E193 | Are You Losing Or Just Not Playing?

On this Thursday's episode, I discuss some frustration I've been having with my son Jack.  When you look at how to motivate a 7 year old, it is very similar to motivating new business owners.  He would rather not try than lose.  I see this same mentality with new business owners in our field.

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Episode Transcription:

Hey, what's going on, everybody? Doc Danny here, the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, and today's Thursday, so I get a chance to kind of talk a little bit about something I'm working on, something I've learned, just something quick. And today is an exciting day for me. It was, it was a fun day. I get to take my son up to A boy scout camp that my father in law uses for his Marine ROTC kids. So they go up there for a week, they get to do all this, repelling and climbing and hiking and, and, the kids love it. It's awesome. And the older kids run it and they sort of like yell at the younger kids and keep them in check or whatever.

I wrote an email, just today, actually went out today. I'm trying to send some Wednesday emails that are just, similar to this Thursday podcast, right?

As you can get some ideas out there and in that email, if you're not on my email list. I recommend doing that. Head over to physicaltherapybiz.com, and you can get a cash-based practice roadmap that we have if you're thinking about starting one. And, you know, some checklists, basically the things you need to look at to get started as a helpful resource head there.

And you can, a, you can get that, you can on our email list, and it's a, it's a win-win. But, in that, I talked about some frustrations I'd have with Jack. About, just sort of, I don't know, it's like giving up, yeah. Some kind of giving up with an in particular, like, any many athletic types of events that we, we've been in, getting him into different sports is an excellent way to put it, that he's tried.

And, today on the ride up to this camp, I got a chance to talk to him about, you know, what a, I expressed in that email, which is, you know, some frustration over the fact that he'd rather. Not try then loose. So, I, I think in Jack's mind, what he sees is if he just doesn't work, then he didn't lose, cause he didn't try.

And that's, he's seven. So that's like his rationalization. But, you know, when, when you, you look at how to motivate and how to educate a seven-year-old, it's very similar. Two new business owners in particular. I see this over and over again in our field. Many of us, most of us have no experience in business whatsoever.

We do not know about it. We don't understand it. We know how to be excellent clinicians. So. Unless you learn that stuff, it just becomes challenging. And that business side of things that a skillset of being able to make a business work is what holds so many people back from actually going into business for themselves.

And it, and in a lot of ways, I think there are people out there that are like Jack, that is, they're just, they're not playing the game so they can't lose. Right? So. It's, it's better to fail than it is not even to play. You know, and I put a quote in there, in the email, there was Teddy Roosevelt referencing something similar about, you know, you can't, you can't, criticize someone unless you're willing to step into the arena for yourself.

Right? And, and the regret of not being able to try things and how much growth comes from failure. And, and I, I try to kind of explain this to Jack when I started to notice what, there's so much overlap with my seven-year-old with like. Soccer or swimming and business owners that I've had a chance to work with new business owners that I've had a chance to, you know, be a part of their practice starting and growing.

And it's explained to them that the fear of failure is normal, supernormal. It's normal to be afraid. And the other thing that's good about being afraid is fear is an extreme motivator. So if you're scared of something. I'm particularly scared of maybe, not be able to make your business work and then not middle support your family.

That fear is a strong motivator, will need to work hard and anxiety, you know, of, I guess, I'm not sure what the case of you with Jack, but, you know, maybe not being able to play with sure cheese that he wants to play with because they're interested in a sport that he's not good at and because you're not good at, he won't even try it.

Because he, it's better for him not to try than it is to fail and then not be able to have those relationships. So, you know, when, when you look at a business owner and a kid, these are irrational in a lot of ways. And, and, and, and as accurate as they might be, they're, they're rational to think that that's the only way, to, to be successful.

Or if, if you, if you don't do anything and you hold off, and you say, okay, one day. I'm going to make this happen one day when the time is right when I've saved up enough money when I've gotten enough business, you know, skill set developed. When I've found the perfect location, whenever I've defined the ideal audience, whenever I've developed the perfect marketing plan and all this bullshit, they'll never happen.

Let's be honest. That will never happen. You'll then step into the arena. You'll later try because right now, you're not losing. But you're not even playing the game. So think about that. I hope that makes sense. And ask yourself, do you want to play the game or are you just scared to fail because that is normal.

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