Find Your Thinking Place to Find the Growth Path of Your Business

Many of you men (and/or women!) may not agree with me, but I absolutely love to mow my lawn. It is something that I look forward to every week and almost can’t wait when the time arrives where my grass has grown to the point it needs a quick snip of the tip. I know that’s strange. I know we work hard during the week and all we want to do when the weekend rolls around is to find something relaxing like scratch our bellies and watch football (in this case, I may not be referring to you women!) We look for almost anything that DOESN’T require work.

So why do I love it so much? Because it has become my “thinking place!”

My Business in 360 Degrees While Riding Around My Lawn

When I jump on my lawn tractor, grab my iPod, start it up, and get going the world becomes a place I am completely separated from.   Now maybe it only works because I have a lawn tractor as opposed to a push mower that requires extra effort, but I essentially turn off the rest of the world and get lost in my thoughts and my music.

What ends up happening during this time is the part that I find the most amazing.  It’s when I am sitting there on my tractor riding around my lawn that I do some of my best thinking for my business.  I mean, I know my lawn. I’ve mowed it many times. So when I’m riding around for like the hundredth or so time, my body just naturally seems to know when to turn, stop, back-up, and go forward.  Therefore, my mind seems completely free to think about whatever it wants to!

Being a business owner, my mind quickly jumps to my business and whatever opportunities or growth ideas I’ve had on my mind.  I think and think and think and plan and plan and plan in my head and I can promise you, by the end of EACH time I mow, I’ve got something new figured out. I’ve got something new up my sleeve to try. I’ve got something new that could bring about some great change and results in my business. It sometimes just keeps me in awe how much I can come up with in 40 minutes while “figure-eighting” my way to the end of my lawn.

After doing this for almost 2 years (since I’ve owned a yard to actually mow) you know what I realized?  I’ve always needed to find my “thinking place” so that I could strategically plan and lay out the growth path of my business.  This time, this place has brought about some great things for mPower Consulting and I’ve come to get excited about that time because I’ve learned how to make my business the core focus while I’m there.

So, if it works for me, it can work for you!

I’m not suggesting that you all jump on your mowers and get to thinking strategically. What I’m suggesting is that you determine where you do your best thinking in regards to your business and then purposefully allocate time to be in those places to think strategically about how to take your business to the next level.  Trust me, you’ll be surprised by your results!

Here’s my top 5 tips for finding your “thinking place”:

1.It should be a task or place where there are no distractions, none, notta, zilch, nothing!
2.It should be a task or a place where if you are doing something, it requires little thought or effort (but keeps your body busy since if you’re like me, you can’t sit still!)
3.It should be a place where there is no opportunity to write down your thoughts. Now this is strange I know, BUT if you are writing down your thoughts, you are not opening your mind to flow freely because you’re too busy trying to write down the last thought. SO, this takes practice to remember what you thought, but allows you to follow thoughts to the end without interruption getting a clearer and more complete thought!
4.It is NOT in your home office, work office, or anywhere else you normally conduct business!
5.I recommend that it be somewhere outdoors. Why? Because how can you think “out of the box” if you’re inside a room… which essentially IS “in a box?”  Get out, breathe fresh air, change your scenery and open your mind up to the possibilities!

So, are there any other business owners or professionals that already have their “thinking place?”

If so, where is it or what do you do to get into that place?

*Photo credit to Brenda Anderson