TRP 111: Thinking For A Change
June 10, 2021
Episode Description: Spend time developing your thoughts so that you can execute for the outcomes that you want. Not many people put the time in to think about things, and develop a strategic plan therefore end up having to make a lot more changes along the way!
Transcription
Randy Lawrence:
All right. Hey, I want to welcome you to today’s episode. We’ve got a great topic that a lot of times people don’t think about, but it’s important to think about it. And what we’re going to be talking about today is what you do with your thinking because stinking thinking will lead you the wrong direction, so I wanted to take a look at a couple areas. First and foremost, a lot of times what we think about ourself, what we think about our circumstances is really not true. How many times have you yourself had this flash of a thought? And maybe it was a negative thing and you thought about yourself, it was either a seed of doubt, or maybe it was you were uncertain about your abilities given this circumstance, or the challenge that you’re working on. And so all of a sudden, boom, this thought pops up into your mind, and then you begin to roll that thought over in your mind and accept that it’s true.
Randy Lawrence:
And so that’s one of the things that we have to begin to work on individually, in our personal lives, but also in our business life, so that when that thought comes, we have a openness to challenge the thought. Is that true? How do I know it’s true? And then, well, what if it’s not true? Who am I if this is not true? There’s a process that we can work through to begin to challenge those thoughts. Just because you had the thought, doesn’t mean you need to accept the thought, and that’s a key distinction that we should take away from it. And again, I would say, we apply that not only in our business life, but our personal life. How many times is it that maybe somebody didn’t call you back and you left them a message, you didn’t hear back from them? And then you’re like, "Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that person didn’t get back to me", dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. You’re talking that stuff, thinking that way.
Randy Lawrence:
And then two days later, boom, you reconnect and then you find out there was a situation in their life, whether it was a car accident, family member sick, on and on whatever. Legitimate situation that arose, that then they were indisposed because of it. And here you are thinking these things that weren’t even true. And it caused you turmoil, grief, whatever, angst. And so these are the things that we’ve got to step back from, and that’s just one of the aspects of our thinking, is being willing to be open, to challenge our thoughts, to see if it’s true, not just blindly accepting any thought that pops in there.
Randy Lawrence:
The second element that I want to look at is strategic thinking. I’ve said numerous times, it’s easier to do than it is to think. And I remember, good Lord, a book that I read by John Maxwell back In the last economic crash, if you will, 2008. It was called Thinking for a Change. And it really challenged me to become more strategic in my thinking. A lot of times, if you’re honest, it’s easier just for us to fill our day with activities, or to try to move the ball down the court towards our goals, and just take action, than it is to sit down and really strategically think out, what are the right steps? What are the desired outcomes? What are the pieces of the puzzle that go into the mix? What are the potential risks or pitfalls? And who are the team members that need to be a part of it? Who is the right person to be seated on the bus?
Randy Lawrence:
And so these become super imperative because as you ask these questions of yourself and you begin to think through the answers, now you’re able to take much more of a strategic action, and move singularly to the goals and the outcomes that you want. I mean, I’ve seen so many times in people’s lives over the years, both as a pastor for 15 years, but also as a business owner for the last 30 years, that people will just head in a direction and take action, but they haven’t really put the time in to think about it. Now, I love, there’s a book, Keith Cunningham, he’s one of the instructors at Tony Robbins’ Business Mastery. He wrote a book called The Road Less Stupid. Great title, right? The Road Less Stupid. And what it talks about, it talks about how you approach thinking. He’s even developed a process where he sits down on a weekly basis to think about the things that he needs to think about. He’s even got a thinking chair.
Randy Lawrence:
I mean, and so realistically, even in my office, I have an outer office and there’s a couch. I sit on the couch and think about certain things in terms of a strategic manner, as well as the fact that I’ll put in thought time, if you will, each day in the morning, before I start my day, thinking about the day, thinking about the outcomes I want, thinking about the priority items. Probably once a quarter, I spend time thinking about where we’re at as a business, how we’re approaching the accomplishment of our goals, the impact that we’re making. I think about what I want to see in terms of the impact in the business over the next 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, and begin to write those things down.
Randy Lawrence:
And so I would encourage you to take a step back from the day-to-day actions and begin to really put time and energy into thinking about it. Thinking about what you want, what do you want your life to look like? That’s the starting point. Start with the end and then begin to work backwards as to what you want that to look like. And praise the Lord, when you do that, you have less detours along the way. Now it doesn’t mean it’s a straight line, but by thinking through, you discover some of the pitfalls and you’re able to better execute on the plan. And so I know this isn’t really an alluring topic, or it’s not a high line item, or, "Whoo, that’s sexy." But I remember having lunch with a friend of mine, another high-level real estate guy, in California, we were out there. And I told him that, he was going through some things in his business. And I told him, I said, "Look, it’s easier to do than it is to think."
Randy Lawrence:
And man, that just hit him. And he went home from that meeting and thought about it, and really recognized that he’d not put thoughtful actions into bringing the right people or team members on the bus. He ended up reworking his whole business. And now here it is, whatever, two and a half years later, he’s got an incredibly successful firm that provides him a much greater lifestyle and/or a stress reduced lifestyle than what he had before. And it’s because he designed it in a much better way. Brought in a COO, brought in other team members to help him and equip them, and so then the end result is he’s had a greater experience. I want to encourage you to take that same step. Hey, go out and get the book Thinking For a Change, John Maxwell, The Road Less Stupid, Keith Cunningham.
Randy Lawrence:
I’m a big reader. You always want to learn from other people. And that way, it can collapse down your time of learning. I just thank you so much and want to invite you to invite others to the podcast. We want to make an impact and I just greatly appreciate you in being a part of the show.
