I’ve been working out at the same gym for ten years—consistently showing up three times a week, getting in some weight-lifting then some cardio before heading back to work. I pretty much had the same routine each time—same exercises, same spin class, same machines. While I'd been happy with the fact that I felt healthy, I would look in the mirror wishing I could look healthy. The consolation was to remind myself of what I would be if I wasn't working out. And, for ten years, that was good enough.
Come 2017, I was challenged to step things up a notch. As a small business owner, time is precious. If I'm going to take 1.5 hours out of the busy workday, I better see results. As long as I was going to be spending time at the gym, I wanted to make sure I was getting the most out of it. So, I stepped out of my comfort zone and asked Steve, the owner of the gym, if he would help me design a workout that would give me the results I hoped for.
For the past 7 months, thanks to Steve, I have been learning how to work out and I am starting to notice a difference. One of the first things Steve told me was that I don't need to spend 1.5 hours in the gym. I should be able to be there for less than an hour and get everything I need in a workout. He also showed me that I was doing a lot of things wrong—poor posture, not using the equipment correctly, lifting too much weight, not varying my exercises, not focusing attention where I needed to focus it—I had been doing it all wrong. Steve is constantly reminding me that if "I don't feel sore after a workout, my muscles didn't record it." I had been doing the same thing for so long that I wasn't feeling sore after going to the gym. I wasn't building anything. I was maintaining it.
Last week, at the end of our workout, Steve said "Jeremy, you've been working out here for 10 years and for the first time I can say you are beginning to look like you work out." I have a long way to go still, but the fact that it's making a difference is all the difference in the world to me. Mentally, I've gone from dragging myself into the gym and reminding of what I would feel like if I didn't, to showing up at the gym excited about what I could be. I went from hating the gym to looking forward to spending time there because I was seeing the results and others were taking notice.
Admitting you're stuck – and then getting unstuck
Many business owners get stuck in a similar rut. Perhaps their product or service is selling enough that they have been able to quit their job or sell their business and go full-time with their Joy Venture, but don’t fully know how to develop it. Others are putting in the work, developing their business, but just aren't seeing the fruits of their labor. And still others are reminded of that would be if they didn't own their own business, or working for someone else, or felt stuck in a corporate environment with little satisfaction. Too many of us find ourselves stuck between reality and potential, and we’re left wondering what could be.
In the same way Steve is helping me streamline my efforts and getting me on the road to real change, working with a creative strategist and designer helps you multiply work by letting the world see you for who you really are. We help you focus your efforts by telling your story in a strategic and compelling way—which drives your marketing across social media, web, print, packaging, environment and even how your employees and customers talk about your business in a clear and consistent manner. You go from having a logo to having a brand with a story. From focusing on what would be to what could be.
If this resonates with you, let us know. We have helped many people bring the joy back into their businesses by helping them realize and ultimately achieve their potential, helping them see the results of their labor and showing the world how great their business is. Great design opens doors you never thought were possible and gives your business the license it needs to become all that it could be.