8 Steps to “Generate” Yourself

I knew almost no Spanish and little about the continent. All I knew was where I was going to land and from where I would eventually return.

I had no idea what I was in for!

Soon into my trip I created a routine: first I would read about a place that sounded interesting and then get there by bus, plane, hitchhiking or whatever. Once there, I would meet other travelers or locals and if we hit it off, travel a bit together.

That worked really well… until I found myself in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There I met a guy who was also traveling. At first we hit it off and spent time together in the gorgeous city over the next few days.

Then one day, in the hotel room we were sharing, he slipped a small handful of sleeping pills into my drink. I woke up four hours later and before I opened my eyes I knew I was robbed.

He took almost everything of mine. Money, wallet, passport, plane tickets, camera, clothes and photos I had taken. He managed to spend over $400 at a local camera store before I could cancel my credit card.

He even left me to pay the hotel bill… with nothing to pay for it!

But the most difficult thing for me was my travel “formula” was now broken. I didn’t feel I could trust anyone anymore. Worse, I didn’t feel I could even trust my own instincts.

As I sat on the hotel bed wondering what to do, I made a decision. I said to myself, “Stefan, you have a choice. You can go home to New York, broke and feeling sorry for yourself, hating Brazil and your trip, or you can go and generate yourself in a powerful way and turn this experience around into loving Brazil.”

I chose the latter.

I quickly negotiated with the hotel manager to allow me some time to pay the bill and hooked up with some local Brazilians I just met the day before, who housed me and helped me deal with some of my biggest challenges: getting a new passport, visa, travel tickets. They became my ambassadors, as I knew almost no Portuguese. I then had some money wired to me from New York.

Weeks later I moved on to Argentina, but only after having fallen deeply in love with Brazil.

Eight Steps in Generating Yourself

1. Assess the facts of your situation. Leave emotions out. For example: business is slow and sales have been impacted 25%.
2. Ask yourself what you are committed to. For example, “I’m committed to revamping my product line and growing the business by 15% in the next three months.”
3. Take inventory of your resources: time, creativity, energy/passion, skills, team members, advisors, finances, etc.
4. Determine who you must “be” to make it happen. For example, “I must be clear headed, energized, inspired, and UnReasonable!”
5. Build your game plan that will generate the results you want. Break it into manageable and specific and measurable chunks.
6. Use the resources you have and look to see which ones you can leverage for maximum results.
7. Develop your support team, such as a board of advisors, two or three mentors, and/or a seasoned coach.
8. Quickly move to implementation. Do not look back, only forward. Constantly check in on your passion and results. Especially when you start to psyche yourself out.

Even now, when things in my life seem impossible or too UnReasonable, I remind myself of the time I was drugged and robbed of everything in Brazil. I tell myself, “If I can pull myself out of that one, I can certainly do this.”

Action Steps for the Week

Take a good look at your business/career right now. Especially now, at the beginning of 2014. How are you doing?

Really, how are you doing?

Where are you slowing down? Are you playing the victim? Are you hiding? Or are you in denial?

Then ask yourself what you are committed to. And where can you be UnReasonable?

Then follow the steps above to generate it.

© 2013 BEST Coaches, Inc.

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“Entrepreneur business coach and mentor Stefan Doering, founder of BEST Coaches,  helps entrpreneurs and small business around the world how to achieve the UnReasonable.  We do this by coaching business owners to achieve financial success while running businesses that are environmentally and socially sustainable.   Get his FREE ezine newsletter, “Be UnReasonable Power Boost“ at www.BESTCoaches.com.”