Dancing, my comfort zone, my self coach

Be patient with me on this one. It may start out as a diary entry, but it will make a point, I promise.

Have you ever felt like you were getting a sign? A number of people had challenged me to get out of my comfort zone. Then, I was asked to participate in Dancing with The Branson Stars. My first two thoughts – I ain’t (I often think in poor grammar) a star and I can’t dance. Even with that, I got reinforcement from my wife, Derinda, and I said yes because there is no better way for me to get out of my comfort zone than dance, or try to dance.

Derinda and I met Kelly (the professional dancer) at our home, we talked about what we were going to do, and she taught me a few moves. We met a couple of other times at the house and I began thinking, okay this isn’t going to be too bad.

Then Kelly wanted to meet at a dance studio. So the Sunday before the Friday night event, we met at the Dance Studio. Did you know that a dance studio has many mirrors? The mirrors are so you can see what you look like on the dance floor. I did not want to see what I looked like on the dance floor. I thought I looked bad – but I had no idea. I walked out of that rehearsal thinking about ways to get out of this commitment, ideas included staging my own kidnapping, but I thought a felony might be a little much.

On top of the dance event that week, I had a speaking engagement on Thursday and it was the last week of the month, which is always a busy time at the station. Sunday, I was feeling sorry for myself. I decided that I needed a meeting with myself to discuss a few things. It was a three item agenda.

1. I had made commitments and I was going to hold to those commitments.
2. Kelly had worked hard to help. I needed to shut-up and stop telling myself that I could not do this and listen to her and get this dance down.
3. I did not want to embarrass Derinda or let Kelly down.

The event happened. It was a fun night – I got through the dance without embarrassing Derinda or letting Kelly down. My points this week:

1. Now that it is over, it was fun to be that nervous again. When I speak, I need a couple of butterflies to keep my on guard. Friday night was more like dinosaur type butterflies.

What about you and your business, how long has it been since you tried something so new that you get butterflies.

2. Now that it is over, Sunday night was important to the process. Having to watch myself dance was not fun, but it was important.

What about you and your business, when was the last time you held a mirror up to see how you are doing?

3. Now that it is over, having to learn the basics was an interesting concept. Kelly had to keep reminding me about the simplest of dance moves, like not letting my arms flop – be strong, etc.

What basics have we all forgotten in our businesses? In a down economy, basics are more important than ever.

4. Now that it is over, I will have more self-meetings. I always talk to myself, but this was a hard core, door closed meeting that I had to have with myself on Sunday Night. It was time to cowboy up, lock and load, get focused, etc, etc.

What about you, need to have a sit down with yourself? I believe that we all have a coaching spirit deep down inside. Mine has a Bobby Knight attitude and he really let me have it on Sunday night.

Are you taking care of yourself as you should be? Are you too busy telling yourself you can’t do something to actually go out and do it?

Do not misunderstand me; I realize my strong limitations as a dancer. Nevertheless, going through the process was interesting and exciting and I am glad I did it. I would encourage you to find a way to get out of the comfort zone this week.

Have a great week.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

How are you fueling your body

I have a very good friend we call McGuyver. He can fix anything at any time. While we were having dinner the other night, I was telling him about a company that accidentally got diesel into all their gas engines. In case you are not a McGuyver, that ain't good. My friend explained how that damages the equipment.


The same is true with our body and mind. We have talked about the body with proper nutrition and exercise. One of the reasons I talk about it so much, I struggle everyday and some days are easier than others. But what does not get a lot of talk is what we our putting into our mind. Let me explain.

Self Thought/talk: Do you need to change yours? The old computer term, junk in junk out comes to play here. What is your self thought and self talk. Have you ever said things like:

"I am not very smart." "I will always be fat" "I am not very good with money" "People don't like me"

The brain is a powerful thing -- it hears the I am as a command. You have to be careful how you are programming your own brain. (That's why it's important how we talk to others, especially smaller children)

Your Friends: I have talked before how lucky we are to have such good friends. We joke, we laugh, sometimes we cry, but I have never heard any of our friends tell another one that they can't do something or put down their goals and dreams.

What about your friends? Are you constantly around a negative person? Negative people hate being alone, they want someone with them. Do you have a negative person holding you down?

Your Family: This one is touchy and delicate. Sometimes out of love, our family protects us too much. They don't want to see us get hurt. Be careful how you handle this one. Be loving, be thoughtful, but don't let them hold you back. It's hard to tell if they are negative because they love you too much or they are just negative and they don't want someone in the family successful.

Find someone you can dream with....I am lucky, my wife has put up with my dreams since before we were married; some obtained, some marked off the list and a lot still on the list. She has never been negative about my goals. If you are not as lucky, find CD's of successful people and listen to how they did it. Go to YouTube and type in success.

Your mind and body were created to be powerful, be careful what you put in them.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.