Episode 171 - Building Unstoppable Momentum: Strategies to Keep Your Vision Moving Forward

 Good day and welcome to The Budding Entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host, Randy Bridges. In each episode, we dive into practical business strategies that you can put to work in your business right away. 

We also focus on inspiring stories from leaders who are shaking and making things happen in their industry. It's all about giving you the tools and insights to take you and your business to the next level. So get comfortable and let's jump right in.

All right, all right. We are on episode 171 of the podcast. Today is Friday, October 25th, 2024, which means we are heading out of October and making that turn into the middle of Q4. 

So everybody got to be on our toes here on out. Today we're going to be talking about our topic related to maintaining momentum in your vision. Now we're wrapping up this part of our discussion on vision for the month, and today we're focusing on how to keep that momentum going long after the initial excitement has worn off. 

If you're feeling stuck or you've noticed your team losing energy, especially around the concept of your vision, this episode is for you. Now looking at today's agenda, we'll be breaking down what momentum looks like in your business, why it matters, and how losing it can derail your vision. I'll share a story as a brief case study about a business owner I worked with who struggled with burnout and lost focus. 

We'll discuss how he reignited his company's momentum through practical steps that you can use to help you and your team keep your own energy alive even when things get tough. And finally, we'll talk about the power of consistent habits and accountability in driving forward progress. Now before we dive into all of that, I want to start us off with two quotes for the week. 

Winston Churchill said, no boy or girl should ever be disheartened by lack or success in their use, but should diligently and faithfully continue to persevere and make up for lost time. Now there is another quote often attributed to Churchill. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where it actually comes from, because if you look at a lot of the Churchill information, they say that quote never came from him. 

Still, it's relevant to our topic of the day, so I want to read it as is. This quote is, success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. 

And it's similar I'm sure to what Churchill would say, but again I couldn't confirm it with my research that it is his. And regardless of who said it, it really resonates with today's topic. Because maintaining momentum in your vision isn't about never encountering challenges, it's about pushing forward regardless of them.

Now that we've kind of covered all that, we're going to dive into our business strategy section. It's entitled, Building Unstoppable Momentum, Strategies to Keep Your Vision Moving Forward. Let's start with why momentum is so important to your business. 

You know that feeling after the start of a new project where everything's exciting and your energy is high? That's momentum in action. You see, after something gets moving, meaning it's no longer stationary, momentum is the resistance to stopping. It's the ongoing result that keeps things going in a given direction, at a given speed, as long as no contrary force is applied to it. 

That sounds a little science-y, but if you stop and think about the science behind it, it actually makes sense. Because momentum matters. It's the ongoing force that pushes you and your team forward, even on those tough days.

When you've got momentum, obstacles don't seem as daunting and progress happens naturally. But momentum doesn't last forever on its own. You see, there is often a contrary force.

We often call it friction, that will slow down or kill your momentum. And without momentum, even the clearest, most exciting vision can start to feel like a chore. And that's where a lot of business owners find themselves, stuck in the day-to-day grind with their big vision sitting on the back burner. 

When you lose that momentum, everything feels ten times harder. So let's talk about what struggling with momentum looks like. I once worked with a business owner, we'll call him Mark, who started out with a clear vision and loads of energy. 

We worked very hard on that, and it was going really well. He was all in. Unfortunately, he did work a lot of hours, doing his best to make things happen. 

What came out of that is that over time, Mark started to feel overwhelmed. His energy dropped, and unfortunately, so did his teams. And instead of pushing towards that big vision, they were all just trying to keep up with the day-to-day tasks. 

Mark became plainly burned out. His team was disengaged, and the vision they had was buried under all the busy work that they were doing. You see, the problem wasn't that Mark didn't have a great vision. 

It was that he lost the momentum to drive it forward. And this happens to so many entrepreneurs. You start out strong, but somewhere along the way, the excitement fades, and you get stuck in the grind. 

So how do you get unstuck when that happens? Well, it starts by revisiting your vision. Take a step back and reconnect with your original purpose. Why did you start this business in the first place? Why does your vision matter to you? This is what Mark did. 

And we learned a lot about this as he went through this, dealing with the overwhelm, and dealing with the burnout, and the team just not making the progress or the perfection they were looking for. He had to realize that you can't do this alone, and we'll talk about these in a few minutes. But you're going to need your team to make this kind of a turnaround. 

Because when they're part of the vision, they'll be motivated to push forward. So let's dive deeper into that particular topic and see how you can rebuild momentum when you and your team start feeling stuck. These are exactly the same thing I did with Mark, and we were able to turn this around in about two, two and a half months. 

Now these steps aren't just about getting back on track. They're about building a strong foundation so that you don't end up in the same place again. And there are some checks and balances that you need to make sure that you maintain. 

So revisiting your vision. We talked about that. This is where it all begins.

When momentum starts to falter, it's often because we've lost sight of the bigger picture. When you revisit your vision, you remind yourself of the why behind your business. Why did you start this journey? What was the impact you wanted to make? We've talked about this a few episodes ago, but this is really critical as we move into this phase, because we're going to keep things going, right? And when you reconnect with your original vision, it'll reignite that fire and passion that might have been buried under that daily grind.

You know, a lot of business owners get bogged down in the what and the how, but the why is what gives you the energy to push forward. Without it, everything is much harder than it should be. And by revisiting your vision, you're reminding yourself and your team of the purpose, and that can be a powerful motivator. 

Obviously, doing this realigns you with your purpose and brings clarity back to your work. When you're clear on why you're doing something, it makes tough decisions easier and day-to-day tasks more meaningful. The second step is you want to break this down. 

Once you've revisited your vision, the next step is to break it down into smaller manageable goals. Again, this is what we did when we were doing our vision in the first place. The truth is, feeling stuck often comes from overwhelm, doing too much. 

And if you're constantly thinking about the whole mountain you need to climb, it can feel impossible to even take that first step. Instead, take a big goal, whether it's just reaching a certain revenue milestone or launching a new service, and break it down into actionable steps. What do you need to do today to move it forward? What can you accomplish this week? This way, each task you complete gets you one step closer to your big vision and makes the difference in what we often call money-making activities, or MMAs. 

Breaking things down eliminates that overwhelm. When the goals feel too large or far away, it's easy to lose steam. And when you break it down into these smaller steps, it makes them feel achievable, which in turn keeps you moving forward. 

Step three, get your team reinvested. You know, you can't carry the load alone, and more importantly, you shouldn't try. As we said, your team is a crucial part of maintaining momentum.

The key here is to make sure your team understands and is emotionally reconnected to the vision as much as you are. Get them reinvested. Hold a meeting to revisit the vision with them.

Explain why their role matters, and most importantly, ask for their feedback. It's part of the accountability, but people are far more motivated to work towards a goal when they feel like they're part of the process and their opinions matter. This creates buy-in and shared responsibility. 

When your team feels like they're not just working for the business, but with the business, momentum builds faster because everyone's pulling in the same direction. Step four, and we talked about this just a second ago, accountability is one of the most overlooked tools when it comes to maintaining momentum. It's easy to make a plan and set goals, but without someone or something holding you accountable, it's just as easy to let things slide. 

And that's one of the things that will actually kill your momentum. That's a friction factor right there. Now, obviously, you could be setting up regular check-ins with your team.

You could be working with a mentor or coach. You can join your own mastermind group or other like-minded business owners. Having someone there to ask, hey, did you follow through on what you said you'd do? That can make all the difference in staying on track. 

Establishing accountability prevents procrastination and ensures the follow-through. When you're accountable to someone else, you're far more likely to stick to your commitments and push through your challenges. And step five, implement consistent habits. 

One of the biggest drivers of momentum is consistency. You've heard the saying, small steps add up to big results, and it's absolutely true. When you build consistent habits, whether it's weekly goal setting, regular team check-ins, or just a daily stand-up of your progress, you create a system that keeps you moving forward, even when your motivation dips. 

Habits are the backbone of sustained momentum. When you've got a strong routine in place, you don't have to rely on motivation alone, because the structure of your day keeps you moving towards your goals. Now, over time, this will build confidence, and that confidence leads to even more momentum. 

It applies more force going in the direction you are, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and the more force that's applied to it, the faster it will go. So this works all the way around to keep you moving forward. So let's do a quick recap. 

We talked about why momentum is crucial for bringing your vision to life. We shared Mark's story of burnout and how he reignited his vision by taking small steps and getting his team re-engaged. We also covered some practical steps that I worked with Mark on to overcome the struggle with momentum, including breaking down your goals and holding yourself accountable.

Now I've got some exciting news. Next week, and I mentioned this last week, we're hosting a vision execution workshop next week. If you've been following along with our vision series, this is a great opportunity to dive deeper into executing your own vision, and get some feedback from within myself and the team that we're dealing with. 

It's going to be packed with actionable strategies and insights, so definitely be sure to sign up. And to let you know you can sign up by visiting our website or grabbing some time on my calendar. Both of those links are in the show notes below. 

That's it for this episode. I hope you picked up some valuable insights and maybe even sparked a few new ideas. If you want to keep the conversation going, or maybe even explore partnerships, don't hesitate to reach out. 

And hey, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who needs to hear it. The steps you take today could be the start of something big tomorrow. For the budding entrepreneur, I wish you the best in your health, your wealth, your business, your family, everything about you. 

Take care, and we'll see you back here next week.