Ever been in a rut? Either with work or chores or your family or even your hobby? Oh my, but I was in a BIG rut!

For the past two weeks I have been working out at odd times of the day, and it’s felt good. Well, odd compared to my normal “routine.” I usually do my workout in the morning. I love the idea of being completely showered and ready to take on the day right from the start.

But lately I’d found my self resisting…strongly!

Even with my clothes laid out in the bathroom the night before, my iPod all charged up, and no reason in the world not to go, I was talking myself out of my morning workout.

But I didn’t not work out. I just didn’t do it at the time I normally do it.

I was going later in the day, sometimes in the evening. I had “changed up” my routine and it seemed to be working for me.

There is a sense of freedom in changing up your routine every now and then. As long as you still accomplish your goals and don’t let yourself off the hook, a change in your routine can even bring greater success.

No more rut.

Where in your business or daily routine are you stuck in a rut? What simple change to the time of day could you make for certain tasks? Maybe you just need to change the location. Or just rearrange the furniture a bit and see things from a different perspective.

What’s the best time to work out? When you’ll do it.

What’s the best time and place to make calls? When and where you’ll do it.

What are the best days to meet with clients? The days you’ll actually do it.

Change your routine, not your goals, and get out of that rut!

- Ann Vertel

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There are days that seem daunting and circumstances that seem overwhelming. No matter who you are or the conditions of your life, even if it looks easy to others, you will have days when you feel like giving up.

The best strategy I know for overcoming what life throws at you is to be grateful. Even in the most difficult, painful, scary, lonely, unfair, or heart wrenching circumstances, gratitude will help you make sense of it all.

What I’ve found as I’ve worked with enormously successful people is that they too have miserable days but it is how they respond to them that makes them champions. Gratitude is one of their daily expressions.

But how can you be grateful when your mother is dying, or your husband just lost his job, or your kid just failed his sophomore year, or you just totaled your car, or the IRS says you owe back taxes, or you just found out you have cancer?

Well, you start small.

God always brings something good out of something bad. Always. But very often we can’t see it when we’re going through it. Being grateful for what’s good in your life at the time will get you to the place were it will all make sense.

To be grateful in difficult times, you must purposely look for the positive in everything that happens. You do that by asking yourself these three questions:

What is good about this situation?
What good could come out of it?
What am I supposed to be learning from this?

The answers may come slowly at first or may seem trivial or meaningless, but the important thing is to keep asking the questions – over and over until the answers become apparent and guide you each day. They will get you through the rough parts and continuously point you in a forward direction.

Consider your most challenging situation right now. Write down each of the three questions and spend at least five minutes answering each one. Don’t stop with the first answer that comes to mind (it’s often sarcastic and defensive). Dig deeper until you can honestly see how this situation can bring something good out of chaos.

Be UNreasonable!
Ann Vertel

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You were not created to just survive or endure or get through or simply manage your life. You are meant for something much greater.

You already have everything you need to be enormously successful. The only thing that holds you back is…you. Not your husband or your friends or your location or your kids or your job.

Just you.

A year from now, you could be driving the same car, working the same job, making the same money, living in the same house and nothing has changed.

Or you can take action…right now.
Pick up the phone, book an appointment, call your customers, talk to strangers. Which is truly more frightening – today’s action or next year’s vision of “more of the same?”

So you get to choose.
Will you choose what you want now?
Or what you want most?

But…
the kids’ have soccer practice
company is coming
I just had a baby, got married, moved
the baby is fussy
the tires need to be rotated
I need a better computer
I have a dental appointment
my back hurts
the kids need me
my husband doesn’t approve
the library books are overdue
my office needs to be organized
I have to plan my son’s birthday party
swim lessons start next week
I don’t have enough time, money, energy

There will always be a reason not to work your business.

Work it anyway.

You can choose to give power to your circumstances or you can choose to be successful in spite of them. The choice is truly yours.
Choose well.

Now go have a POWERFUL day!
- Ann Vertel

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