10 Steps to Increasing Productivity: Brian Tracy's Creative Problem-Solving Framework

Welcome back to the Daily Mastermind. My name is George Wright III and I'm hoping you're having an amazing week. The quote of the day today is from Lisa Nichols. I love Lisa Nichols. And her quote is, no one can do you better than you. That is so true. I love that because so many people out there right now, especially with social media and whatnot, are trying to imitate and copy. you have greatness you have a lot of things to offer the world and so I encourage you to do that now today what I want to do I've been thinking about this a little bit but I know that with all of the craziness in the world right now and we talk about that a lot but I'll tell you the reason I bring it up is because there's so many amazing teachings and mentorings and things out there to help you to deal with situations and Brian Tracy has always been a staple mentor of mine you know he's an individual that, you know, I've followed his advice, wisdom, and ideas for most of my life. He's spoken at some of my events and he's brought some amazing insights into how, you know, you can truly expand and increase your productivity. And I've used that personally in my life. And in a time where we're having a lot of this, you know, struggling and needing to think outside the norm and get creative with our business relationships and finances, I felt it might be a good idea to lay out one of his frameworks that he has. Brian Tracy has this 10-step approach to solving any problem with creativity and unique perspective. And I hope this is something that you can maybe take and use to get your productivity at a whole new level. So it's a 10-step kind of approach to problem solving and increasing productivity. Step number one is change your language about the problem from negative to positive. Now, I've talked about this because we talk about starting from solutions on past podcasts, and this step just really enforces and reinforces that idea. When you use the word problem, it represents a negative. Using words like challenge or opportunity is a much better way to program your mind for positivity, and so I highly recommend that. Number two, define the situation or problem clearly. Too often we start dealing with situations in our lives without properly understanding the problem that we facing When you seek first to understand the problem you far better equipped to actually deal with it And step three, use critical thinking to approach the problem from several different directions. So it's super important that when you analyze a problem, you're looking for the true source of the problem at all levels. Sometimes we're just working on fixing the, you know, putting out the smoke and not dealing with the fire. so to speak. Or we're trying to plug holes in a situation only to find out that there are more holes that are appearing, right? So make sure you're dealing with the problem at the core source of the problem. And using critical thinking to find the source of the problem is a really important step. Number four, clearly define the ideal solution to the problem. Now, a lot of times, you know, I love this step because it says a couple of things. First of all, you need to clearly define solutions, but I'd go a step further and say something that's kind of a nuance and critical here. Make sure that you're brainstorming all of the solutions from a place of abundance. You know, oftentimes we're using this easiest, quickest way to deal with a problem rather than thinking through, coming up with options to fix and remedy the problem that'll be long-term and not quick fixes. And so clearly defining the ideal solution to the problem is important. Then step five, pick your best solution to solve your challenge. Now, I don't know if you've noticed a pattern here, but a lot of times we see a problem, we find a solution, we just try it. What he's saying is that you'll be far more productive if you take these steps and really critically analyze the problem. And then step five, pick the best solution to solve the challenge. It's important that you spend some time and clearly focus on picking the right solution. If you'll analyze the pros and cons of each solution you have, and you don't have to spend a lot of time on this, but put a little time into actually implementing the proper solution. Don't just jump to decisions and solutions. If you're dealing with an important problem, give it the time that it needs to have a great solution and pick the right one. Number six, and I like this one because this is a little different than most of you might do, prepare for the worst possible outcome and how to overcome it. So going into a situation, This is a little bit my personality maybe not a lot of yours I always try to have backups Not hesitations in case of failure I always go forward assuming success but sometimes we find ourselves implementing a solution only to find out that the solution doesn't work. Be prepared in your mind and in your business to rapidly accept whatever outcome there is and then immediately go into the next solution or the new solution. And if you're prepared like that, then you're not wasting time going back to the drawing board or starting from scratch. Number seven, measure your progress. Many, many, many people that I've mentored and work with have a problem here because they're just out creating tons and tons of action without measuring it. And that's a trap that a lot of us fall into where we're hoping for a result, but we actually don't have a milestone or some type of a goal that we're trying to create, right? Sometimes a solution fixes a problem, but not as well as it could have been fixed. You know, have an objective to measure what results you really want to see happen from the solution when you implement it. And then step number eight, take complete responsibility for whatever decision that you implement. Don't get caught up or too invested in being right, because sometimes we just, we're so overwhelmed with the fact that we weren't right. Just take responsibility for whatever outcome happens. Move on to the next solution. And if it doesn't work out, you know, just move on. Remember that failure is only temporary. You've got to keep moving on. Failure is just a learning experience, but be prepared and jump right into the next solution. Number nine, set a deadline for when things should be solved. Now, a decision without a deadline, like we talked about a minute ago with an objective, is really a meaningless discussion. It's you got to have in any major decision that takes time to implement. You got to set some short deadlines and schedule milestones because deadlines and milestones are the only way you know if you're succeeding with the solution that you're implementing. Become aware of what progress you're making. And the only way to really do this is through milestones or small goals and short-term goals you can set for yourself. Number 10, take action and resolve your problem. Now obviously the most important step is to take action, right? That's the one we're really looking for. But all these nine steps leading up to it have generally helped me to become much more you know I don always go through each of these steps but understanding them will become more of a subconscious implementation for you but they all leading you up to take effective action and brian tracy is well known for emphasizing taking action in his courses and his trainings because that's the only true way that you create results and i love what another mentor of mine has told me over time and that's take action but allow space for attraction. I promise if you'll approach any situation with an abundant mindset and with the spirit of taking responsibility and massive action, you'll absolutely make progress and see huge leaps in your productivity. Now I want you to remember a couple other things before we go that I've mentioned on other episodes. You know, what the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve. So what your mind thinks it can achieve, it will achieve. So go in with that positivity. Also think win-win because there's always a way to create win-win solutions. And if you do, then you're always going to come out on top regardless of the solution. And finally, act in spite of your mood. Remember that sometimes problems put us into a funk and problems put us into an area where we hesitate and we think too much. You've got to act in spite of your mood and take action. You have everything you need to be resourceful and successful in your life. You know, if you subscribe to some amazing teachings from individuals like Tony Robbins who always say, you know, it's either a lack of resources or resourcefulness, but one can always compensate for the other, then you'll know it's time to just get to work, get it done. And that's kind of my message for today. So look at problems in your life as solutions, take the positive, find ways to be able to get real critical when you're thinking about them and take massive action. I think if you do this, you're going to start to see leaps and exponential growth in your productivity. And so I hope that helps you a little bit. I hope you have an amazing week. And I look forward to talking with you a little bit more next week. Thanks for being part of our Mastermind community. And if you haven't downloaded the Mastermind mobile app already from iTunes or Google Play, download it. There's so many good resources in there. It's all free. And it's something that I think can help you on a day-to-day, on-the-go basis, especially if you're an entrepreneur. So that's my message for today. I hope you have an amazing weekend. My name is George Wright III, and this has been The Daily Mastermind. Talk with you soon. We'll see you next time.