BB Ep 72: Push Forward and Get Unstuck with Jordan Lee Dooley

You know those awful dreams where you’re desperately trying to run away from someone or something and you can’t get away? You feel like your feet are stuck in blocks of cement. And when you try to scream for help, all that comes out is air. I’ve had that same kind of dream more times than I would like to admit. Regardless of the scenario, the theme is the same: I can’t get away because I’m not in control. Sometimes we can feel like that in real life too. You want to get ahead in your business. But no matter what you do, you just can’t take it to the next level. Or maybe it’s your relationship. You used to laugh and play and go on dates. But not anymore. Or maybe you feel like you’ve lost a piece of yourself, and you can’t figure out why you just don’t have the same gusto or energy you used to have. Related: Perseverance in Your Business: How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up Feeling stuck is hard. But you know what? This is not a bad dream where you can’t run away or scream for help. This is real life, and you are more in control than you realize. With a few small changes, you can regain momentum and get unstuck. Today, I want to share five practical steps you can take to get back to pursuing your goals. Five Steps to Help You Get Unstuck Step 1: Go Back to Your Why We talk about your why all the time at Business Boutique. Knowing it will answer questions like: Why are you doing this? Why is this important to you? Why does this type of success matter to you? I love that these questions can apply to any area of your life—parenting, goal-setting, your marriage, your business, etc. Wherever you’re feeling stuck, remind yourself why this thing or person or work is a gift from God. When you go back to your original motivation, you return to a perspective you probably lost along the way—when you got busy, tired and stuck. Let your why reignite the fire within you. Step 2: Get Moving The very meaning of the word stuck means a lack of movement. But it’s a lot easier to stay moving once you get moving. That’s why your only objective in this step is to take a baby step toward some kind of physical activity. For some, that might be just getting out of bed and putting on clean clothes. For others, it’s putting on makeup or going for a walk. Don’t think about all the things you need to do yet; focus on the smallest step you can take to get moving. It doesn’t have to be directly related to your end goal either. Even just going for a run can you give you the energy you need to get back to work. Step 3: Focus on One Thing at a Time A long to-do list is overwhelming. When you look at all the work that needs to get done, it’s easy to believe you can’t accomplish all of it. Instead, I want you to pick the most urgent task and focus on completing just that one thing. Checking off the first activity from your list will give you a great sense of satisfaction. It’s a quick win, and it’s progress. And any progress is positive. Step 4: Change What You Say We have a tendency to make our problems bigger with the words we use. Confession: I’m the queen of this. If I’m a little overwhelmed, I magnify the issue by talking about it a lot. Related: Is It Fear, or Wisdom? If you only think about how overwhelmed you are and how stuck you feel, then that’s exactly where you’re going to stay. You fan the flame when you talk about it day in and day out. That’s why Step 4 is to change your attitude and change your words. I love how Brené Brown puts it: “Talk to yourself like you would someone you love.” Step 5: Pray The power of prayer is real. If God cares about every dream in your heart, don’t you think He cares that you’re feeling stuck? He’s a way-maker. He makes a way when there seems to be no other way. If you’ve never experienced this, start now. I want to encourage you to pray about the big things and the small things and everything in between. Related: Inviting Faith Into Your Business You might be feeling stuck right now, and we all do in different seasons of life and business. But that’s not where you have to stay. Remind yourself of your why, get moving, focus on one thing at a time, change what you say, and pray. I’m confident that God will get you through this. Persevering When You’re Stuck with Jordan Lee Dooley I am so excited to introduce y’all to Jordan Lee Dooley. She’s a creative entrepreneur, author, speaker, coach and the host of The SHE Podcast. Jordan is an accidental entrepreneur. In college, her boyfriend at the time (now husband!) encouraged her to find a creative outlet. She loved hand lettering, so she started selling mugs on Etsy. It grew so quickly that she had to recruit the help of her sorority sisters to package and ship her products. Her Etsy store expanded to include a personal blog and social media accounts where she would write and share stories of the women in her life. People loved it. That’s when Jordan realized she was running more than just a mug shop. Today, SoulScripts is a lifestyle shop and movement of women supporting other women. On this episode, Jordan and I talk about: The temptations that keep us stuck How to know what the next right step is Why research and trying new things is important Learning from the season you’re in How to take informed steps of faith Living Your Version of Success I’ve noticed something while working with women of all ages and stages of business: We have a lot of different ideas about what success looks like. Years ago, when I was doing research for Business Boutique, I talked to some women who just wanted to make a couple extra hundred dollars a month to help pay for their kid’s sports. Others wanted to run a seven-figure business, grow a team, and open multiple locations. Here is what is so beautiful: The heart behind both of those dreams, and everything in between, is what really matters. Because it’s not your top-line or bottom-line growth or how many team members you have that’s important. It’s whether you’re happy and feel successful in your dream. If you want to make a little extra money for soccer or a trip to Disneyland, that’s valid and worthy and you should chase that dream. If you want your company to be a national brand and have multiple locations, that’s also valid and worthy. Both of those dreams are important because they’re yours.   Related: Shake Off Your Shame Don’t look to others to define success. Just make money doing what you love. So, how do you define success? Write it down. It might change in the future, so just focus on your version of success right now. In my research, I found that as women achieved their version of success, their dreams and goals got bigger. As their confidence grew, their dreams grew. You have the right—in fact, you have the responsibility—to chase your version of success. So, what’s that going to be? #AskChristyWright On this segment of #AskChristyWright, we talk about the pros and cons of launching a course versus a subscription membership site. If you have a question for me, call my toll-free number 844-944-1074 for a chance to be featured on the show. 1:27 Five Steps to Help You Get Unstuck 16:48 Persevering When You’re Stuck with Jordan Lee Dooley 42:58 #AskChristyWright 45:48 Challenge: Live Your Version of Success Resources Business Boutique Conference The Business Boutique Conference is coming back to Nashville Oct. 24–26. If you want to learn how to grow your business and chase your dream, you don’t want to miss this event. To save $10 on any Business Boutique Conference ticket, use the code BBWRIGHT. Sponsors Check out our friends at DesignCrowd. If you’re looking for design work for your business, anything from a logo – to business cards – to your website, DesignCrowd is offering you, my Business Boutique listeners, a special offer to save up to $100 when you start your next project. Simply enter the discount code “BB” when posting a project on DesignCrowd. Or visit DesignCrowd.com/BB. If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at [email protected]. New podcast episodes are available every other week.