How to take bold action on your business, in a matter of weeks ─ instead of years

This post (with slight modifications) was originally shared on URIJI ─ a reward-based social platform, where users share their stories, talk about their dreams and get support on their way to fulfilling them, rather than simply collecting ‘likes’.

The first ever super intensive, action-taking online workout!

Let’s pretend we are at a TEDx talk and we’re listening to a super inspiring, charismatic speaker.

He involves everyone in his talk, including yourself, makes you laugh every 5 minutes, makes you nod more than usual and you just feel like he describes YOUR exact feeling when he pauses and asks who knows this to be true, and yet never does anything about it? Raise your hand.

The speaker accepts defeat and raises his own hand – now you feel you can trust him even more.

Half the room raises their hand.

You raise your hand, too.

Then, when you leave the room, you share with others how inspiring THIS talk was, how impactful, how exciting and how you feel pumped up, motivated, inspired!

You smile inside.

You glow outside.

Then you go on with your life.

Then one month later, during a discussion, you mention this speech.
Share a great quote you noted on your smartphone.
You remember how amazing the speaker was.
You relive the feeling.
Then you notice!

You still haven’t taken ANY action on THAT matter.

[sigh]

This happens to everyone.
It happens more often than anyone cares to notice.

I have tried to decode this attitude for years.
I applied self-monitoring first.
I kept a journal for every time I felt inspired.
Then I monitored how I forgot all about it.
Then I developed my very own set of moves and ritual for taking action, right there.

On the spot.

before anything faded out.

It became -like- my thing.

Through the years I have been silently observing thousands of touchpoints, that I have encountered in my 20+ years corporate career.

I have pushed myself to learn everything on the matter.

I systematically read books, articles, research reports, blogs, and podcasts. I tested all the online courses and apps that I found and deep dived into the free and paid material from some of the most prominent and effective psychologists, sociologists and high-performance experts.

I collected systematized and tried to modelize all the information I found.

What I have compiled does not qualify, even remotely, as an academic syllabus.

What it does, though, is that it clearly lays out distinctive patterns that seem to be the minimum common denominator that prevents us from taking action or lead us to action.

And they seem to work every time. For everyone.

So now I am working on putting together an entirely new kind of (what I call) Action-Taking Online Course that I dream will become the new industry standard.

It shall focus on: Not learning for knowing. But learning for doing.
Even better: Learning by doing.

HERE’S WHY.

We have a high proof that most online and even real-life training materials, courses, books and talks today often fail to lead to action.

This happens mostly because of one thing.

They don’t focus on EXACTLY WHAT is expected to be done afterwards.

They share information (often in a top-down manner), strategies, and tactics, but do not link them to a specific business objective (or other outcomes) ─ so they lack a frame of reference which is why they give you nothing on the HOW.

On top of this I have sadly confirmed an underlying, but eye-opening truth:

Most people seem to be much more interested in collecting tips and tricks, hacks and ideas, than actually doing anything with them!

It makes them connect better with others.

They can share quotes and tips on social media and be liked.

Learning anything though ends up a knowledge waste when it is NOT implemented.

SO, HERE’S THE IDEA:

We should seek to learn something when we want to GET SOMETHING DONE!

Most importantly before learning anything, we could learn to ask a simple question: What’s the current issue I’m trying to resolve through my learning?

It will be a completely different approach to learning, taking actions and getting to the results we’re after.

WHERE IS THE FUN IN ALL THIS?
Short story about me.

I have been a Les Mills group fitness fan since 2007. I’ve also been obsessively attending sessions in almost every country where I found myself traveling (that coincided with my workout). That’s in more than 15 different countries.

Ever tried Les Mills?

It’s everything that will make you WANT to workout and keep doing so. Every time.

It keeps you all pumped-up and fit, but in a way that is efficient and fun. The high energy, the rapid alternations, the awesome music, the hype, the bonding, and the awesomeness are infused in every single session. Of every one of the tons of different types of sessions.

On top of it?

You can travel around the world and do the same practice in a ton of countries.

The same music, the same movements, the same energy, on more or less the same period of time.

Only two other Brands, I know of, have such a powerful, addictive and long-lasting effect on their fans: Redken and Starbucks.

Take the time to study any of the 3 Brands and you’ll find the common thread.

Unshakably strong values, DNA injected into every action, extreme consistency in the Brand’s image, in any of the countries they’re rolled-out internationally, teams that are on-trend, constantly educated and immersed in the culture, with an authentic tribe-like spirit, cool (and often tattooed ?), where “outfit matters” and where everything happens on music ─ mostly rock and often popping up in unexpected bits of the experience.

In short, these brands have everything it takes to stay highly addictive to their fans ─ which is what happens globally.

That’s my take.

I am also a huge fan of all 3.

Personally, and professionally speaking. I use these Brands, by choice and have invested a huge amount of time and effort in understanding and decoding their respective DNAs and Business Models.

Bottom line ─ now that I am building my own Brand, I am determined to infuse EVERYTHING I know about all 3 into the end-products I dream to deliver.

I’ll explain.

So now, back to what is the closest to everything I want to clone for Business: Les Mills.

Body PUMP, Body ATTACK, Body COMBAT and all of the GRIT series is what has kept me fit and motivated to keeping being fitter for more than a decade now ─ cum’on I don’t do bragging, but hey, I am not perfect, but I am definitely fit.

I have 1500 hours registered in workouts and in at least 10% of this time (this is 150 hours ?) my mind has been systematically shifted this one thing:

How can I take everything that fascinates me in what’s going on here and just load it on an action workout that is not for building body muscle ─ but for building a business?

I have always known there’s something really strong there, but there was only so much I could do from where I was professionally ─ I needed to find a way to focus on designing this from scratch and launch it.

And this way happened last year ─ left corporate and started my own business.

I, since, have experimented online with group courses and found ways to do them pre-recorded too.

I am getting closer at making them more intense, so that action-taking becomes increasingly efficient and also guided ─ so that I can scale it.

Action-taking is like a muscle.
It needs exercise.
Always and on the spot.

So, the current draft-concept looks like this:

“it’s super intensive, action-packed, pre-recorded online course specifically designed to accompany you throughout your entire trip from the moment you ‘take-off’ building an online business (or any other project you dream of) until you successfully complete a 6-week path that gets you to your clearly defined business goals.

Instead of disconnected tactics, ideas and advice, what you get inside this action-taking course is the glue to keep everything together.”

This is the best way I can describe this experience I am currently trying to create:

More personalized than any online lecture-based course or “how-to” video, more customized to your real-life circumstances; and time-tested and proven to work ─every time.

If you’ve made it so far, I’d love your first, unfiltered reaction.
Anything. : -)
Oh and once I craft it all up – you’ll be the first to know!
Cheers,
Let’s do this.
Love.
Cleo