Joey Ragona | Strategic Business Academy

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Author: Joey Ragona

Spark Entrepreneurship

Is your personal development plan where you want it to be?

Here's PROOF that anyone can change when committed to a personal development plan.

I'm going to share something personal with you:

I pulled this personality profile from my archives.

This was 2003 with Tony Robbins – EIGHT years before I took the plunge to hire my first “real” coach.

Check out the highlighted text “Joey sees no need to change his approach to solving problems or dealing with challenges in his present environment.”

A cool way of saying “Joey is not open to personal development because he's attached to his own ways.”

Isn't that true for almost everyone? We are so attached to “how we do things” that any change freaks us out.

I'll prove it to you:

My NEW Personal Development Plan

In 2011, my attitude (at the beginning) was STILL the same – “I don't do things that way…” I told my coach.

Here I am, EIGHT YEARS LATER…still thinking the same, in the same place, doing the same things wrong and paying a dude 20k so I can resist change.

Stubborn? Yea.

Scared? Totally.

And not to mention all the years of business BEFORE 2003 ( I began in 1987).

So imagine how far my personal development plan would be IF I had the access to what you and so many other have access to in today's world.

Maybe the mindset shift would have happened sooner.

Back then, paying for Tony Robbins CDs and education was a HUGE deal…and it wasn't so “cool” to HAVE or even talk about a personal development plan, because you were “weird.”

Today, a personal development plan is kind of a “must-have” and it's so widely accepted.

PD is ALL over the internet.

People post all day long – how to improve our lives, how to make better choices…how to stop doing what they hate doing, how to have better relationships and take more time off so they can enjoy their families…

But they ain't DOING IT.

They “see no need to change their approach”.

I'm here to tell you – ahem…sorry THEM, they DO!

; – )

Spark Entrepreneurship

You’re making life choices in ONE of these 3 ways – GUARANTEED

When you are faced with making life choices, challenges, decisions, problems, whatever you want to call them…

There’s only 3 possible choices to deal with them.

And I guarantee – yes – guarantee you’re already making life choices in one of these 3 ways.

There’s VERY little someone can guarantee in this world…but read on and I’ll prove this to you.

Because it’s not just about your business – it’s about your life too.

I use this “technique” with ALL of my coaching clients and students in my mastermind sessions.

And borrowing the labels from Gino Wickman, I now know what to call it.

The result?

They make a concrete choice to better their lives and keep their business moving forward.

They’re not held back by indecision – which is an epidemic among so many people.

So, without further delay..

Here are your (ONLY) options for making life choices:

Live with it, end it, or change it.

Simple right?

Here's how this works.

If you can't live with it, you only have two choices left: end it or change it.

That’s where the people I work and hang around with live.

They are no longer willing to “live with it” – whatever “IT” is.

Sadly, there are WAAAYY more people who “decide” to live with it when making life choices.

And that sucks.

They know it. I know it. But they’re unwilling to do anything about it.

They’re the ones complaining (to anyone who will agree and listen – misery loves company) about how their life sucks.

And I gotta tell ya, that's the least desirable.

Wouldn’t you agree?

So what about ending it?

No doubt, this is hard when you're making life choices…but when Arianna Huffington told us “one of the best ways to finish a project is to drop it”…

I knew the “ending it” strategy was just as important as the “changing it” strategy.

Here's why:

The natural instinct of a human being is to “finish what we start.”

We hang on to things even though it no longer serves us.

You know what I’m talking about, we’ve ALL started projects that sit on our hard drives for years…

We have relationships that need attending, but we avoid the (most of the time hard) conversation…

There are so many other “monkey’s” I’m sure you can think of.

These are what I call “open loops.”

Several of us hang on to things because the loop is still open.

For example, we started painting the picture because we love the idea of learning how to paint, but it's been sitting for years, and “we'll get to it when we have more time.”

Maybe it's time to end it.

Close the loop.

Perhaps you’re never going to “have the time” for it.

You follow?

And no, this isn't giving up.

It's about aligning what the most important things are in your life RIGHT NOW and actually doing them.

That's why living with it is the least desirable when making life choices…IMO.

And honesty, nothing pisses me off more than watching people make that “living with it” choice – especially when all they do is complain about it.

Believe me – I hear it ALL the time.

“When X happens, I’ll get to it.”

But there’s nothin’ I can do about it until they step up and make one of the other two choices.

And it’s just as simple for you.

Live with it, end it or change it.

Your choice – I hope you make the right one this week!

Let's get a conversation about this going below! I'd love to know your thoughts.

Spark Entrepreneurship

Core Business Values To Have Success & Growth

I SEE a lot of entrepreneurs trying to grow their business without know their Core Business Values.

Most begin with “how do I get more customers/money?”

They want to know how to EXPAND the business, bring on new team members so they can remove themselves from the daily operations and truly have a business that amplifies their life, not one they are held hostage to.

If you want to know “HOW” to do that, you need to have ONE thing for sure: which is standard among ALL successful companies & entrepreneurs…

Your CORE Business Values

And that means: what your company STANDS for.

They are the REASON you are in business in the first place.

It has NOTHING to do with money (in this context) – it's about knowing what guides your company.

When you know your business core values, and you have them WRITTEN DOWN, so everyone in your organization knows them too, only then can you grow your company.

Here's How I Know:

Every time I work with a client, the moment we get clear on what the company's business core values are, they immediately find the answers to “just as important” questions such as WHO is your customer and WHAT do you do for them?

You see, MOST entrepreneurs have no clue how to answer the “WHO” and “WHAT” question. They are WAY to general.

For example, I have clients in the real estate education space. When I asked “who is your customer?” they told me ...anyone who wants to make a better return on their money using real estate.

Does that tell YOU who it is?

Think about it.

If I'm educating people about real estate investing, are they BEGINNERS or EXPERIENCED? Do they want to buy houses or apartment buildings? Do they have money? How much? If they don't, what am I going to teach them about?

You can see where I'm going with this. And it's the same for YOUR business/customer.

Why Core Business Values Are Important

We tend to believe if we cover the ENTIRE span of the market, we'll make more money – but that's the total opposite.

I don't want to get off track here (because I'm A.D.D.) and I can write a whole book on this subject alone, but when you have your CORE Business Values in place, it will help you define WHO that specific customer is, because you're stating what your company does for THEM…and how it improves THEIR lives.

In other words, you'll know who NOT to take on as customers so you can focus on the 20% of the market that you can ultimately provide the utmost value which is aligned to your CORE BUSINESS VALUES.

Study Apple – look at Zappos for clues of their core business values. And those are just two off the top of my head. I'm sure you can easily find more – even in your own niche.

A company that has defined and ingrained their core business values into their own mind, the minds of their employees re the ones that grow exponentially because it finds the right customers who align with those core business values.

Let's chat about this – lemme know what you think by posting a comment below!

Market Your Product

Make Your USP Marketing Message Unstoppable

Following my own advice, I've been reaching out to people to drill down even further into my USP (Unique Selling Proposition) marketing message.

Because I do this with my own clients, and ALWAYS explain how important it is to have a USP marketing message that delivers a distinct benefit about your business, it's ALSO important to have a “personal” USP.

Do YOU have one?

Do YOU know what is unique about YOU?

I understand that it's really hard to focus on our own innate giftedness – and that's why you need the help of others to discover it.

In the conversations and email responses I've had this past week, my eyes have been opened to “gifts” others see I have…

And of course, those “gifts” are easy or “not so special” to me…BECAUSE they're gifts…

And THAT'S what makes up my personal USP.

Here's a clue to figure out your own personal USP marketing message:

You'll find it hidden within the natural groove based on your passion, personality and experiences…it's the stuff you wake up and do without thinking…and you LOVE IT.

Here's why this is important to you:

Your business USP marketing message…is an EXTENSION of your personal USP…

And even though I've known that as a coach, teaching it, training others on it…

I never REALLY figured out what mine was until someone told me this:

“what you do naturally is put the person BEFORE the business…that means your personality shines through first, before your business.”
If THAT'S not another way of saying my business USP is an extension of my personal USP, I don't know what is…

The cool part is, this person told me that without me saying a WORD about what I'm telling you here in this post.

So, what is YOUR personal USP marketing message?

And, how does it relate to your business USP marketing message?

Let me know below…

Spark Entrepreneurship

How to Increase Productivity In Your Business

Do you want to increase productivity?

The simple answer is to eliminate overwhelm.

For most entrepreneurs, we have a never-ending stream of things to do than the time available in a particular day.

So we look for time management solutions…

But here's the REAL problem…

The problem is NOT that there's not enough time in the day…

It's that we're consumed by too many things.

I know what you're thinking “Joey, tell me something I don't know.”

Well, here's something you may not know…

Truth is, we CHOOSE to be consumed by all those things.

We INVITE overwhelm..

My job as a coach and consultant is to eliminate options…which ultimately eliminates overwhelm.

Because if you truly want to increase productivity and take your business to the next level…

There are only 3-4 things you need to be focusing on at any given time.

That’s the secret for you to increase productivity

Notice I didn't say ONLY focus on 3-4 things…FOREVER.

I said 3-4 things **at any given time**

Here's what this means:

If you're working on a Facebook marketing campaign, focus on 3-4 keywords…not the entire universe of “potential” keywords.

Same goes for target audiences…focus on 3-4, and eliminate / add as you test.

Let's increase productivity in other parts of your business for a moment…

Perhaps you're creating digital products..and you've got A TON of ideas…(ask me how I came up with this example)

Well, rather than creating them ALL, finish a couple of them and track your sales…do your marketing and so on until it’s self-sustaining.

In other words, put energy into what's working (and not into what's NOT working) until it no longer needs you.

That will bring a whole new level of productivity, and and added bonus called:

FREEDOM.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but when I take on new consulting clients, this is one of the main areas I focus on.

Getting their daily task list from 50 to 5 key components.

Taking away instead of adding more.

That's what grows your business.

This is how to increase productivity – keeping the main thing at the front of your business.

All the other things you need to do are also important, but they are not priority. They only deserve a minute piece of your attention (today).

So your job is to figure out what those 3-4 things are, at any given time, and work on THOSE.

If you can't figure out what those priorities are, THAT'S another indicator you need outside guidance.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this – let's get a conversation going below!

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