CVC Succcess Group coaches Jerry & Sheryl Isenhour
In this week’s episode of The Chimney & Fireplace Network Podcast we will be talking about Groundhog Day. That’s right- Groundhog Day. We will talk a little bit about the holiday and the movie, but most importantly, how reliving the same business blunders causes more chaos in your business than you can imagine. Jerry and Sheryl will give some of their tips and tactics on how to make changes to move on from living those business blunders and move steps closer to success.
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: I want to welcome you to today’s episode of the chimney and fireplace success network. You know it’s January 31st as we record this, and one of our favorite days of the year is coming up in just a couple of days. It’s a holiday, it’s called groundhog day. So today, we are going to talk about Groundhog Day.
The Groundhog Effect
We are going to talk about what I call the groundhog effect. When I started coaching back about a decade ago, one of the things that I picked up on was groundhog and the movie groundhog day. And how as human beings, we often repeat the same actions over and over and over, but we expect different results. And that’s what that movie was all about.
So stay tuned with me, we’ll be right back, and we’re going to talk about; Sheryl and I are going to share with you some of our own experiences, what we see where people repeat their same actions over and over. And how you got to have that magic moment of change somewhere in your life.
Jerry I.: If you ever watch Groundhog Day the movie, the whole principal player here was Bill Murray, who was the star of the show. Along with Eddie McDowell and Chris Elliot starred in this movie. It was written by Harold Ramus and also Danny Rubin. And what it involved was a weatherman that lived the same day over and over and over.
He went to Punxsutawney Pennsylvania for the Groundhog Day celebration there, and he just kept waking up every morning and repeating the same action day after day after day. So he went through some life changes. Sheryl, what do you think about Groundhog Day? And being trapped in a time loop that forces you to relive that same day over and over and over?
He Needed To Change Things To Get Out Of The Loop
Shery lsenhour: Well, some days I feel like I live it over and over. You do the same thing; I mean, I feel like I fixed the puppy’s breakfast 12 times a day; it just goes on and on. And we all do that, we all do things in a, it’s a pattern. But in the movie, it was like he needed to change things to get out of the loop, and he learned from each change. And I see it happening every day with people, it’s not an unusual factor.
Jerry I.: Right. One of the things that they say is a definition of insanity, where we do the same things over and over again, and we expect that different results will occur. And like I said, that has been defined as insanity.
One Of The Leading Comedies Of The Decade
That is one of the things about Groundhog Day, the movie. It was actually judged as one of the leading comedies of that decade. And it’s been celebrated through a lot of different cultures because it says so much about us as human beings and how we repeat the same actions over and over and over again.
So as we go through this, Sheryl, do you know times in your life besides just the puppies where it seems like repeat the same action? How does it take you to stop it?
You Have The Habit Of Doing The Same Things The Same Way Over And Over
Sheryl: You’re in a habit, let us put it that way. That’s the beginning, I think of the insanity thing. You’ve got this habit of doing things the same way over and over and over as you say. And the bad part about, a lot of our habits they’re not good.
You and I, in the last couple of weeks, have experienced some habits that weren’t good. And the only way we’re able to change them and make them better is to get rid of that habit and put a new one in. But we all tend to do that. And yes, some days, it seems insane, but I think a lot of it starts with habits that we are not willing to break, and that starts the circle.
Monotonous, Unpleasant, and Repetitive
Jerry I.: Right. And you know a couple of words that I looked up, connected with the movie Groundhog Day here’s some words. Monotonous, unpleasant, and repetitive situations. So like Sheryl just shared with you. Actually, we went through, and personally, I’ve come to some severe revelations in the last couple of weeks because of some abrupt changes in my life.
So you’re aware, just a few short weeks ago, in fact, a week and a half ago, I suffered a heart attack. Sitting right here at my desk where I’m sitting right now recording in, and all of a sudden, I had a heart attack. And I had to go to the hospital in the ambulance and go through some changes; they had to do some things to get me past this.
But as I look back after this, and look back, the signs were all there. The signs had been there for years, but I was ignoring those signs. I had been smoking for 52 years, 52 years. Even though every single pack of cigarettes that I opened always told me that there was a danger with this and the diseases that could become.
And all the people that cared about me telling me you need to stop smoking, I kept doing it. I also didn’t look at my eating habits, what I was digesting. It was like, hey, the more country ham, the better. The salty foods, all the other things. Sheryl, let me ask you a question. Did you see the signs of this looking back now?
You Assume That Others Are Looking At Their Own Signs
Sheryl: I did. The thing is, you assume that the person is looking at their own signs. And we do not tend to, we ignore ours number one, and it is easier to ignore someone else’s because you assume, and we know what that means, that that person’s seeing their own problem and should be taking care of it.
Jerry I.: Right. So for me, the heart attack that I suffered, I’m actually going to say today that it was a magic moment. And this heart attack is probably hopefully going to enable me to live many more years. And why is that? Because now I realize that I’ve got to make changes in my habits and my lifestyle. Or I am not going to be here on this earth.
Taking that ambulance ride that day and looking out the back window as my home disappeared in the distance, that was a true magic moment. And that day that this occurred, I thought to myself, self, will you be coming back down this road again? Or is this your final ride in life? Sheryl, what did it feel like to you that day, when they took me out in the ambulance and put me in, and you saw that ambulance going down the driveway? What was going through your mind at that time?
Sheryl: Well, the one thing I knew, I knew it was the widow maker. I knew it wasn’t a light heart pack. I knew that you didn’t see it as quite that bad. But from sitting back and watching them work on you, I saw it. And as you rode away, my thought was, is it going to make it to the hospital, and if he is, am I going to make it there in time? And yes, it was hard thinking maybe, like you say, it was your last ride.
Jerry I.: Right. And I had a checkup earlier this week, and today in COVID world that we’re in, this was done through virtual means. I had a meeting with my nurse practitioner; we have to take my daily signs here, we have to take my blood pressure.
I have to weigh myself every day. We are checking blood pressure, weights, all these other things that I must keep up with now and report to my nurse practitioner. But as I go along again, this was a magic moment.
Even though I knew that my habits could kill me if I did not change them, I kept going through them. And as I look at people that are trying to change in their businesses, I wonder, is this what it goes through. Is it denial that it won’t happen to me? What is your thought on this denial, Sheryl?
Most People Do Not And Will not Change
Sheryl: Denials is fair, and that most people do not and will not change. They don’t think it’ll ever happen to me. And we watch businesses every day that number one gets stagnant, they get stagnant because they do the same thing every day, and eventually if you are not careful, and you are on the wrong path with those same things.
You have Got To Have That Magic Moment
Yes, it is bad in your business; it can totally ruin it. As you say, you have got to have that magic moment to pull you out of those bad ways.
Jerry I.: Right. So what we’re talking about here, like I said, you need to look at this yourself. Are they things that are your magic moments that are hanging out there for you one day? Are there things in the habits that you’re doing? Are you expecting different results? But you’re not making the changes for those results to happen? Are you waiting for the bad things to happen? You see, that’s where I look at this. I had a magic moment in life, and now I have been given the second chance in life, but not everybody gets that.
Like I said when they told me that the type of heart attack I have, they call it the widow maker; you better believe that grasped me when I heard those words. Sitting in a hospital for a couple of days in my hospital room, with no visitors because of COVID, the reality of this came through so clearly. So that is the message I want to get out to you today.
What Is The Pain You Are Suffering
What are the things that you are going through in life? What is the pain that you are suffering, that you could make changes to stop this pain? Sheryl, what do you see that people could stop some of this pain if they would open up their eyes and deal with the reality of what they’ve got to do?
Make The Mistake Of Throwing Them Into The Fire
Sheryl: One of the things, and I am just giving you as an example, you know that I do hiring for people. You get people in over and over; I watch not just one owner make the mistake of throwing them into the fire once they hire them; they don’t do their onboarding. If they would get in the habit of doing the onboarding correctly, they could get out of this hiring loop, hiring repeatedly.
Jerry I.: Okay. So you’re seeing that one of the resolutions of the pain, which is the hiring issue, would fall back to taking the right processes and using the onboarding principles of Brandy, yourself, myself as we’ve been stressing for years now. You’re seeing that this could make a change if they would change their habits of when they hire people and stop throwing them right out into the fray, and then going towards failure.
I Grew Up In An Era Where You Got A Job You Went To Work And Stayed There
Sheryl: I see that clear. I mean, years ago, you and I grew up in an era where you got a job, you went to work, and you stayed there forever, or at least many years.
Now, the newer generations, as they come along, are not looking for that longevity, they’re going from job to job, and the speed they go there is up to the employer, whether they’re going to be there six months or five years. So, it is basically if you do not do it, it is just one of those trial and error; you cannot throw them to the wolves anymore because the longevity is not there.
We Do Not Know Right Now If Phil Will See His Shadow
Jerry I.: So anyway, as you are listening to this, Groundhog Day is done coming on. We don’t know right now if Phil saw his shadow or not up in Punxsutawney. By the time this comes out, we’ll all know. Will it be kind of a funny thing to look at? Yes. That’s what’s so enjoyable about this groundhog thing every year, Groundhog Day; we get to watch it.
But the message I want to get to you today is if you’re repeating actions over and over that are not delivering the results that you’re looking for, is it time for that magic moment in life? Is it time for the magic moment in the way you run your business and you run your life. Sheryl, what would you say about the repetitive actions people are taking that lead them to continuous ongoing failures?
Repetitive Wrongdoings Are Not Funny At All
Sheryl: Well, like you said, the movie was funny. But if you keep repeating the same thing over with the same result and not getting the result you want, you’re going to get devastated, and you’re going to give up. Again, repetitive wrongdoings are not funny at all.
Jerry I.: No, they are not. And with that, we’re going to end this episode of the chimney and fireplace success network. As always, it’s an honor, it’s a pleasure, and it’s a privilege to share our thoughts with you each and every week. Join us next week for another episode of the chimney and fireplace success network.