Three Getting Started Questions Every New Coach Should Ask

What are three getting started questions every new coach should ask?

Getting started in a new coaching business has many varied parts of the process. It can seem quite overwhelming in the beginning. Here are some of the main questions a new coach should ask.

I. What Kind of Coaching Are You Best Suited For?

There are many varieties of coaching. One type would help people with discovering their identities and clarifying their purpose.

Another type would help people in the area of personal growth, and this would spill over into business growth too.

A third type would be entrepreneurial coaching. This would be for people who would want to start businesses of their own.

Another way of classifying types of coaching would have to do with the delivery of the coaching experience.

First of all, you could have personal coaching. This involves meeting with people one on one. You could meet with them online, through the telephone or through the computer using through FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, or some similar distance collaboration platform

Second, you could have group coaching. This is often done online live with a group watching in and asking questions.

Finally, you could have a type of coaching that is more passive. That could be in the form of delivering the information in the form of a course. Again, courses could be in person or online. Some online courses are set to where the student can go at his or her own pace and click on new lessons after completing the previous lessons. This is quite automated in that the coach does not have to do anything after completing the course materials.

So, first of all it would be a good idea to find out what kind of coaching you would like to do.

II. What Kinds of Additional Training would give you confidence?

You need to understand that credentials are not required for many types of coaching. In many cases your personal experience will be much more valuable than certain types of certifications. However, for your own benefit, you might want training to increase your confidence. Even though credentials are not required, they also sometimes can give you the perception of increased credibility.

I want to point out three certifications you can gain from Author Academy Elite. I mentioned identity coaching earlier. They have a certification program dubbed “Your Secret Name” coaching. I also mentioned personal or business growth coaching. AAE has another certification called, “The Deeper Path.” Then I mentioned entrepreneurial coaching. AAE also has a certification program called, “Day Job to Dream Job.” It specializes in guiding people through occupational change, and especially guiding those who desire to start their own businesses.

III. What Online Tools Could Help You with the Coaching Process?

You will need an online tool that will help you with email communication.

You would also need collaboration tools–a place where you and your client could keep track of assignments and further to communicate with each other.

Then you will need a website builder.

You would need a tool that would help you keep track of your progress.

Then it would be good to have an online tool that would help you with course building.

There is a program that includes all of the above options in one package. It is called “The Coaches Console,” and I highly recommend you consider it if you are indeed going to get involved in coaching.

Those are the three getting started questions every coach should ask: What kind of coaching are you best suited for? What kinds of additional training would give you confidence? And, What online tools could help you with the coaching process.

If you would like more tips like these, click here.

If you would like to check out the certifications offered by Author Academy Elite, click here.

If you would like to check out the special package of coaching tools offered by The Coaches Console, click here.

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020

Three Insider Tips for Writing Quickly and Easily that Every Brand New Author Needs to Know

What are three insider tips for writing quickly and easily that every brand new author needs to know?

The accompanying video is the first edition of “Walking with Randy.” A few months ago I started walking. I started out getting 2000 steps a day, and then I worked my way up to 10,000. I think 10,000 is a good number, so I’m probably not going to try to progress much beyond that.

In this article, I’m going to talk about insider tips for writing quickly and easily

for brand new authors.

Find Time to Write

The first tip is to find time to set aside for writing. We need to realize that we all have the same amount of time. We have more than 10,000 minutes every week. Before we talk about regularly scheduled time, though, we need to find snatches of time hidden within our days. For instance, we find that we spend a lot of time waiting. If we plan ahead a little, we can redeem that time. Your waiting time could be used for writing. If you had a little notebook or computer tablet with you, you could spend that time writing.

In preparation for setting aside exclusive times to write, we need to examine what we do regularly. Do you find that you spend a lot of time on lesser pursuits? Maybe those activities are not bad in themselves, but do you have times that could be spend on more productive tasks?

An example of using waiting time could be seen in going to the doctor’s office. Nowadays, you might be asked to wait in your car before going in to actually see the doctor. Under more normal circumstances, you might be asked to sit in the waiting room. While you are doing that, you could read one of their magazines. You may have planned ahead and brought your own reading material. However, if you brought your writing materials, whether they be paper or digital, you could use that waiting time to move your project along.

The next thing is to be intentional in setting aside time exclusively for writing. You might be able to write for 15 minutes on your lunch hour.

You might decide to get up earlier, or, if you are quite productive at night, you might decide to set aside some extra time by going to bed later.

You also, could combine all three of the above times by getting up a half-hour earlier, writing 15 minutes at lunch, and going to bed a half-hour later.

If you can find 75 minutes in your day, you can complete a chapter. That would mean you could complete the rough draft of an average-sized 200-page book that included 20 chapters in just 20 working days!

By then, you would have your “book.” Granted it will be a rough draft, but the book is basically done. Then you will polish the book and make it great.

Create Short Artificial Deadlines

The second tip is to create artificial deadlines. Suppose you give yourself five minutes to write on a certain topic, five or six minutes, or maybe 10 minutes. A lot of writers have found this to be very beneficial in helping them to get certain projects done.

Now, by making the deadlines, small like that, the whole process helps prevent the feeling of overwhelm.

Shorter deadlines also helps with procrastination, because it doesn’t seem so insurmountable to write for just a little project, instead of a big long one. For instance, if you had your chapter broken down into anywhere from 12 to 15 little five minute projects. You could get a chapter done easily by writing, and meeting those short artificial deadlines.

You see? We respond to deadlines. If you spent some time in college, you might have told an all-nighter or two in order to get a paper done. You had two or three months to get it done, but the deadline was looming it had to be turned in the next day. Or, how many of us have gone to the post office with our tax forms on April 15? I know I have done that a few times. So, we respond to deadlines. To get the ball rolling, create your own artificial deadlines. I would recommend that you create five, six, or 10 minute deadlines.

These short deadlines will help you to get over perfectionism. When you have a deadline of five or ten minutes, you don’t have time to agonize over every word. Of course your writing should be the best you can make it, but that will be accomplished in the editing process (whether you do some editing each day or at the end of the first draft). Right now, your goal is to get the ideas on paper.

Write in Answer to Questions

The third tip is to write in answer to questions. You see, our minds are programmed to answer questions. We know six words that help us with questions. When we hear a group of words starting with one of these particular words. We know that group of works is a question. That can help us with writing because our minds are programmed to answer those questions. I’m sure you have guessed by now, but those words are, “who, what, when, where, why, and how.” I would also add to this list a couple of two word questions, such as, “What then?” and “So what?”

Well, those are some tips for being able to write quickly and easily. First of all you have to find a time to write. Second, you need to create some artificial deadlines and doing that will help you to get your work done. I didn’t mention it, or maybe I did but this helps was perfectionism. Third you should write in answer to questions.

These are the insider tips for writing quickly and easily that every brand new author needs to know.

If you would like more writing tips like these, click here.

If you would like some more in depth encouragement for writing that would move you along step-by-step toward your goal of writing your book, click here.

October 22, 2020October 22, 2020

Video for Blog Posts – The Covid Video Blessing

Forced into doing things we are not used to describes the year 2020 for most of us. Video for blog posts is something that some of us discovered as a transferable skill that resulted from us meeting a need during the pandemic.

Along with being a speaker, writer, and book-writing coach, I serve as a bi-vocational minister. Several of my friends in this same category got thrust into some new experiences.

Many of us, as a precautionary measure, quit worshiping at our local churches for a while. That is when many of us started doing online services. I already had a YouTube channel and some experience producing my own videos. Others, though, learned how to do this for the first time.

The Background of the Transferable Skill of Using Video for Blog Posts

I had some experience with Facebook Live, but, as often happens, I had to learn the process all over again in order to record some of our messages. For a while, that was simply done in my home office, but when we decided to return to our church, we continued broadcasting live through Facebook.

Apart from that, I have a wonderful assistant who helps me carry out many tasks that can be time consuming. So, after I learned how to transfer the FB Live videos to YouTube, I trained her in that process too.

We edit the live recording to shorten it somewhat, and to remove any copyright claims for the wider YouTube audiences.

I know I can include the YouTube videos here on this blog, but I wondered if a link could go directly to the Facebook Live video from over a week ago too.

Trying the Temporary Links for Using Video for Blog Posts

So, here goes the experiment.

First, we will include the YouTube video. Some like for me to have these replays up anyway.

Here is the video from a week or two ago:

Here is a listing of that same link:

Now, here is the attempt to go to the original Facebook Live version:

And, again, here is that link:

https://www.facebook.com/randy.carney1/videos/10224508277198421

I guess one way to check this is to publish it temporarily, and then come back and finish editing the bog post.

Since I am writing in real time, let me just say, “I will be back in a minute.” 🙂

I left and published temporarily and both of the links worked. So, you can use Facebook Live videos as well as YouTube links. (I will have to keep checking back to see how long the Facebook video links will work.)

Using Facebook Live to Produce Video for Blog Posts

How To Use Facebook Live To Get More Traffic To Your Website could be an alternate heading for this section.

Facebook Live is a quick and easy way to produce a video for a blog post that assists Internet marketers to get more traffic to their websites.

The bottom line here is that this is a quick way to produce a video for your blog post. Doing this gives you an almost unfair advantage. You will get more traffic to your website over other Internet marketers by inserting videos into your blog posts.

All Internet marketers should check out this tool because using it is a very quick way to produce videos. Once the video processes where it comes up when you open up Facebook, all you have to do is copy the url and use it as a link to a picture in your blog pos

Here’s why Facebook Live is so important…

You can start on an article, cut away to do a video, and then come right back.

How can you get started with video very quickly?

Go to your Facebook page
Click on the “Live Video” link
Your camera will come on and you will see yourself in the lower right corner
About half-way down on the left side of the page, you will see the word, “post”
You can go down two items below that and click on the down arrow to choose to share to your timeline, to a page you manage, or to a group
I would recommend putting in a title, but it is optional
Then put in a short description
When you are ready, click on “Go Live.”
After your presentation, click on “finish,” and then choose where you want to share the video on Facebook.
Wait a while for the video to show up on Facebook where you shared it
Start the video, and copy the url from the top of the page
Then you can place that link in your blog post

And the great news is, this incredible tool costs nothing at present.

You can check out this quick way to produce a video for a blog post by going to your own Facebook page.

If you would like more tips on writing, click here.

June 19, 2020June 19, 2020

God’s Amazing Turnarounds

After all the debate is over, if you want to get results with God’s Amazing Turnarounds then these 3 ways God worked in the past will help you get results a whole lot faster today. In fact, these are the tools the source of the the inner voice of despair within hopes you don’t find out about because then their demonic secrets will be out of the bag. If you want simple, effective, and immediate turnarounds tools to make your life as a person in despair easier, then take a hard look at these examples from the life of King David before you go any further.

Example #1: Weeping may happen, but joy can come.

Look at Psalm 30, verses 1-5

This past way God worked to turn things around is important because we often get into states of despair because we don’t understand the confusing moments of life.

David had been anointed King when he was young, but that never came true publicly in his early life. David even got to the point where he pretended to be insane in order to spare his own life when he appeared before one of the kings that opposed his people.

God’s Amazing Turnarounds

See how God later turned around his life. Use this memory to encourage you when you get into the despairing moments of life.

Example #2: God can turn our mourning into dancing

The way David described this experience is found in verses 6-11.

After being an outlaw, David was finally chosen as the king of Judah, and later, as king of both Judah and Israel.

This past way of seeing God works is critical to our success because life is not always sweetness and roses. Times of despair and mourning do come.

However, if we remain faithful to God, our mourning can turn into dancing.

This video gives the details of the examples from David’s life.

Example #3: We will be forever thankful when God does this

David expressed his thankfulness for God turned things around in his life. This is described in verses 11-13

This past way that God worked in David’s life will help us because we can see how God has turned some things around in the past.

Regardless of how bad life gets, we can be thankful to God because we know the joys of Heaven will far outweigh any sufferings we may experience in this present moment; however, most of us don’t have to wait till we get to Heaven. God often turns our lives around in amazing, unexpected ways.

As with any past examples, things change and adapt over time. But, from my direct, day-to-day experience, I have seen many smart people in despair – regardless of their current situation – remember God’s promises and trust Him to turn things around.

If you would like to read more articles like these, you can go here.

Also, you can go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE8qd9V10SKxMU_0L1B8yHQ to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

May 20, 2020October 3, 2020

Personal Time Management Strategies to Write a Book Quickly

Collegiate Consulting Service: Dr. Randy Carney's Writing, Speaking and Coaching Enterprises

Personal time management strategies are the secret behind many successful people. Here are time management tips and tricks for every author who wants to write his or her book quickly and easily. I share this so you can write a book without having to sit there staring at a blank page for hours.

So here’s where we are right now…

Getting published is easier now than ever before
That means you need a book
It is easier than you think to write a book
Sometimes the hardest part is getting started
Sometimes you just stare at a blank page when you have a writing session

We’ll cover three tips for time management for writers

Tip #1 – You Have A Lot Of Time Already.

You see? We all have 24 hours each day. That means that we have 1,4440 minutes each day too.

Likewise, we have 168 hours each week, so that means we have 10,080 minutes in a week! Just think of it: Over 10,000 minutes to do what you want to with each week. Surely we could use many of those minutes to give priority to writing.

Let’s simplify it even more. Let’s say you break your book down into 5-minute writing segments. That means you could use a lot of time you may not have thought you had.

For instance: You might have to go to the dentist. After you check in, you usually sit in the waiting room before you are called. At this writing, you might have to return to your car to wait. If you are in a waiting room, you could read their magazines while you wait, or you may go prepared for the waiting with your own book. OR …., you could take your writing materials with you–pen and paper, or maybe even your laptop.

Then you could start on one of your 5-minute writing projects. You likely will not use a timer there, so you will have to keep an eye on your watch.

At the end of five minutes, they have not called you back, so you start on your next 5-minute writing segment. Then you have time for a third one. There you have one-fifth of a chapter written, all while using waiting time wisely. Do you see how personal time management strategies can help you finish your book?

While you can get a lot of your book written using waiting time, you likely will not write it all during waiting time. That leads us to our next tip

Tip #2 – You Have Ways To Carve Out Some Time

Many writers write early in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up. Others are night owls, and they write an hour or so after everyone else goes to bed. Still others spend some time during lunch.

Another alternative would be to combine all three of those ideas: Wake up a half-hour before everyone else wakes up. Then use another half-hour after everyone else goes to bed. Additionally, write for 15 minutes during your lunch hour.

If you write for 75-90 minutes every day, you can easily knock our the rough draft of your book in less than 28 days if plan your book using a special 5-minute writing segment plan.

Since writing is a priority for you, surely you can carve out some daily time for writing.

Tip #3 – You Have Ways to Eliminate Distractions

In order to write quickly, you will have to be focused.

It is best to have a place to write. If you can designate a separate room, that is best. You can have your own office. Others, though, may have to use a dual-purpose room. Still, it is best to get away from other distractions. If at all possible use a room exclusively when you are writing.

Here is another good tip to eliminate distractions. Put a sign on the door. It can say, “I’m Working” or something like that. If you are writing fiction, you can even threaten to write violators into the story! The sign just serves as a gentle reminder to family members that you should not be disturbed unless it is absolutely necessary for them to talk to you.

So, let’s summarize what we’ve covered in “Personal Time Management Strategies to Write a Book Quickly:”

You have a lot of time
Plan for 5-minute writing segments
Plan a time to write
Fix a place to write
If you write for 75 minutes each day, you can finish your rough draft in less than 28 days.

The point here is that you can write your book quickly and easily without having to sit there staring at a blank page for many minutes or even hours on end.

What have you adopted as personal time management strategies? Please share some more tips with us in the comments.

You can get more writing tips here.

Now, if you’re serious about learning how to take this to the next level, don’t lose a single minute. Head on over to check out the 6-Figure Writing course at my quick and easy writing website.

May 17, 2020May 17, 2020

Insider’s Guide to Victory

Moses was the ultimate insider when it came to communicating with God. This insider’s guide to victory is found in the Bible in the Book of Numbers, chapter 21.

Hey, Everybody!

Welcome to “An Insider’s Guide to Victory.”

Randy Carney here with a new “victory in adversity” Facebook Live post. This is for every person, and especially the Christian person, who wants to get victory as he or she goes through the journey of life.

Let me explain. We can have victory because of three provisions God gives us.

Provision #1 – God Provides For Redemption When We Need It

The people complained (5)
They tried God’s patience once too often (6)
God sent fiery serpents in the land (6)
They could look at the serpent on the pole and live (7-9)
In John, chapter 3, God used the analogy of the serpent in the wilderness to refer to Christ on the cross.

Provisions #2 – God Provides Refreshment On The Journey

God sent them to a place where there was water (16)
They sang the song, “Spring Up, Oh Well” (17,18)
When you are going through a dry place in life, God can send a time of refreshing.

Provisions #3 – God Provides Victory Over Our Enemies

He gave them victory over Arad (1-3)
He gave them victory of Sihon (21-31)
He gave them victory over Og (32-35)
God gave victory over physical enemies, and He can give us victory over spiritual enemies too.

So, what’s the point of all this?

God gives us the power and the strength to live a victorious Christian life as we navigate through tough times.

The bottom line here is that you can get victory as you go through the journey of life.

So, how have you experienced God’s provision in your life? Please let us know in the comments below.

If you would like to see more posts like these, Click Here.

You also can see more videos like these by subscribing to my YouTube Channel.

May 15, 2020May 16, 2020

The Real Trick To Keeping Peace in Your Marriage

Let me tell you a quick story about something that happened about two weeks after I got married… and what you can learn from it. It may help you find the real trick to keeping peace in your marriage.

Describing a “Marriage Saver”

A Surfacing Problem

I didn’t notice it much at first, but after brushing my teeth for fourteen days, I realized my wife had a habit of squeezing the toothpaste tube in the middle. I always squeezed it from the bottom.

A toothpaste tube squeezed in the middle — We Needed a Marriage Saver

My theory was that you could get more out of the tube by getting it all from the bottom and working your way to the top.

Rhonda evidently was not enlightened.

I told her about my preference, but it didn’t really seem to make much difference.

I also found that she wanted the roll of toilet paper to hang down the front instead of hanging down the back.

I didn’t really care, just as long as the roll was there. So, at least I didn’t compound the problem.

The modern toothpaste manufacturers have helped many marriages because the plastic tube bounces back into shape pretty easily. Not so, when we first got married. The toothpaste tubes back then seemed to be sort of a flexible metallic material that looked like stiff aluminum foil underneath the paint. They just stayed in whatever shapes you left them after the squeeze. I have to admit it really frustrated me.

A Funny Answer for Keeping Peace in Your Marriage

A few years later, one of our cousins got us a Christmas present that was called a “Marriage Saver.”

It looked kind of like a clothespin. You attached it to the bottom of the toothpaste tube, and rolled it up as you continued to use it. I liked it because it was basically following my preference. Rhonda went along with it.

The gift was sort of a joke, but I have surveyed many audiences during marriage seminars, and they seem be about half and half on the preferences of which way you should squeeze the toothpaste tube, or how you position the toilet paper rolls.

A Good Take Away

The thing I really want you to take away from this is: Sometimes we all need to realize that husbands and wives do have different preferences, and they need to work through how they will handle them. Learning to handle these differences can lead to the real trick to keeping peace in your marriage.

However what this means to you in your marriage is we all need to realize that some of our preferences don’t amount to as much as we think they do.

You may have discovered some differences of opinion in your marriage. So here’s your next step as it relates to what I just shared: If you really want harmony in your marriage, buy the book, From Mountains to Molehills, so you can overcome and celebrate your differences in marriage.

If you would like more articles like these on marriage, Click Here.

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020

Online Church Services – Tips for Novice Internet Marketers

For the last several weeks, because of the corona virus situation, we have had online church services. In the process, it has honed my skills in using Facebook Live, making YouTube videos, and utilizing some of the material to give blog content. This actually helps with great tips for novice internet marketers.

I work with many authors, some of them beginning authors, and others who are interested in internet marketing.

One of the videos that has been a result of using my internet marketing skills

Another niche I am beginning to target is that of bivocational ministers. These individuals work many hours with almost two (or sometimes it is not just “almost”) full-time jobs.

What some of them don’t know is that they already possess transferrable skills that could provide a great second job outside their ministries. Wouldn’t it be great if they could have more flexibility of schedule and provide for their families at the same time?

They already have skills in writing, but they may not feel like they do. They certainly have skills in public speaking. Probably, for many of them, adding skills in internet marketing is their greatest need.

Why is the topic of online church services so important for providing tips for novice internet marketers?

Internet marketers know the importance of updating their websites. If they are members of a church and are comfortable in talking about their faith making them who they are, then this need for online services gives just the opportunity to learn more about utilizing video if they volunteer for the task.

Even if they are novices in utilizing video, this task will thrust them into on-the-job learning for these skills.

They may, like I am doing right now, add some of the videos to their own blogs. This gives them extra bang for the buck. They are already doing work for the church. Now they can benefit their own websites by adding new content.

What is your purpose in doing this interview about online church services for internet marketers?

I am just wanting to encourage all of us to get more comfortable with video content. For the bivocational minister, I want to show how this can increase both his skills, and how it can drive new traffic to his website.

What results have you gotten with online church services?

Our congregation has been able to continue worshipping without us having onsite services. Some outside of our congregation have joined us by video too. It has widened our ministry somewhat.

One encouraging thing to me was that a friend from my very first pastorate has reconnected and has (she says) been blessed by the videos.

How long did it take you to get where you are today with your online church services knowledge and experience?

I have been doing internet marketing off and on for about 12 years, so I have accumulated a lot of experience during that time.

Does it consume most of your day, or is it only on a periodic basis?

Since we are doing the services live, it does not consume most of my day. I always have to prepare for sermons anyway. The time I spend in church is just the same, except I am in front of my computer camera at my desk at home.

The setup time is minimal. To transfer the video to YouTube does take some time, but it is not a terrible amount. The YouTube video then can be used for replays and for content on my blog.

What made you decide you wanted to concentrate on online church services?

I had always been intrigued by the idea anyway, however, since many churches are not able to meet during this time, there were people who were looking for options to worship. We already had a Facebook group set up, so it was easy to plug into that.

If you could start all over again with online church services, what would you do differently?

I might try to learn about using “Be Live” for the video. It would allow having more than one person on the screen at a time, but what we are doing is fine.

What’s the #1 FREE software to help internet marketers succeed with online church services?

Facebook has been very helpful in this regard. All I have had to do is start a new post and then click on “add to post.” Then the Live option is listed.

Our piano player, guitar player, and song leader(s) make videos, and we open the service with them. After that, the viewer just clicks on my Live-Streaming video post, and we finish the service.

As far as I know, we have not had any audio or video issues. I take that back, one Sunday morning, I did have to stop and restart my modem. Most, if not all, of the viewers did stay with us through that delay.

The rest of the time, the audio and video has been fine.

How can internet marketers make money with online church services in today’s world?

In a world where we are constantly looking for more content and more traffic to our websites, this is one way both of those things can be accomplished, just make sure your blog readers are OK with this addition to your other content.

Some who come to your blog for the service will look around to see what else you have to offer.

Thanks for reading.

I hope you enjoyed these tips for novice internet marketers. If you would like to see more blog entries in my faith-based category, click here.

If you would like to check out some of my books, click here.

February 14, 2020February 14, 2020

What Is the Cumulative Effect? Encouragement?

What is the cumulative that causes encouragement. I had accomplished much more than I realized.

I have been involved in a writing project that has taken far longer than I anticipated. I have written snippets, research items, whole paragraphs, and rough-drafted chapters. My discouragement has slowed me down at times. Most of those items have been collected in a writing application known as Scrivener. What is the cumulative effect of all this effort?

Besides items saved in Scrivener, several of the chapters were already saved in a Word document.

I was discouraged because of the difficulty of collaborating with extremely busy co-authors (through nobody’s fault), the struggle with producing “good-enough” writing, and working within my own busy schedule. Finally I came to the end of what some writing coaches call, “the vomit draft.” I decided to print out the whole thing and put it in a notebook.

What is the cumulative effect of scattered writing? Encouragement when it is all put together.

This is not the actual title or cover art for the book.

The encouraging thing that happened when I printed this out is that it came to 450 pages. It is double-spaced, but it would probably be 300-350 pages even single-spaced.

When it comes to writing a rough draft, you just need to keep plugging away. Part of the reason I was discouraged on this project is because I teach on the topic of How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less – Without Stressing Yourself to Death. I have accomplished that task more than once, but this was a different kind of project.

Since I had the writing scattered in different places, I really didn’t know how much had been accomplished.

By having this volume of material, It will be a matter of tightening the writing. Many editors actually describe editing as cutting out much of the material. That will certainly be necessary here, but it is encouraging to know that I can be ruthless in that cutting process.

What is the cumulative effect of the scattered writing? The sheer volume means I can be ruthless in editing.

If I had not printed the paper copy, I would not have realized what had been accomplished up to the point.

There is still a ton of work to do, but at least a rough draft is done.

This experience has shown the importance of perseverance in writing.

Have you had similar experiences in hitting roadblocks in writing or in reaching business goals? We would really be glad to hear from you. You could ask a question, or, better yet, give us some helpful tips in the comments section below.

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020

Success When Preparation Meets Opportunity – Our Unplanned Day

Success when preparation meets opportunity can be illustrated when what seems to be luck manifests itself.

Yesterday, Rhonda and I just took a day off. We had plenty of things we could have done, but we just recently came into a position of a little increased cash flow.

We both were in the mood to act on impulse. We had seen TV commercials of steak and lobster deals at a well-known restaurant featuring a country, recently known for outbreaks of fires. We decided to go to that restaurant..

We like where we live, but we would have to drive 60 miles to get to that restaurant for the TV deal.

Our Great Unplanned Day

We just took off.

Working from home and being your own boss is great!

The sky was overcast. We could have taken the fastest route, which would have been Interstate 57 and Interstate 24. We were headed to Paducah, Ky.

We decided, rather, to take the scenic route. In fact we just drove in the general direction of our destination. There is no shortage of deer in Southern Illinois. Speaking of the steakhouse we were going to, we previously visited the country it is known for. That was several years ago, but we were surprised to see that kangaroos were just as plentiful there as the deer are here.

We did see some deer. We saw some parts of our countryside that made us feel a little like Daniel Boone when he said, “No, I was never lost, but I was a might bewildered once for three days.” I kept singing, “Three-hour tour” (If you know about Gilligan’s Island, you will get that.)” Finally, we turned on the GPS and confirmed that we were going to end up on a familiar road again.

We did have some general ideas of what we wanted to accomplish. I needed a new suit, and we remembered a clothing store there where I had bought one abut 20 years ago. We knew it was still there because it had advertised on TV too.

I went there and found one. They held it for us while we went to eat lunch.

Then we went to a couple of home improvement stores and found some new stick-on plank flooring. We are going to use it in our bathroom.

We did have a good meal, but, most of all, we just enjoyed the day together. We checked prices on suits and went to the Kentucky Oaks Mall. We went back and bought that first suit I tried on. We even did something exciting like grocery shopping.

Vacation Unplanned Days

Unplanned days can be really great. In fact, when we go on vacation, we usually try to plan to have an unplanned day. Lot’s of times we end up playing miniature golf, but it is not necessarily planned. Sometimes, many times, those are the highlights of the trip.

I have a friend who tells about the time he and his wife just started driving west. They had a several-day vacation without any planning at all. I’m not sure they recommend that all the time or for everyone, but they said they had a wonderful time on that particular occasion.

One year, when our children were small, I had a trip planned for work. The week before it was supposed to take place, the organizers cancelled the business event. It just happened to be during the spring break for school. The kids were off. I was scheduled to be off. I suddenly turned to Rhonda and said, “Let’s go to Disney World!” Rhonda looked a little surprised, but she agreed. We packed and left. At that time we lived only 8 hours away. It tuned out to be a fabulous vacation.

The Value of Rest

Unplanned days can be great for rest and relaxation. What is the value of working so hard toward your goals (which are extremely important) if you don’t get to enjoy life along the way?

Rest and getting way from stress can also be great rebuilders for increased productivity when you get back in the swing of things.

Success When Preparation Meets Opportunity

Sometimes it looks like “luck” when we obtain success.

Rhonda and I went to the Kentucky Opry two or three years ago. It featured some young musicians. The MC of most of their programs teaches some music, and several of his students were on the stage. He, on more than one occasion, called on some of them to jump in on some of the songs unrehearsed. They did very well. He made the statement, “Success comes when preparation meets opportunity.”

Sometimes opportunity presents itself when you don’t really expect it. That is why you need to be ready at all times.

When you learn new techniques, you may not be very good at using them at first, but when you keep trying, you improve. If you continue long enough, you get to where you are actually good at utilizing those techniques.

Rodney Miller and Jann Carl are the co-hosts of a great TV program called, Small Town Big Deal. They tell of going into many meetings trying to gain sponsors or investors. They were turned down many times, but their attitude is, “No meeting is a bad meeting.” They say they always learn something. They learn new ways to pitch their ideas. They get smoother at making their presentations. Every meeting is an opportunity to improve, to prepare more. Eventually, they had more positive results with many of their meetings.

The point is, in your business, you just need to keep preparing. Many successful business coaches have evaluated other businesses. While no one can predict the future, these experienced entrepreneurs observed the failing business, and they were convinced that the failed businesses were very close to success. Because of their own experience of staying with it until things turned around, these evaluators have a reason for thinking others were very close to reaching their goals.

Conclusion

Prepare, and you will be ready when opportunity comes.

On the way to success, though, take some time to enjoy yourself. You can get to the place where you can enjoy some unplanned days.

If you would like know more about some more business tips like these, click here. If you interested in some great training that would help you to be prepared to meet opportunity, check this out.

I would like to know your ideas about this. Have you had some good unplanned days? Have you had unexpected opportunities come your way? Please let me know in the comments section below.