Your incompetence could make you wealthy...here’s how

Face it, you are incompetent. Someone has to tell you the truth. Get angry with me, I can take it! It doesn’t feel good to hear the truth, but this time incompetence is a good thing.    @#%$?

I want to challenge you again to a new perspective. The perspective that incompetence is great and you should love every minute of it. I do.

So… in my outside voice while pointing my finger I shout “YOU ARE INCOMPETENT!” 

Your first reaction may be anger. 

The second may be to defend yourself to its lie. The third reaction is realizing its truth. The fourth reaction is thinking about all the areas of your incompetence and laughing hysterically at yourself. Once you get to level #4 you can begin to see the light. You may come to enjoy being incompetent in many areas. Its fun to allow other people to step in where you fall short (by the way, if you are struggling with this post, you may want to go read the post on pride read it here).

Is it really possible to be competent at everything? As an entrepreneur I want to say yes because sometimes we are forced to do everything at first. You are the sales person, the producer, the bookkeeper, the repairman, etc. At first this plan works because it has to, but that should change over time. The question is “Has it changed?” Lets face the facts, if you were competent at everything you would continue to do it all yourself. I’m tired just thinking about it. Think of all the downsides... you wouldn’t have any friends because you became that annoying know-it-all. Your business becomes a dreaded job. The economy would be further damaged since you’re hoarding all the jobs. Finally, you are limiting your income potential dramatically. Please turn over a new leaf and accept your incompetence with joy.

For so many entrepreneurs like yourself you are still doing way to much to enjoy your business. 

When I learned to love the areas of my own incompetence it made living a fully alive, satisfied life, possible. I began to see opportunities for more competent people to step in and lend a hand. Realizing you are incompetent in most areas of life feels good because it gives permission to be extremely competent in the areas of your giftedness.

You have permission, I grant it to you, to be incompetent. The pressure to be perfect at everything is finally off. I just cut the ball and chain from your ankle, you’re welcome!

What you will find is wealth beyond measure. 

Deeper relationships 

Greater productivity 

Satisfaction

Inner strength

Less frustration with yourself and others

Relying on other people builds relationships, and relationships in business build profits.

The level of your incompetence will determine the size of your company and the number of hours you work.

Action time:

Write down all the things you take responsibility for:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Etc

Next, circle the two items you are best at. Hire someone else to do the rest. If you can’t afford a full time person try using a Virtual Assistant (VA) for some tasks. I have begun this process myself using elance.com. So far so good. For some great advice on working with VA’s check out Tim Ferriss book The 4-hour work week.

Also if you have any advice for outsourcing, let me know!

To your success and joy in business

Coach Jeff

P.S. I have a free gift for you here.

For those not blessed with tech skills.

Do you remember when geeks were the group you walked past without speaking to... or when you did speak it involved something only you found funny? 

I remember. 

There was a time when I was part of the geek squad and no one wanted to hang around me. In time, I was kicked out because I couldn’t hang at Super Mario Brothers and had never seen Star Wars. 

I then went to the group where they talked all about “MJ.” 

“MJ” this and “MJ” that, how awesome is this MJ thing.”

Come to find out, that thing was Michael Jordan. You probably know what happened next, Yep, I wasn’t allowed in the sports club either. 

That created a time where I was in the middle of nowhere which led to a shady time of my life I am sure will come out in future posts.  

Ah, what the heck, I will tell you a little about it now.

I found “home” with the group of young chaps that liked to sneak out of the house and vandalize the neighborhood.  

If you lived in the Fox Run area of SA, TX anytime between ‘87 and ‘94, I’m sorry. I am sorry if you experienced a late night knock at the door only to answer it with 96 gallons of water rushing at you with hurricane force flooding your living room. Just before you finished turning the front door knob there was a perfectly placed trash can tilted against the door full of water from your own garden hose. That must have really sucked.

Again, really sorry bout that.

Or that Triumph car who left the keys sticking out of the trunk lock. It’s really hard starting a car without those darn keys. And for that poor person who left their windows down only to find wet grass clippings as your new front seat passengers.  What were we supposed to do...I mean the window was open and 5 or 6 bags of grass clippings were only a few feet away. I really am sorry. 

I have to give props to the kid that pepper-sprayed us when we tried to steal his halloween candy. It’s now something I look back and laugh at.

Turtle, (Aka Jeremy) I really am sorry for being an ass to you. You were a cool geek and a good friend.

This confession time has felt pretty good. At least for me. AHHHHHHH.

Times sure have changed ...or have they? Well I won’t say definitively. 

So why the trip down memory lane...?

Getting kicked out of the geek squad made me a little bitter. Nowadays bitterness towards geeks will seriously hold your future back.

No matter who you are and what business you run, the geeks have become the popular kids. Since most of this crazy world is going with the way of technology, you can’t avoid needing a few geeks in your life to get things done. That’s why I have turned my bitterness into appreciation. 

I need a great tech team but right now it’s not in the budget to pay $50-$90 per hour for tech help. If you are in the same boat as me you may want to check out Wix for creating a website. Click here to get connected. 

I highly respect tech guys and gals. Ya’ll do make our lives so much better, at least when we can learn how to make it all work.

All that to say is for hope. For those of us plagued with tech issues (probably because we are reaping what we sowed years ago) I have a solution. The easiest platform that takes the least amount of geek skills to create a website is through WIX.com. If you have ever made a powerpoint or used publisher, word, keynote, pages etc, then you can make a Wix site. They are super simple to operate and easy to change an update daily if you need to. They used to be a totally flash based website program but now they have HTML 5. It’s not always the most stable program but it’s getting better so hit SAVE often and make sure the box that says “site saved successfully” pops up each and every time, or you will have to make your website twice like I did.

Anyways - here is an easy way to put down the frustration between your vision and the tech barrier. Use Wix to build your website, if you are visual and can make a powerpoint or keynote, you can make a WIX site. I built mine twice in one day. When I want to add a page or change something, it can be done in a heart beat. Check out my site to see how it came out.

To your success!

Coach Jeff

P.S. - If you go to my website and sign up for our newsletter. I will send you my newest E-Book, "The 7 Step Formula for Goal Setting Success" absolutely free. 

Is your future wearing concrete boots?

Are concrete boots drowning your potential?


Do you spend a ton of mental time and energy thinking about things you SHOULD do?

I do too, there is no need to be concerned now that there are two of us!

Good news is, there are steps you can take to break into a whole new world. “Should’s” are like concrete boots drowning your future potential. What thoughts and emotions come to mind right after telling yourself you “Should” do something? Is it pure joy? Probably not!

As of right now where do your “should’s” stand?
I should write a book
I should start a business
I should loose weight
I should hire a coach
I should...

“I should” statements are just thoughts. These thoughts, when not acted on, produce self-esteem lowering negativity. On the other hand, acting on them can build your self-esteem.  Building your self-esteem is never a bad thing but I want to challenge you to also “DO” the right thing because not every “should” is lined up with the maximum potential you are meant for.

I believe having a long list of “should’s” actually blocks focus from important things that will give you the most satisfaction.The thing is, we all have “should’s.” How do we decide whether to keep them or throw them away? It’s a tough decision but that’s life, so let’s work through it together.

Here is a personal example. 

I used to make furniture as a hobby. After a few years I decided to turn furniture making into a business. I made the business plan and off I went, Forever Built Furniture was born.
It wasn’t long into the furniture business that I saw an even better opportunity to start an ice sculpture business. Many of you know sculpting ice became a large business doing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. I operated Masterpiece ice for 10 years and then sold it. (You can check out the ice business if you are interested masterpieceice.com. There is a video on the home page that still has me in it).

After starting Masterpiece Ice, furniture making was pushed aside, never to be touched again. The wood-shop laid dormant in the corner of the basement. The hard part was every time I did laundry or worked out in the basement I would see the wood-shop and say “Man, I really should build something.” It ate at me constantly.

After a few years of beating myself up and feeling like I had a set of concrete boots holding me down; I decided to sell the entire wood-shop. It was not getting used and had become a downer for me. It wasn’t long till I found someone to buy the whole shop (Thank you Charlie)! It was heartbreaking at first, but reality set in and told me that it was time to let go of the “should’s” of my past to move on to the bright opportunities of my future. I have this dream for you, to look upon the bright opportunities of your future.

As I mentioned above, unfulfilled “should’s” can lower your self esteem and strip energy that can be used to fulfill the purpose of your future.

Here are my thoughts on how to get rid of the mental junk that is holding you back.

Step 1 - Write down your “should’s”

Step 2 - Ask yourself if the important questions.

How long has it been on my list?
Why should I do it?
Is it aligned with the true purpose that is in my heart?

Step 3 - Evaluate. 

                What is the consequence if I NEVER do them?
                 I find when I ask this question, it refines the list to items that will make a difference.

Step 4 - Delete the one’s that don’t make the cut. 

                 Get rid of the daily reminders that trigger “I should” thoughts.

Step 5 - Release yourself of old “should’s” to make room to soar to new heights.

How is this relevant to you? I am not a mindreader but I feel it’s safe to say that you have a much longer list of “Should’s” than you have of completed work.

“Should’s” can be small and large. My motorcycle sits outside telling me I “should” ride it more, but in reality, do I have the time? Everywhere I travel these days I am either taking stuff with me that won’t fit on the motorcycle or I am taking Henry, my pup with me. Keep it or sell it, that is the question I am wrestling with right now.

As for something small, there are a few emails sitting in my inbox that I “should” respond to, but the only thing I really should do is delete them and move on with my life. Just as you should!

Give yourself permission to throw out the “Should’s” that are like concrete boots.

Stick to only what is most impactful and important.
Free your mind and enjoy your time.


My advice, let reality speak, and listen to what it says.

Reality will give you all that you need to reach the potential you were made for!



If you want help with the “I Should’s” or any part of your business you are always welcomed to give me a call. From mastering your time, to increasing the bottom line, I can help. Contact me through my website at 360businessinc.com.

To your Success!

Coach Jeff