Bryan Franklin

What the DMV can teach entrepreneurs

10 years ago

A few years ago – before I learned the secret cure for Overwhelm and Procrastination (if you haven’t read my last two posts… you should!) , I remember being at the DMV and I was totally stressed and overwhelmed (like most entrepreneurs). I was next in line to get my number, waiting impatiently – and I was watching all of the employees at their various stations do their work. Then I noticed something surprising.

None of them where overwhelmed.

And none of them seemed to be procrastinating.

They each were doing exactly the next thing they needed to do, and they were doing it all at a modest pace, and it didn’t seem to matter how long the line was or how many people were waiting.

There was no procrastination and no overwhelm and that’s when I realized that the reason that so many entrepreneurs feel procrastination and overwhelm is also something that’s beautiful about you.

When Jennifer and I speak in front a group of entrepreneurs where we help them grow their businesses — like at our upcoming Rapid Growth Summit — we will ask the group how many feel procrastination and overwhelm and nearly everybody raises their hand, but yet, at the DMV, nobody feels that way.

You see, entrepreneurs are way more likely to experience overwhelm and procrastination than almost any other group.

Why is that?

Entrepreneurs KNOW how to do more, KNOW how to start more. KNOW how to engage more. And KNOW how to accomplish more. They are MORE ABLE to do a LOT in a day than the average person.

So given that that’s true about you, I started to wonder why you feel that you have to do things that other people don’t feel like they have to do?

And I realized that its your COMMITMENT.

Your commitment to quality, your commitment to your values, your commitment to your customers, your commitment to make a difference in the world, your commitment to prove that you are success, your commitment to work to become the kind of person you know you can be.

And when that level of commitment meets an opportunity — when it meets a chance of something great happening — you convert in your mind, subconsciously, from an “opportunity” to a “must.”

And when you do that, you convert it from “I can do that, ” to “I have to do that.”

Which is, of course, when the procrastination and overwhelm kick in. Because remember:

Procrastination is “I have to do something” paired with “I don’t know where to start.”

Overwhelm is “I have to do something” paired with “I can’t.”

So I just wanted to take a moment acknowledge you for the way you look at opportunity and decide that you have to maximize that opportunity. And that’s a STRENGTH.

You want to nurture that ability, and continue doing that — and even allow yourself to do that more. See BIGGER opportunities. See a bigger pattern of growth, or a bigger foot print, or a bigger impact, and instead of making it a “like to do” or a “maybe one day do” – keep turning that into a “have to.”

That engages your commitment, which is what keeps your entrepreneurial venture flowing.

It’s what will create the future that you want and its what makes sure the value gets delivered to the customers instead of getting lost along the way – like it sometimes does at the DMV.

Now, if you want more resources to deliver on your commitments, check out all of our free stuff at Mind Money Meaning or join us at our Rapid Growth Summit.

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