CVC Succcess Group coaches Jerry & Sheryl Isenhour
How do you face the challenges of running a business? From the time we wake up in the morning until we go to bed, we face a multitude of challenges throughout every single day. What sets each of us apart is how we deal with those challenges. On this episode of The Chimney and Fireplace Success Network we will talk about gaining clarity and how clarity can help you to envision the right path to follow, to get you through (and past) the challenges that the business and personal world seems to throw at us on a daily basis. Challenges are a part of life, we will never not have them in our lives, but we can find new ways to handle them and get through them with ease.
The Chimney and Fireplace Success Network is a weekly podcast brought to you by the CVC Success Group and hosted by industry expert, Jerry Isenhour. Each week you will find new presentations to assist business owners and managers in turning their business dreams into their business realities.
Transcript
Jerry Isenhour.: 2020, has there ever been a year of challenges that is presented like this? You know, it really doesn’t seem right. As we’ve gone through the year 2020, the challenges just keep coming at us. And I know that you are facing challenges also, just like we are in our lives, wondering what is next.
Life Seems To Be Full Of Challenges
Because life seems to be full of challenges, so that is going to be the subject matter we are going to talk about today, is the challenges of the present world. So stick around with me; we’ll be right back. And we’ll talk about the challenges of 2020 and what we’re probably going to face in 2021. So don’t go anywhere, stick around, we’ll be right back.
As I started putting my thoughts together about challenges, for some reason, I started thinking about my youngest son and many years ago. When he came back from a movie he saw, by the name of an American Tale. And what was the movie American tale? It was about a mouse. But I remember my son came back and he was singing the theme song, about a mouse by the name of Fievel.
And what happened was that Fievel was raised in Russia, and his home was invaded by cats. And he and his family lost their home. So what did they decide to do? They decided to go to America. They boarded a ship bound for America. But the ship ran into rough seas, and when it ran into rough seas, Fievel ended up in a bottle, and he floated to America, all alone. And when he got to America, his dream was to find his family.
Think about that, as you’re facing the challenges that we face today, think what it’s like as a small child today. Think about your own children or grandchildren just like we do; look at how their lives have been disrupted. And they really don’t understand. Again, takes me back to a younger time in my own childhood. I can remember this day; I will tell you the date.
The Day John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated
It was November 22nd of 1963. And if you’re a student of history, you should recall that was the day that John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the president of the United States, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. And I still remember that day and seeing teachers who were crying. Hey, we got a day out of school because we were able to watch the presidential funeral. And through the weekend, I also saw something for the first time in my life.
I watched as Jack Ruby gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald in the jail basements. Again, challenges. And as a child, again, it’s so hard to decide where we’re going to go. As I look at my own life going forward, and all the challenges that Sheryl and myself have faced, and even before I ever met Sheryl, the challenges that we go through. You know today, what’s a major challenge today? We hear it every day. COVID-19, the coronavirus.
Increasing numbers of people who have been stricken
And we hear of new restrictions, we hear of increasing numbers of people who have been stricken with the Corona Virus. And are you like me and wake up in the middle of the night sometimes, wondering what the future holds? Wondering what do we do next? As we look, we are recording this episode before thanksgiving. And we’re right in the middle of what I’m going to call the never-ending election, the never-ending election. Because the challenges to the recent election just keep going on and on.
Now, I’m not saying this because one side or the other is right or wrong. My bigger thing is what are the challenges this is presenting to our country. And what is the challenges this are going to dump on us as American citizens, as business owners in the United States of America. The greatest country in the world, where else would you want to be really, but there are challenges. When you look at it, we are now facing a time that we live in a day and time when we cannot cross certain state lines, that is right.
States you are not allowed to go into
For example, the state of New York, have you looked how many states that you are a citizen of that you are not allowed to go into New York or Connecticut or Massachusetts or New Jersey or other states. Look at how things have affected us. But let me ask you this, what if you ran a business that was challenged with the occupancy rates, the amount of customers that you could handle. Or if you were told like some restaurants are being told today, you can’t have indoor dining.
It is coming in the wintertime, and you are certainly not going to be into outdoor dining, what a challenge. You know, if you’re listening this, you’re probably in the blue-collar industries, you’re probably in the home service industries. And the challenges you face may just be an overwhelming workload, an overwhelming workload that’s blocking your vision of how to develop your strategies for the future.
Because all you’re doing is working and working and working, going and running and running and running. But here’s the answer, life is going to always present us challenges to us. As human beings, as leaders, as business owners, the challenges just continue to come at us. But what we have got to do when we face the challenges, we got to stop.
We have got to clear our minds
We have got to clear our minds; we must clear our brains. And what we’ve got to do is be able to get our thoughts together. To set up our GPS, our map, where are we going to go to in this world? What’s next? That is why you are a leader. You’re a leader because you’re the person that has to lead those that follow you. You’re the person that has to lay out the plan; you’re the person that has to provide the strategy.
But one of my fears right now is, so many people are locked into today and the challenges of today; they’re not facing the challenges of the future. You got to understand what those challenges are. If you’re in business, where are your customers coming from in the future? If you’re in business, and your backlog is overloading you, what’s going to happen today? That phone slows down. What is going to happen the day that the demand for your services decreases?
Establish it with clarity and focus
What is going to happen? Because that’s what you have to do. You got to be able to filter through the challenges. You got to be able to focus on where you’ve been and where you’re going and set your path going forward. And establish it with clarity and focus to see where you’re going to, that’s what you’ve got to do. You got to be concerned about the future. You know again, it is right before Thanksgiving; the holidays are ahead.
And this year promises to be probably different holidays than we’ve ever seen. Will there be parades? Will there be Christmas tree lighting ceremonies? What does the future hold? You know none of us can change the world; that’s the way it is. None of us have the ability; none of us have the reach to be able to change the world. But what each of us can do is set our own paths, develop where we’re going, develop our strategies. Because what you got to do is remember what’s that dream, what you’re working for, what are you expending all your time and your effort into? So, filter through the challenges, filter through.
Determine the one thing that if you could conquer
Determine what the one thing is that you can do, the one thing that if you could conquer, if you could challenge, you could conquer that one challenge. What kind of effect would it have on your life? What kind of effect would it have on your business? That’s what you’ve got to do. Because as a winner, and I know you are a winner, you got to come to terms with the ways you are going to face your challenges in this world to move.
That dream that you hold so sacred
Because that dream is still there, that dream that you hold so sacred of where you want to go and what do you want to be in this world. And with that, I’m going to turn the mic over to Sheryl. I have no idea what the wisdom is she’s going to share with you this week. But I’m sure as always; it’ll be a time of value for you. So, stick around, don’t go anywhere; Sheryl be with you right after this short message.
Shery Isenhour: Challenges? Who has challenges? I’m facing one right now, kind of unusual for me. I’m one of these people; I like to at least have some notes when I’m doing these. Because it gives me a security blanket, it is the best way I can put it.
My notes were gone
Something to look back on that I can see that I can follow. But today, just about the time I got ready to do this, I opened my computer, and my notes were gone. We are free freewheeling today, and if anybody knows me, I can talk, have no problem with that. But I like to know what I’m talking about.
The one thing that I do know what I’m talking about is challenges; we all have them. Just think of a world where you didn’t have a challenge; would that not be the most boring place you’ve ever been? I invite a challenge; that is what keeps us on our toes.
What keeps us working towards the goals
That is what keeps us working towards the goals. If you got everything you wanted, every time you wanted it, what would you have to strive for? I look at life a little different from some. I look at it a lot like others. But the way I do it personally is, I reach out, I try to find the things that challenge me, instead of letting them come to me. Go after them because the more challenges you face, believe it or not, the better you get at it. Jerry and I were flooded out last week. Is that a challenge? Oh yes. But what can I do about it?
I couldn’t control the creek; I can’t control that the floor and everything else is wasted. But you fix it, the same way you do with every challenge you’ve got. You stand back; you look at it, you rationalize it, you look at what resources such as money that you have, that you can wean on. And then you just go forward in fixing it.
Today, I found out that my son’s girlfriends lost her nephew of one month old. What kind of a challenge is that? What can you do about it? Honestly, you can’t do anything but face it. It’s the way the world is. Jerry told you about all the things coming and going, things that happened this week many years ago. You get as old as I am; you have lived through a lot of things that have gone wrong.
You faced challenges and you got through them
But you got through them. If you’re still here with me today, you faced challenges, and you got through them. The only thing that’s for sure is the sun’s going to rise tomorrow. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t care how many plans you make, how many notes you write down that can disappear. How many goals you’re searching for, you don’t have total control over.
But you do have the control of how you act to these challenges as they come on. As my mom used to say, just put on your big girl panties and go on with life. And that’s kind of what you do; you do it every day. Some days hurt worse than others. Some days you need somebody to hold your hand, some days you need people to hold more than your hand; they have got to hold you up.
You need to be willing to help other people
And people, you need to be willing to help other people and to hold other people up when they are trying to go through their crisis. That’s a lot of what’s wrong with the world today. We think so much about our self that we don’t take time to think about others.
So during this Thanksgiving weekend, and yes, you may be listening to this after thanksgiving, so you just take the next weekend coming up, and you see it. Take some time, be thankful for what you have, but also be thankful of the challenges that you came through in your life that have made you a better person.
You learn how to help others get through their challenges
Because when you learn from these challenges, you learn how to help others get through theirs. And with that, I’m going to turn it back over to Jerry and let him finish up on an evening that again has been full of challenges that we will face going forward, and we’ll face them with our heads held high. Again, always remember to be able to say I am glad I did instead of I wish I had.
Jerry Isenhour.: You know there is one thing that we know, and that is you can only live a day one time. You can never go back and relive a day. Some years ago, when I started coaching, I came up with the idea of the groundhog. And if you have followed me or I have ever visited you and your client, you know that I’ve got stuffed groundhogs that I call Chuckies.
The definition of insanity
And there are Chuckies all across the United States, and the purpose of Chucky is to remind people that if you do the same thing over and over and expect different results, that’s a definition of insanity. So what you’ve got to do is if you listen this, you got to make a decision that each and every day, you’re going to look at it with clarity, and you’re going to focus down to what you need to do. What are the needed things to meet your challenges in this world?
Because I can assure you, deep down inside of yourself, you got to look deep sometimes. The answers are there for you. That’s what we do as coaches; we don’t tell people how to do it. We help them find the way that they find the answers that are in their own minds, their own brains, they’ve got those answers. And I’ll bet you, I’ll just guarantee you, that if you search deep enough, you focus intently enough, you clean your windshield and look through it with the utmost clarity.
You figure out the right thing to do
You figure out the right thing to do because you cannot go back and redo it; that is one thing as human beings we are not allowed the privilege to do. So step up to the challenges. There are many; we all face them. You just heard Sheryl tell you; she faced a challenge today in doing this podcast. Because usually she puts her thoughts together and has notes, and she came home today, and she told me, I lost my notes. What do you think I need to do?
And I said I think you can handle it. And I heard what she just said, and just like always, she carried it off like a true champion. So we’re CVC success group; we’re a team of subject matter experts. Our mission, our goal, and what we do is help people take those business dreams that they have and turn them into their business realities.
Why your business exists
Because see that is why your business exists. It exists to bring you the means to do what you want to do in this world. And that, my friends, is what it’s all about. So appreciate you joining us again today here on this chimney and fireplace success network. Let us know if we can help you negotiate your way to get to your business dreams and turn them into your business realities. Talk to you next time, as always. It’s an honor, it’s a privilege, and it’s a pleasure to be able to speak to you in this way.