156- Addressing Entrepreneur rut

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Struggling Biz Podcast show, we discuss the theme of discovering yourself possibly in a RUT as an entrepreneur — and then how to address the situation so that you can overcome what is referred to as “entrepreneur rut” and get out of the rut in which you find yourself STUCK. And yourself “stuck” when you find yourself blocked with a problem and there does not appear to be a clear way out of this situation. So, in order to keep yourself from “digging yourself deeper into an existing rut,” Todd suggests that you ask yourself a list of questions that can help shift your vision from the rut to perhaps a situation where you can find new areas of thinking to make progress on the problem.

Todd titles this episode in his podcast show called The Accidental Creative as “Questions to ask when you are STUCK” — and Todd describes questions that you can use to be more effective by un-blocking yourself when you are STUCK.

The list of these questions are:

Is an assumption in the way?
What is the worst-case scenario?
Could I do the opposite?
How can I thrill the end user?
What am I afraid of?
Do I understand why?
Where else has something similar been done?
What is expected and why?
Who has something to lose?
Who is the enemy, and how do we foil them?
Who could solve this problem with ease and how?
How would my favorite superhero do it?
How would my favorite movie character do it?
Could I change the medium?
Could I ask the question differently?
How would a third grader approach this problem?
What question do I need to answer first?
Is there a resource I’m lacking?
How would I describe the problem in three words?
Are there subproblems to the main problem?
What’s the world like once the problem’s solved?
Who can I call for help?
Can I create a metaphor for the problem?
How would I start over?
What’s the primary block and why?”

And Todd goes into detail for each of these questions.

Now, I, myself, as an entrepreneur, have gone through most of these questions — and I can tell you from experience that this has helped me to get past the noise and the fear and the nervousness and go take bold steps of confidence that can help promote a positive end to the problem in your mind (and thus, in reality). And then the problem becomes something that you can tackle and overcome with planning, resources and execution as an entrepreneur.

I would strongly suggest that you print out and/or record these questions and keep them handily available for you to seek and to which you can refer when you start feeling the ugly urges of the “rut” that is trying to control you. Yes, in my opinion and experience, these 15 minutes from Todd Henry can serve as a good reminder of mental questions that can act as a tool for you to keep on the positive path of success.

And we hope that you can then get into the habit of attacking the tiger of the rut, swing it by its tail, and move forward toward the progress of succeeding in your business and overcoming the “rut.”

Thank you for your attention.