62. Shake Well To Eliminate Mediocrity

Foreign. Hey, my friend, welcome back to Leadership in a Nutshell, where we are talking about massive leadership growth, checking into your own conscious levels, how you're improving your influence as a professional in the home service space. So I cut my teeth in this space. You're continuing to cut and sharpen your teeth in this space. And I just want to spend a minute with you here today reminding you of something and kind of sharing a little analogy that I had heard recently. And then I, I shared it with, with a group of clients on a Mastermind call and got really good feedback. So I just wanted to share it with you today. And if you were on that Mastermind call and listening to this today, you'll appreciate the reminder because this is one of those things where you could almost listen to this every day and just, just be reminded of something that makes so much sense. So, you know, here, here's where I, what I want to talk about before I jump in there. Give us a rating, give us a review, give us a, like, give us a follow. Make sure that, that you're catching these episodes. They're short, they're quick, they're to the point. It's a little bit of Kenny Chapman coming straight to you from the heart with some thoughts, things I see with clients, things we learn in the, in the industry. And today I want to talk about eliminating mediocrity. You've heard me on this podcast talk many times about, you know, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's mediocrity. I would rather completely suck at something than to just be average at it. And so I definitely would rather not suck. I'd rather be great at stuff. And one of the cool things about life is it gives you immediate feedback when you suck. And so you go, okay, I'm going to stop doing that. But then mediocrity is completely acceptable and it's so widely accepted. And so, you know, we have a hard time continuing to strive for greatness sometimes. And driven leaders like you and me, you wouldn't be listening to this show if you weren't a driven leader in the home service industry. And we are cut from a different cloth, obviously. There are tens of thousands of home service businesses all over the United States, Canada and Australia, and yet there are a select few of us. And I say select by, you know, a choice of us to operate at a different level of awareness, a different level of influence where we kind of get a little more progressive and we're not just going to do things the way that they Used to be. And I often talk with clients about the fact, you know, what got you here won't get you there. And I look at the things that I was doing effectively in 1994 when I started as a dead broke drain cleaner. And there wasn't very many things I was doing effectively in 94 as a dead broke drain cleaner. And that's when I started doing more effective things. But each of effective thing I did in 95 and 96 and 98 and 2001 and whatever the case may be, virtually none of that stuff works anymore. Right? And as I say, none of that stuff. What does 100% still work? 100% good communication, 100% treating people effectively. 100% good quality recruiting, 100% good quality training, 100% good compensation scales, which we'll talk about that in upcoming episodes because we're seeing a shift in comp plans and what's motivating people now, right. I can't leave that concept of what a hundred percent works without being priced, right. That's one of the core fundamentals. Got to make sure that stuff's happening. So here's what I want to, I want you to think about any, any of you on the line have, have had a, a green drink, right? So you know, we, the lovely Christy and I went through about a two year period where we mixed our own, had this mixed thing and we went through and I, I believe in kinesiology testing and muscle testing and some different things. And I went to one of my doctors and they tested my product and went, you can keep taking it if you want, but it's a placebo for you. It's not doing anything for you. It's funny though, and placebo or not, I didn't get sick the entire time I was drinking. I still don't get sick. It's just I program my mind and body to where I just don't allow that. I believe that disease comes from a dis. Ease in the mind. And I believe when we program our minds and reprogram our minds, and I'm not saying oh, holier than thou or anything like that, I'm just saying that how we think is what we become and what we become manifests the results in your business, with your team, with motivating people, all those different types of things. And so today I want you to think about one of those green drinks and what happens to it after it's been sitting for quite some time. It creates some separation, right? And you get the, I'll call it the Good stuff kind of settles to the bottom. And it hit me recently I'd heard a similar analogy. And I was coming into the office, I was going to run a mastermind call with clients and I popped into the refrigerator and there was a green drink in there from the last time I was at the office. I don't come to the office very often. And I was like, oh, sweet, there's one left. The ladies left me one. So I grab it and I was like, holy cow, man. The top half of this, maybe three quarters of it, is all water. And I want you to think about the green drink and your life and your results and your focus. So what do we have? We have mainly liquid on top. Clear, you know, pretty clear liquid. It might have a little bit of a green tint to it, but on the bottom we've got this, you know, deep, rich shade of green, right? And I want you to realize, like, this green drink is sold and it's got, you know, it's packed with vitamins and, and proteins and healthy ingredients and all these different things that we want to, to feel good and to get good results in our life, right? But when it sits there and when it's stagnant and when it's not doing anything, it separates. And the bottom half is all the good stuff. It settles to the bottom. Think about that for a minute. The stuff that I paid the price for, the stuff that I invested in, the stuff that I parted with my hard earned money, if you will, right? The stuff that I really wanted is all at the bottom. Now think about your life, think about your leadership skills, think about your results. Where do you need to shake it up, my friend? Where are you getting mediocre results? Where are you kind of just letting some. Oh, man. There's some stuff that's kind of settled out, but I'm not really, I'm not diving in that deep. I'm not going down there. That's where the stuff's at, my friend. It's amazing when you really just think about it. It's why I wanted to share this because so many clients have given me feedback like, wow, it's so simple. But it makes so much sense because when you think about, you know, what is at the top, like if we take the top part of this drink and it's that clear liquid, what's there, that's where the mediocrity is, that's where the average lives. That's where the safe resides. That's where status quo is controlling. The life situation is all just Hanging out there at the top. It's all just there, right there on the surface, right? If we don't want that, if we don't really truly want status quo, if we don't truly want mediocrity, we got to shake it up. And just like that green drink, when I took that and I. I did this metaphor on. On a video call, and then I shook it up, and then it's like, holy cow, now everything. It's all mixed in together now. That good stuff is throughout the entire drink. The same is true with your life now, when I shake it up now, oh, man, I've got it. I've got more energy. I've got more understanding. I dug deep. I dealt with some previous issues that I had. Maybe some trauma, maybe some bad communication, maybe some bad leaders that I had that I brought into my own practice of leadership, whatever that is, right? But I said something really powerful that I wanted you to catch and make sure that you bring with you here today. When I said that if, you know, if we don't want the status quo, that's a big, big question for you, my friends, because here's what we know. Everybody says that they don't want it. It's easy to get out there and, oh, yeah, no, I don't want it. I don't want status quo. I don't want mediocrity. I don't want the same thing everybody else gets from a, you know, an average situation. But then think about where we spend our time defending. How much time do you see? Do you operate? Do you live defending your situation? Think about it for a minute. Oh, my gosh. Well, this happened. That happened, you know, in the home service trades. We were super blessed by Covid. No, no, no offense. If you got super sick yourself or if you lost anybody or had, you know, I'm not saying it was. It was easy from an emotional or intellectual standpoint, but from a business standpoint, after the first six, eight weeks, it was easy for home service companies, and challenge me on that if you want to. But the fact of the matter is, people were spending money like never before, and it's still hanging over into the 2021. Right? So I want you to really kind of just be mindful that a lot of people say that they don't want status quo. They say that they don't want average. They say they want to be better leaders. They say they want better tr. They say they want to connect and have better communication, but they defend all the reasons that they can. They defend all the reasons of why they're stuck. They defend all the reasons that are in the way. And at the end of the day, it's a choice. And you've got the green drink, and that's your life. And it's sitting on the shelf in the refrigerator, and you can take it out every day and just sip a little bit off the top and keep on sipping. And what happens when you sip most of that down without shaking it too much? And now you're almost down to the good stuff. And that's when most people go, oh, I need some more water. Let me add on. How do we do that? We add on chaos, we add on complexity. We add on things in the business as distractions. We have defense mechanisms in our subconscious that we don't dive into, Right? All these different things, my friend. And it's an amazing thing. But here's what we know. To shake it up takes effort, right? And it takes a lot of effort. What it means is I've got to look at myself, I've got to hold that drink, meaning me, up in the. In the mirror and go, huh, wow. Is that really down there? There's some stuff down there that needs to be stirred up a little bit. When we, you know, there's a cliche, stir the pot. Many of us were taught, don't stir the pot, right? And so when we start stirring that good green stuff in our life up, you know, it's like, holy cow, I didn't see that coming. Wow, I didn't realize that. Or it's something that I've been denying, I've been avoiding. You know, the subconscious mind is a master, and it can justify. It can create all kinds of stories for us of why we can't, shouldn't, won't, you know, all these amazing things I'm here to love on you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to support you. But I'm here to challenge you. And I want to challenge you today to think about what's an area that you really could shake it up. Where's an area in your life? Where's an area in your relationships? Where's an area in your finances? Where's an area in your communication with your team? Where's an area of doing what you say you'll do? Where's an area of slowing down to go faster? A few episodes ago, I talked about subtract, add, and then multiply. Where's an area you might need to subtract? Sometimes we stir it up. Maybe we need to pour Out a little bit of that drink, right? Sometimes maybe I need to skim off a little bit of the clear stuff to get to the bottom and have a stronger mix, if you will, once I get there. It's all up to you, my friend. But I would ask you to begin with where you're settling your business is a reflection of your tolerance level. I was just recently working with a client about tolerance and we are a product of our tolerance. And I've said since I became a professional speaker, gosh, at the time of this recording, 20 years ago now. Yeah, 20 years ago I started speaking in this space. And when I think about that, wow, time's flying, I guess when I started speaking in 2001. Ever since then I have talked about the fact that we have a huge level of tolerance in the trades. And I felt that early on in my career because I built a market leading national role model business very quickly. When I got exposed to some good mentors and learned some strategies, I was already an E Myth guy. So, meaning that I knew how to create systems, I knew how to systematize business. I studied leadership. I wasn't a very good communicator, but I was interested in it, right? And so I want you to just kind of be mindful of when I got into this business in 94 and I was beating my head against the wall and struggling, I was like, this is insane. This business is either going to work for me and I'm going to be able to become a good leader in this space or I'm going to go do something else. I didn't have the tolerance to put up with crap too long. Well, I guess crap was profitable, right, As a drain cleaner. But you know what I'm saying? And so, you know, I, I didn't have the tolerance. Therefore I went, well, I'm going to build this thing effectively. I'm going to build with team that, that wants to play the game. I'm going to build with team that has skin in the game and wants to improve and wants to get better and wants to get trained and wants to sell all those different types of things, right? So I ask you, what are you tolerating? And rather than going outside of yourself right now and going, oh my gosh, Jimmy, I'm tolerating, Jimmy, what the heck? I'm talking about within yourself, within your own personal growth, within your own leadership ability. There's some areas here, my friend, that maybe it's time for you to shake it up a little bit, right? Maybe it's time for you to dive into that good stuff, the stuff that you actually pay for when I bought that green drink. The good stuff that I paid for, that I invested in, settled down to the bottom. You're making an investment with time, energy, blood, sweat, tears, all these things, right? Why not get the good stuff, shake it up, dive in, go get the good stuff. Make sure you're following us. Make sure you you're subscribed here. Give us a rating A like a review. Share with us with somebody. If you kick an email, that'd be great. We're growing this community for the home service space. It's why we exist. It's who we exist for. I'm so proud of you. Continue your journey and maybe shake it up a little, my friend. This is leadership in a nutshell for home service professionals. I'm your host, Kenny Chapman. Until we talk, make it a better than fantastic week. I'll see you real soon.