Become Unstoppable. What does that have to do with Improv and our life?
Have you ever been in a theater group?
Maybe in High School?
What is the most fun and also the scariest?
Improv is like life because we need to respond in the moment as we go through life in different situations, when we interact with people and build relationships. We don’t have a script about how we are to respond or act as we move through life. We need to trust our gut and go.
The reason I liken Improv to life is because it lacks preparation for being in the moment.
When we think about Improv, many of us think about comedy and wonder, how can they be so funny and in the moment?
I did some research on Improv and discovered there are guidelines that Improv players follow to make it work. I discovered that these guidelines are actually helpful as you look at being successful in business. Why is improv a lesson to becoming unstoppable?
Being in your own business where you are the boss, holds you to a higher standard. You are now reporting to yourself. You will need to become fearless, think in the moment, keep your limiting beliefs at bay. Think about a person in improv, are they not fearless, in the moment and they are thinking outside of the box as they are responsive in the moment?
When you first make the decision that you want to start your own business and enter the arena of Entrepreneurship and you may want to do this online, you do this with your intellect, but your emotions are there to validate or nix the idea.
What are the secrets to building an unstoppable Self Confidence?
- Believe in yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others. When looking at others, you are only seeing the surface. Build on your strengths, build your skills, focus on your goals and how you will get there.
- It doesn’t mean that the loudest people are the most confident. Learn to trust yourself and your own strengths. Think about the people you admire the most. Is their strength showy and braggadocios? (Many may be feeling insecure.) Most of us admire someone who has depth of character and helps others.
- Keep the things you believe you’re not good at at bay. Focus on what you’re good at and use your strengths to advance yourself. Even people who are successful have things they aren’t good at. Use your strengths to overcome obstacles that may get in your way.
- Use positive affirmations that you believe will become your reality. Your positive self talk may not make you the most confident person, but successful people are good at positive self talk. The best way to help yourself through your own doubts is to remind yourself of what you have accomplished and what you are still capable of doing. Your positive self talk can become more believable to you and changes will come from there.
- Self confidence is about how you feel about yourself. Self confidence isn’t what others are thinking about you. Your self confidence is about who you are, where you are and want to be in your own life and in leadership. When you are sure about what you know and who you are then your self confidence and your ability to lead will be a natural consequence.
- In the Serenity prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. This prayer gives clarity and understanding of what you can do and what may just be a waste of time to move you toward your goal. Make daily choices that will lead you to your goal.
- Jim Rohn, a leader in the personal development arena, had a great story he would tell about judging character, giving you insight into what you can change and what you can’t change.
He tells the story about the frog in the lily pond. A scorpion comes along and asks the frog for a ride across the pond. The frog says, “No way will I take a scorpion across the pond because scorpions sting frogs.” The scorpion declared, “Why would I sting you, I want to get across the pond?” The frog sighed, “If you promise you won’t sting me, I will take you across the pond.” The scorpion promised. So, they set off across the pond. They were pretty close to shore on the other side, and guess what? The scorpion stung the frog. The frog asked,”Why did you do that?” “ I am a scorpion and that is what scorpions do, they sting.” Know what you can change and become a good judge of character. Just as a leopard can’t can’t change their spots, others will do what they do because of who they are.
- Decide to be committed to yourself. If you are true to what you want and are committed, then every day you will accept responsibility for doing the things that are necessary to reach your goals. If you stumble or have setbacks, mount that horse, dust yourself off and don’t give up on yourself. Even if you fall off the horse again, mount the horse again, don’t procrastinate, be true to yourself. Do what it takes to get to the goals you created for yourself.
When you are brand new to online marketing, you will benefit from learning a number of skills. What are the principles to having a business online? First off you need to discover why you want to earn money online. Some may say, I don’t like selling face to face and I hate the rejection. When you market a product of value, everyone will want what you have.
When you embark on a course of training you will discover how and what you want to market. You will learn about sales funnels and Lead capture pages. What are you going to email people once you have their name captured? What kind of value will you bring to the person who is reading what you’ve written. How can you help them?
What are the many connections with business and Improv?
Getting back to Improv and the connection it has to owning your own business. The guidelines for an Improv is that you enter without preparation and you respond in the moment with your feelings and intuition. In our line of work in online marketing we need to be an Improviser, we need to be in the moment and connecting with stories. When we are talking with people we need to be listening before we respond, another principle in Improv. Communication and Creativity are key in Improv and also key in our business. Improv is also about teamwork and building rapport. Aren’t those key elements important in owning a business?
Let me tell you about Paul, one of the persons that is looking to change his life. He has done a lot of odd jobs,construction, which takes a lot of physical exertion. He is looking down the pike and thinking, he doesn’t want his body to wear out and be working this kind of work when he’s in his 40’s.50’s and 60’s. Work is up and down. Sometimes it’s great and other times the times are lean. Sometimes he needs to travel to where the work is.
I ask him, why does he want to work online? He wants to learn new skills so he can develop a stable long term income. He doesn’t want his body to wear out before he can have any fun in life. Does any of that sound familiar?
Getting back to improv. If a character starts going on a story line and his partner says yes, the story can become very entertaining. But what if, he says NO. What happens next? Nothing. Everything stops.
So if you want the story to go on…. what is the answer that keeps it going? Yes.
Saying YES gives you Possibilities.
Many are afraid of failing, so they never start. Failure is a way out. Failing does not mean you’re a failure, you just start again. Fear is what is so immobilizing.
The following is an excerpt from Keith’s Winner’s Path Weekly Newsletter.
I was speaking to a client recently when it struck me how often I find myself coaching people around their fears and worries. Although we may want to better our lives and accelerate our productivity, many of our decisions are governed by fear. We want more, but avoid risks, so we continually produce similar results over again. We fear change, for we may lose some degree of control over the outcome. We fear expressing how we feel or what matters most to us, in fear that it would make us vulnerable. We fear leaving what’s predictable and comfortable, although it may not be best for us. We fear not having and not getting, having what we want and losing it, even getting what we want and no longer wanting it!
If your desire to succeed is strong enough then you’re willing to recognize your fear, realize it and push through it to become unstoppable. Fear is a funny thing, because your old programming can get in the way of you seeing clearly what you can do to work and push through it. 
Listening with every part of your being makes it possible to make the best response. It is also a willingness to change and to play the game that you are choosing.
Johanna Baker is offering you a Challenge
You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t want more in your life.
When you get that queasy feeling in your stomach, be bold, it’s your fear that has just cropped up.
You are your biggest critic.
Your doubts and fears, scare you, but once you decide what you want and step out your world will change.
Make a commitment to yourself.
Yes, I want positive change in my life.
Yes, I am going to be an entrepreneur.
Yes, I am going to build my own business.
Yes, I want to make a difference for me, my family, my children and grandchildren.
Yes, I want to build my legacy.
Yes, I want to leave a positive impact on this earth, that will touch many lives.
I challenge you to be the change you want to see in the world.
You have it in you.
You have a passion and a fire to make a difference.
You may be facing a little fear, can I really do this?.
I challenge you to face the fear and do it anyway.
Be Bold and unstoppable.
See your influence ripple out into the world and make a difference.
Be 10 times Bolder with intention.
Decide to give it your full commitment and willingness to learn and act.
Promise yourself that you will continue to learn and act till success shows up
Only Action produces results.
What plagues most business owners is, what actions will I be taking?
What actions will produce positive cash flow?
A business not making any money will not be around for the long term.
So if you’re ready to make 2016 Your Year – if you’re bold enough to commit, get the mentor-ship and help you need to build a successful business, with residual income – then go ahead and check this out!
To Your Success,
Johanna Baker
Johanna Baker
biobaker@gmail.com
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I have been reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Steven calls this state, “The State of Resistance”. This state of “Resistance”, keeps us in a state of fear and in immobility. We fear the aloneness of being on our own. When we go to a job, we have our co-workers and a boss and our duties are clearly defined. When we start a business we are on our own, we’re afraid of being alone. 
