QUESTION: Mike, I have attended a number of your trainings and seminars. In addition to yours, I have also attended a number of the other industry trainers, and I am still stuck at the same level I have been for the last few years. How do I break out of this? – George in St. Louis

ANSWER: Based on the question alone, no judgment, George, what I am sensing is you have learned is it is not a technique problem, but purely a lack of implementation. When we look at a lack of implementation, it is usually fear-based.  

Feeling stuck is pretty common; I have seen many people in a good economy struggle or reach a plateau. You did not say you are stuck at the same level like it is a bad thing or you are struggling; that is not my insight based on how you asked the question. 

One group of people are doing okay – it is the worst thing – doing okay. I am not saying we do not want to take a breather in our business once in a while. I am not saying you do not want to celebrate success. But if you are at the same level that you have been at for the last few years, my gut feeling is you are not inspired. You are good at what you do, but you are slogging through. When this occurs, it most likely indicates that there is a lack of vision.  

I always ask somebody in that position, so I would ask you, George, what has to be true for you to play a bigger game in your recruiting business? This question is one of the most powerful you can ask yourself. It is one of the questions I constantly challenge our clients with. What is one thing you could do to play a bigger game in your recruiting business? It is generally an area you would like to do, but you do not think it is realistic or feel you do not have enough time to do it.  

Usually, it is the stuff that you think is a pain in the butt, but if you could wave a magic wand and it was there, you would want it. If you could snap your fingers and have it there, great, but you do not want to go through the hassle of getting it there. Part of the price on the journey to a bigger game is the learning, the challenge. If you look back on other times in your life when you pushed yourself toward something you wanted, executed to it, skinned some knees, maybe broke a couple of small bones, coming out of it, you were glad you did it.  

What happens, especially in this business, is that when people get relatively comfortable, they can pay their bills, put a little money away, and go on vacation. I see many people plateau at this point because they do not want to risk what they have. What you are sacrificing when you stay comfortable is a full, robust, challenging existence.  

Step one is to ask yourself that question, why needs to be true for me to play a bigger game in my business. And then form a clear vision around it. In two or three years out, if you could have this business any way you wanted it, what would that look like? It might even include having more time off, delegating the tasks that you find annoying, or growing your team.  

Here is something a mentor of mine told me that I love: “You cannot use today’s puzzle pieces to build tomorrow’s puzzle.” The reason you have what you have is you come in and build the same puzzle every day. It is time to build a different puzzle. It is time to set a different vision.  

The actions I take are the only thing that I found that significantly changes my situation and how I see myself. No amount of reading or learning has changed that; it is the actions I take. Learning has been fundamental, but that learning needs to be put into action. I cannot imagine, George, you have attended all of these trainings, acquired all that information, and have acted on even 10% or 15% of it. Again, there is no judgment there.  

When people get stuck in a learning space, I will often hear, “I am not ready.” When are you going to be ready? If the desire showed up and is there in your life, there simultaneously also has to be a solution present. This is the mindset piece; you cannot have a problem without having a solution. Just like with a coin, you cannot have a top without a bottom. You cannot have left without a right. If we start shaving down a pencil, it will always have a left or a right, even down to the molecular level. You cannot have a problem and not have a solution to that problem in the same space. You cannot have a desire and not have a path to get there in the same space.  

When you look at that, when you look at those, what is the desire? And then ask yourself this question: What has to be true for me to get there?  

A phenomenal question. I could do a whole workshop just on this topic. I want to thank you for that. 


P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you grow your recruitment business:

1. Grab a free copy of my Retainer Blueprint

It’s the exact, step-by-step process of getting clients to give you money upfront. https://get.therecruiteru.com/lm​

2. Join the Recruiter Think Tank and connect with firm owners who are scaling too It’s our Facebook community where smart recruiters learn to make more money and get more freedom. https://www.facebook.com/groups/there​​…

3. Join me at our next event

3x a year, I run a 3-day virtual intensive, sharing the 9 key areas that drive a 7-figure search firm. Click here to check out the dates of our upcoming event: https://get.therecruiteru.com/emerge​

4. Work with me and my team privately

And if you ever want to get some 1:1 help, we can jump on the phone for a quick call, and brainstorm how to get you more leads, more placements, and more time. https://get.therecruiteru.com/scale-now​

Photo by Olena Sergienko on Unsplash