When was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time?

So just recently, I was on a phone call with one of my mentors and he said something that stopped me in my tracks. And it's something I wanted to talk about in today's Biz Growl podcast. He asked me this. He said, when is the last time you did something for the first time? Hi there, this is Brent Kelly of bizgris with today's Biz Growl podcast. No certification, no training, no book, no video, no specialized program will ever determine if you're ready to take the next step in anything that you decide to do. See, I learned this firsthand a few years ago. In 2012, I was asked to speak in front of 100 insurance agents at a top Midwest insurance firm. Now, this was not only a top notch insurance agency that was experiencing explosive growth, but this was an agency I previously worked for from 2000 to 2004. Now, that meant that several of the attendees in the audience would not only be my peers, but my former co workers. And many of these peers were highly successful, highly, highly successful, and in fact acted as mentors for me when I started my insurance career. So I started thinking to myself, what in the world could I possibly offer them that they don't already know? How would I possibly add value to them now? Although I had a lifelong wish to become a speaker, command the stage right, be a trainer and a speaker, what I'm doing today, at that time, I had never done it before, except for maybe a few people at a small workshop. I was scared to death. And a huge part of me told myself that I was simply not ready. And I actually thought about telling the event organizer that, you know, I appreciate it, but I'm not going to be able to speak that day. But I knew that I couldn't miss out on the opportunity. So I went ahead and agreed to commit to speaking to the group. Now, I did prepare as best that I could in a short amount of time, and I delivered, I feel, a very solid presentation. In fact, afterwards, some of my peers who I was most nervous about, congratulated and thanked me for the presentation. Now, it was far from perfect, certainly, but it was far better than I initially imagined it could be. Now, as I looked back at this event, now it's been almost five years ago, I realized that I learned a very, very powerful lesson that day that I want to share with you, the listener. Here's a lesson I learned. You will never be ready, but you must always be willing. When you want something bad enough, there will be times when you're going to have to act in faith and in your own confidence, even when you think that you're just not ready. So just ask yourself, what things have you been waiting for? What have you been waiting for? Because I'm guessing there are some things in your life and in your business that you have put off because you just feel like, you know, I'm not ready. Maybe it was due to the fear of failure, right? You just don't want to fail. Like I didn't want to get in front of a group of 100 people and some being my peers and my co workers and screw up, right? Or maybe it was, it's due to the lack of your confidence. You just don't believe in yourself. But here's the, here's the deal, guys. Regardless, regardless of this, at some point, for you to grow, develop and reach your potential and be who you want to be, you're gonna have to begin to do things before you feel you are fully equipped and ready. My mentor, I started this, this podcast off. He asked a fabulous question. I said this on a recent phone call and he said, say again? When is the last time you did something for the first time? And that question stop me in my tracks. Think about that statement for a moment and look at your own life and your own career. When is the last time you did something for the first time? See, there is nothing wrong with getting another certification, going to a training program, reading a book, you know, going to workshops. I mean, obviously not only do I endorse those things and believe in those, it's now how I learn, earn a living. However, sometimes you're going to have to jump before you think you are ready. I know people, especially in the insurance field, who jokingly, and this was a sales trainer, said to me, if people have more letters after their name than they have in their name, you want to be careful because they haven't jumped. They just keep getting, I need to learn more and grow more and learn this. At some point you got to go, you got to take that leap. So you can either step off the end of the ledge and be willing to bet on yourself, or you can stand there paralyzed and slowly walk back, always asking yourself, what if, what if? So how long will you be standing on the ledge? Paul Martinelli says this. He says you are either stepping forward into growth or you retreating back into safety. And I think he is 100% spot on. Now let me be clear as I wrap this up. You will never, never be fully ready. But that doesn't mean you never start. As John Maxwell, leadership expert, states Nobody ever got ready by waiting. You only get ready by starting. I want to wrap this up by asking you one last really important question. I want you to think about this. Where will you jump before you are ready? Where is it? Where in your life or in your business are you going to jump before you are ready? Because I know there's something that you've been thinking about that you go, I'm just not ready. And maybe, just maybe, you really are. But you're only going to truly find out when you take that leap of faith. Thanks for listening to today's daily Biz Growl Podcast. My name is Brent Kelly at bizgris. Please check out my website at brentmkelly.com or go to bizgriz.com and see some of the programs and services offer to help you and your agency reach your full potential. Until next time. As always, I challenge and encourage you to go face your grizzly.