need to wait for the outcome of the action. You can reward yourself just for taking action. So think about what kind of things do you like for rewards, and they don't have to be expensive. Maybe you just want some time off.

Maybe you want some time with the kids. Maybe you want some time with your girl friends. Maybe you want some time with your spouse, or maybe you really want quiet time. I know for me, and it sounds kind of funny, but these are 2 little simple things. I really do enjoy baking up something yummy that my family will enjoy eating in the kitchen. And so my favorite reward when I have, you know, some action that I've taken or I've taken some steps towards is then to give myself that freedom and that time to be able to go into the kitchen and just bake something that I know my family will really appreciate. Another thing I really like doing is getting my nails done. I know a simple thing.

Right? Getting a haircut, like these simple things, but sometimes you just like to reward yourself with something small. And so could I be doing something better with my time? Probably. But that's not why it's called a reward. I want you to reward yourself with something fun, something that you enjoy, and something for you. So reward yourself for actions and routines, not just the outcomes, because this is what helps build momentum. And momentum is what leads to motivation. Right? Don't wait for motivation because the truth of the matter is motivation isn't the secret sauce to your goals. Doing the thing when you're not motivated actually gets you to the goal post.

So let's talk about 4 or let's review. Sorry. That was 4 strategies. When you're feeling blah and blah and you have a lack of motivation, focus on your why. Reflect on your past successes, create a routine, and reward yourself. Moving forward isn't just about setting goals. It's about the that happens within you when you actually chase down your goal. You know, this year I'm all in with publishing a podcast every week and that's about more than just getting my voice out there.

It's also about setting up a system that works when motivation takes a back seat. Because let's be real, motivation is fickle. Right? Sometimes it shows up all blazing and ready to go and then other days it vanishes when sometimes we feel like we need it the most. So let's not sit around waiting for motivation to show up. No. We're gonna take charge and keep moving forward. Remember, it's the action that creates motivation, not the other way around. Alrighty.

Let's keep moving forward. One action at a time. I can't wait to see you next week. Thank you for joining me on this episode of CEO Amplify. I appreciate you being part of our thriving community of ambitious business owners. If you enjoy today's episode, I kindly ask you to share this podcast with a friend and take a hot minute to rate and leave a review. It would mean the world to me. Your feedback helps me reach more people and continue providing valuable content.

Thanks so much for your support. Keep shining, and we'll catch you on the next episode.