The Invisible Bridge

The Invisible Bridge

By 

Eric Twiggs

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase."  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

My favorite Indiana Jones movie was "The Last Crusade" starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.  Indiana Jones, the lead character played by Harrison Ford, was in hot pursuit of the Holy Grail. 

He was following a map and making progress toward his goal.  He had reached a point in his journey where he could see where the Grail was hidden.  His goal was in sight!

There was one big problem.  The Holy Grail was on the other side of what appeared to be a deep abyss.  Dr. Jones had a choice to make.  He could play it safe by staying on his side of the cliff, or move forward as the map was guiding him, while risking a fall into the abyss. 

He pressed forward raising his foot in the air.  Suddenly, when it seemed his fall was certain, his foot landed on an invisible bridge.  As he kept moving the walkway became visible in front of him, and he made it to the other side. 

You may not be chasing a "Holy Grail", but I'll bet your dream involves having the freedom to control your time.  If freedom didn’t require stepping off the cliff, every shop owner would have it. So how do you cross the invisible bridge?    Keep reading and you will learn two strategies to help you take the next step. 

Embrace Discomfort

You’ll reach the point in your journey where taking the next step makes you uncomfortable.  You feel a knot in your stomach as you set up the parts matrix.  You get a lump in your throat before you conduct an employee one on one. The fact that it scares you is confirmation that you need to do it!

 If you join a gym, and your body feels comfortable after every workout, it's time to find a new gym!  The feeling of soreness is a side effect of muscle growth. 

Pressing forward, in spite of how you feel, is like crossing the invisible bridge.   You didn’t start your business just to stay on your side of the cliff did you? 

Recruit When Scared

You want to hire your replacement, but fear business will dry up and he'll no longer be affordable.  I get it.  I could retire tomorrow if I had a dollar for every time a client has mentioned this!  The difference between the top shops and everyone else is they feel the fear, but do it anyway. They trust their map. 

Several weeks ago, I was speaking with my clients Mark and Donna from Kens Automotive.  They wanted to bring on a service manager, but had concerns about being able to afford him.  They feared the possibility of business slowing down, but pressed forward in spite of their fears.

The new manager has been in place for three weeks and their sales have improved by $9K per week! Last week they finished with $40k which was their best performance ever!   

Summary

Indiana Jones stepped off the cliff because he had faith in his map.   ATI has the road-map to your dream.  If you embrace discomfort and recruit when scared, you can get what's on the other side of the invisible bridge. 

Sincerely,

Eric Twiggs

For more information on how ATI can become your road-map, visit www.autotraining.net

PS.  I have a list of hiring resources that have been helping our clients to find great people.  Email me at etwiggs@autotraining.net if you would like a copy!