Get Over What COULD Happen and Make SOMETHING Happen

The little boy answered, “I know, but this way I know I won’t make any mistakes and won’t hurt myself.”

Once there was a little boy who wanted to learn how to ride a bike. He asked for a bike day after day after day. His mother kept telling him that he had to wait until he grew bigger because she was afraid he would hurt himself. Weeks, months, years went by until finally the little boy’s father came home with a bike.

It was a beautiful metallic blue bike with a white seat and knobby tires. The little boy came out of his skin with excitement. He and his father were ready to go try it out, when his mother said, “Wait! You need a helmet, gloves, knee pads and training wheels before you go out there.”

So the boy and his father went to the bike store with the list of required equipment. The boy was still on cloud nine as they went from rack to rack, grabbing every item on the list.

When they got to the register, the little boy told the man behind the counter, “I am so excited! I just got my first bike and I am going to ride it all day!” The man said, “That is fantastic. I bet you are going to be great!”

With a grin from ear to ear, the boy left the store with his father and a heart racing with anticipation for the big day.

The boys got home 20 minutes later. Not even time would wipe that smile from the little boy’s face. He and his father took everything out of the box and quickly threw it on. The father worked as fast as he could to get the training wheels on. Another 20 minutes went by and the little boy’s enthusiasm wasn’t dampened one bit.

With bike in hand, safety equipment on and training wheels rolling, the little boy started walking out of the garage. Before he got five steps out, he heard his mother say, “Wait! Make sure the helmet is adjusted properly, the gloves are on tight and the seat is the right height.”

So the boys went at it again, making sure everything was ready. While they were doing that, the mother went over every scenario of how the little boy might hurt himself and how he needed to be extremely careful. As the boy listened, his smile started to dim. As they were just about ready to start riding, the mother called them in the house to eat dinner.

After dinner the little boy asked, “Can I go ride now Mommy?” She responded, “No, it’s too late. You can try in the morning.” The little boy went to bed sad, but determined he was going to ride the next morning. Little did he know that his mother forgot they had plans, and he would not get to try until the next weekend.

All week long the little boy heard from his mother all the things that could possibly go wrong. Finally when the weekend arrived and he had the chance to learn how to ride his bike, he fell! While there were only minor scrapes, instead of getting back up on the bike, his mother told him to go in the house, telling him, “See, what did I tell you?”

The little boy did eventually learn to ride his bike with the training wheels. But when it came time to take them off, the little boy wasn’t excited. Instead he was scared. He was frightened of all the bad things that COULD happen, as he played the recording of his mother’s words in his head over and over again. When the time came to jump on and try, he said, “My stomach hurts; I’ll try tomorrow.” Several weekends went by and every time it came time to try, the little boy had an excuse why now wasn’t the right time. The boy eventually learned to ride without his training wheels, but soon fell and hurt himself pretty bad.

The next day after the fall the family was going to go for a family bike ride 10 blocks to his grandparents’ house. As the family all jumped on their bikes and started riding, the parents quickly turned to see that the little boy, with all of his protective equipment on, was walking next to his bike.

His father asked, “Why are you walking next to your bike? You know that it will get you to your grandparents’ house much faster.”

The little boy answered, “I know, but this way I know I won’t make any mistakes and won’t hurt myself.”

The little boy as an adult

While that story may not ring true to you because it’s about a little boy and his new bike and you’re an adult, I am here to tell you I see that little boy every day while working with restaurant owners and managers. Let me explain.

Sometimes it’s on a sales call. I will ask the owner or manager what their sales and key numbers are. Most of the time I can find them an easy $3,000 – $5,000 to drop off the bottom line. I show them how to get there and all I get in return is a long laundry list of excuses why they either don’t believe it’s possible or more likely how they don’t know how they could possibly get their management team to make these kinds of changes. It’s fear that steers them in this direction.

Worse than this are the owners and managers who have taken the step to sign up and are now members who say they want change, but allow fear to stop them from either starting to implement SMART Systems Pro or hoping people will start using it.

I liken this to that little boy walking next to his bike. The little boy knows that the bike will take him farther than he can go by foot. The little boy knows the bike can get him to his destination faster than by foot. Yet, the little boy still walks next to his bike.

Restaurant owners and managers invest in their memberships and SMART Systems Pro, then they “walk” next to it as they continue to use antiquated systems, multiple solutions or none at all, only because they are afraid of change and what might go wrong.

Listen, nothing is foolproof and most likely you’re going to skin your knees during the process of getting the systems in place, but you just have to dust yourself off and get back on the bike. Even with a few bumps and bruises you’re going to go farther and faster than you ever have.

And if you need a little encouragement along the way, someone who will stop that recording in your head of why it won’t work for you or how you won’t be able to get your management team to do it… CALL! Our very own SMART Systems Pro training team will hold your hand and tell you it will be all right. They will feed your head with nothing but positive thoughts. But more importantly, when you fall off the bike, they’re not going to feed your internal recording. Nope. Instead they are going to say, “Stop your whining and get back on the bike. We have a job to do and that’s to change your business into a money making machine filled with managers who want to help you make it big!”

To learn more about SMART Systems Pro and how it can help you be more successful, schedule a call to chat with us.

Don’t let fear stop you from riding that bike. Jump on and get ready for a great ride.