Episode 60: The three I’s you need to succeed (and why they can also hold you back)

00:49 Welcome to Unfrazzle, a podcast for solo business owners with the big vision who are ready for a kinder more sustainable approach to productivity. I'm Louise Miller and each week i share bite-sized insights to help you step away from the hustle stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world So grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started If you want to make a bigger impact, you need what I often refer to as the three Is. You need inspiration information and implementation. Inspiration is where your brilliant ideas come from right? It's your creativity it's the thing that motivates and excites you and information helps you figure out how to do the things you need to do it's knowledge its learning it's gathering all of that information in and then evaluating it so that you have a really clear sense of direction and strategy

01:41 And then there's implementation, which is where you actually follow through take action and finish the things that you start. If you throw in a healthy positive mindset You have everything you need to succeed and that is why if you're not where you want to be in your business and you're not quite sure why reflecting on which of those three eyes are tripping you up can be a really great place to start And what's interesting is that as well as being essential ingredients in your success, each of those three I's also has a dark side. So let's look at that first I first inspiration there are a few different ways that this one can trip you up and many of my clients are idea generating machines they've got loads of ideas whether that's for services they could offer content they could create new collaborations or things they would love to try when inspiration strikes the urge to follow it is strong

02:33 But if you follow the thread of every single new idea that pops into your head, you drive yourself bonkers. Pinging around all over the place trying to do all things and leaving a trail of half-finished projects in your wake or there are those moments when you sit down to create something big but you're just not feeling inspired where instead of having too much inspiration if there can be such a thing... You suddenly don't have any! And what do you do when that happens? Do you passively wait for inspiration to strike Or do you get proactive by thinking about what inspires you and then doing that? So for some people, that might be going out for a walk or taking a book to your favourite coffee place. It could be listening to some music with the volume turned up and having a dance around the kitchen. It might be that you realise you feel more inspired when sitting on the sofa rather than at your desk! This will look different for everyone but the point is there are things you can do to give yourself a boost of inspiration rather than waiting for it to find you

03:28 And then there's the second I, information. Now i think we can all agree that there is no shortage of information these days we have everything we could ever need in our pockets and whilst on the one hand that feels like a good thing you know it's a damn sight easier than when i was at university standing in front of shelves full of books with absolutely no clue where to start looking! You know it's great that we have so much information available to us these days but that's also a double-edged sword Because I often see business owners get stuck in learning mode. They keep buying courses, reading books or watching videos they're doing everything they can to gather more information waiting for the moment when they feel they know enough before they actually take any action

04:10 You can trick yourself into thinking that this is a valid and sensible approach by saying to yourself, if I'm going to do this, I may as well do it properly. But I think we all know that there is so much information out there, much of which is contradictory and none of which is right for everyone, that it's easy to become overwhelmed and bamboozled. And when you're overwhelmed and bamboozled, it's very hard to take action! Which brings us nicely on to the third I, Implementation And this is probably the least sexy of the three I's but in my view it's the most important because you can have all the inspiration and information in the world, but without implementation none of that makes any difference. It just ends up gathering dust in notebooks because the only way to make an impact is to take action! Just as there are pitfalls with having too much information and too much inspiration strange as it might seem it's also possible to lean too far into implementation

05:05 And that's where you feel like there is so much that you need to do, You just keep your head down and you just keep going. Your on the hamster wheel doing all the things taking all the actions spinning all the plates but when all your doing is DOING Your often missing the bigger picture and weeks or even months can go by before you realise actually all you've been doing is busy work That isn't actually moving the needle for you So does any of that resonate for you? Are you already getting a sense which at those three I's tends to trip you up So if you're feeling stuck or you're not where you want to be right now, it might be worth asking yourself the following questions. Do you need a dose of inspiration? To give you fresh ideas and fire you up Or do you have too many ideas and you need to practice discernment by choosing which to commit to right now Are things not getting done because there's something you don't yet know And you need more information? Have you fallen into the trap Of thinking that you don't know enough And now you have too much information

06:06 Are you not fulfilling your potential because you struggle with implementation and need some help getting and staying focused? Or have you been so busy doing that you need to take a pause, connect back in with the bigger picture. Reconnect with that motivation, excitement, vision of what you're aiming to achieve Once you are clear which of the three I's is slowing your progress it is much easier to see the solution that will serve you best If you have a knowledge gap What will you do to gather all the information you need without getting stuck in learning mode If you're in need of some inspiration, who or what can help you find that? if you're struggling to stay focused and take consistent action on the most important things who or what can help you be more productive. And that's the thing I love to help people with and there is a link in the show notes about how to work with me so do go check it out if you know its implementation thats holding you back but which are three eyes do you need to focus on to get closer to your big beautiful vision

07:03 And what action can you take this week to address that? So as always, I hope that this helps and i look forward to seeing you again soon. Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend who needs a dose of calm productivity in their life and I'd love it if you could leave me a rating and review as that will help more people discover this podcast. If you would like to hear more from me to help stop faffing and take back control of your time, you'll find the link to join my mailing list in the show notes and I would really love for you to join us! So thanks so much for your support and I look forward to seeing you next time