For you to get a different result in your life, you have to be willing to learn something new!
So often, I find people are looking for a mentor or coach to validate that they are on the right track.
This becomes very counter-intuitive and co-dependent on the coach continuing to either affirm or correct what’s true or not.
For us to grow to the next level, we have to be willing to learn something we’ve not done before, and even tear down the shaky foundations of our life that we’ve had up to this moment in time.
One of the biggest things I’ve seen people struggle with reaching their goals is looking up to others for approval and validation that what they are doing is “ok” and right.
Then, double whammy, they never make themselves vulnerable enough to learn something new – and ask questions because of fear of realizing that they didn’t have it all together in the first place!
So we stay stuck in this delusion of “I will be ok when” and “One day I will reach a place where” – while we continuously rely on other people to give us the power to go after our dreams.
We’re looking for others to be the catalyst for us to reach our goals.
The fact is this will never work. Me saying that right now may be offensive to the delusion that some people believe because what else could be the case?
You have to take responsibility for yourself for your choices. Discipline yourself to do the things that you want to do, without ever needing anyone else to hold you accountable!
It’s time we stop looking to others to validate that we are on the right track, and we start just moving the path forward on our own.
And now we come face to face with our fears: judgment, not fitting in, punishment, getting in trouble, criticism.
We have to be ok with criticism to go after our goals and move forward in the face of it!
Stop allowing critics to disempower you from going after your dreams!
You have to believe in yourself enough to do the thing that’s inside you!
You have to set up a filter of what you take in, and sometimes shutting down voices that are not benefiting you!
These could even be voices of your past, family members, friends, people who you’ve respected before, and they have your best interest in mind – BUT – because they have to also come to grips with the responsibility in themselves for why they are where they are – you can no longer allow them to dictate your choices or direct your path.
Now, this becomes very lonely for a second because we are left with the shell of who we’ve been in our lives, and the future that we are becoming.
As soon as you leave the past behind and stop trying to resurrect the old ways of being, you will be able to reach your goals so much faster.
You will attract the friends, the help, the mentors, the leaders, the resources that you need to reach your goals!
You will start to notice by turning your reticular activating system on that you were headed in the right direction all along.
The truth is this: We don’t need other people to change for us to reach our goals. We don’t need even to get anyone to agree with us to achieve our goals.
We have to give up the need to try to control everything around us, the messages, the people, the influence – and learn to control ourselves: what we are letting in.
This is knowing when to ignore things, and when to pay attention. This is not letting everything that comes at you distract you. This is being focused on where you are going – by being PRESENT at this moment in time to trust the process and know that you are on the right path.
If any doubt creeps in, we often rely on going to others to tell us if we’re on the right path or not, and there’ a time a place for this, but you need to make your circle small that you take input from — less than 3-4 people.
You can have a relationship with many others, but not to the point where you let them influence the direction you are headed!
Choose wisely the voices you listen to – and believe in yourself to know that the path you are on is the best path for you.
When new information comes along, it’s ok to change your choices and change directions. Eventually, we reach a crossroads: where we can decide to circle the same mountain again or move in the course of our destiny.
If you’re someone who’s at that crossroads, or maybe you don’t know what direction to go, that’s what this group is for, the grow your life podcast. To help point you in the direction that will help you reach your goals in the fastest possible manner, without sacrificing your integrity, your family, your health, or your relationships!
Sometimes there’s time to set boundaries. We have to learn to say “no” when we mean “no’ and “yes” when we mean “yes” and not let the fear of what other people might do keep us stuck, living a life that is opposite of what we were both made to do – and desire to live.
When we align our lives with the divine call of God on our experience, there’s a convergence that happens where our desires and God’s desires are the same.
Then we reach a place where we can ask God, “Direct my footsteps.” We know the voice of God in our life because we are attuned to hearing it! We can trust that what he says is true and right!
Then it comes to having wise counsel around you. Sometimes there’s wise counsel for one season that is no longer wise council for another season. We have to learn to let the old stay where it is in the past and keep moving forward toward our destiny!
No one is keeping you from your goals but yourself. No one has the power to do so, but you.
It’s time for you to pick yourself up and start walking forward without looking back – one foot in front of the other!
What’s the right choice to make? Ask questions! Start asking people that you can trust. When you get differences of opinion, consider the source of where you’re getting your answers from and then ask yourself, “Is this going to serve me towards my goals or hinder me.”
Pay attention to the voices that you’re listening to. Are these people who’ve been there before and gotten the results that I desire, or are they just repeating something that sounds good and tickles my ears?
Then learn to trust yourself. Keep the promises that you make to yourself. Have a track record with yourself to reach your goals. There’s nothing terrible about trusting your instincts. You can trust yourself.
This will be the only way for you to go to the next level, and start making the decisions that will have a lasting impact on your life!
Client Email: Best Practices For Email Marketing
This was a letter that I sent to a client that I consult for marketing about email best practices. I think in general people know what to do with email, but these often forgotten and missed points are overlooked:
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From the desk of Jeremiah Krakowski
Dear Client,
When doing email marketing, we have to follow best practices. The #1 reason people mark emails as spam is that they get emailed too often. Here's a great article on this:
When sending emails, it's all about cultivating a personal relationship with people first, and secondary is about what you want them to do or what you are promoting.
This is why the best marketing emails always engage people to be a part of the story.
People have a choice to delete or read your email. If they’re sick and tired of what they are getting, they won't even open it and mark it as spam. You want people to be interested in what they are reading. This interest always starts with the subject line - something that invites them to open it up.
Sometimes it's good to be very general even "Exciting news for the new year" or "hey, how's it going" sometimes works. Other times we use more specific marketing language.
The less often you email people, the more likely they are to open.
Also spacing emails out is important.
We must care about the people receiving the emails more than we care about what we can get from it.
Everything starts with good copywriting. If our focus is just what we are trying to tell people, it's more effective to never email anyone in the first place.
We have to cultivate, nurture and respect the relationship of email like we would anyone. Every address is important to us, and they should get value from each email, not just promotion.
This isn't the law that needs to be worried about, but something to consider. It's really a "do unto others' type thing. Everyone is sick of emails, so treat them how you would want to be treated.
Consider what we would care about if we got the email ourselves! What would make us open the email? What would make us feel connected without, instead of just another name and email on a list?
Be blessed!
Jeremiah Krakowski
ps… If you want to work with me, coaching you in your business, sign up for your free 30 minute strategy call with me here: jeremiahkrakowski.com/coaching
Waiting For Perfect Scenarios Is A Path To Failure
For the last six months, every time I think about writing a blog post, I get hit with what I call "F.O.M.O writers blocks" meaning I have too many ideas to write about - and am afraid of them all being the wrong ones, so I didn't write anything.
Now, here we are: Tuesday, January 7th, 2020 - and I still didn't have a blog post up yet!
Over the last 6 months, I've gone on an incredible personal development journey that started right around the time of my LAST blog post! It started with reading a number of spiritual books, as well as leadership books to grow in my spirituality, and my leadership (duh).
One of the number one things that leaders have to do - or they will fail - is making decisions.
Consistent, fast decision making is the number one thing that separates those who are a success from those who are not. Meaning: fear of missing out and decisions are the causes of most failure for leaders!
You see, when we are presented with many decisions, and we don't make any of them - we are effectively catalyzing failures.
The truth is, without action, failure is guaranteed, but the action has a precursor - called decision making. Every action always follows a decision, so the number one thing that prevents success that I've noticed is waiting too long to make decisions.
And here I am, six months later, still haven't decided what to write a blog post about - indecisive, and nothing.
Now I could beat myself up for this and get down on myself - or I can get over it quickly and start writing a blog post!
So here it is, my new year decision making an action. It's no longer ok for me not to write blog posts, so that's what I will be doing!
I've spent my whole life waiting for things to have the perfect scenarios for me to make decisions, and I realized - that waiting is what has held me back the most, more than anything else in my entire life!
It doesn't matter how successful you've been in the past: if you allow slow decision making to touch you - you will fail. And then you'll get a chance to learn the lesson that you have to make decisions faster.
So now, I have started only spending 2-3 minutes on making decisions, and maybe 5-10 minutes on more significant choices. If I need advice or feedback on something, I'll get it, weigh the options and make a decision.
You have to learn to make decisions - right or wrong - quickly - and do something. Not making a decision and staying right where you are will guarantee you will never progress and move forward.
Waiting to decide what questions to ask to get the input you need is one of the worst hamster wheels I see so many people on that I coach. It's time to stop doing that.
Start asking the questions you need to get the answers that will help you move the needle. If you've ruminated on a decision for weeks, it's time to stop doing that.
Make decisions quickly, and keep moving forward!
A great place to ask questions to help make decisions in your business is my #GrowYourLife community. You can join here: https://jeremiahkrakowski.com/community