Don’t Just Imagine a New You, Get Unstuck!

The start of every New Year is often the marker for smashing the “make a change” button.  Some people are great at setting goals and have the follow-through to achieve them.  Some are a tad wobbly, afraid and just slide into the status quo and kind of muck around forever. Some try to take off in fits and starts, only to give up and start all over again every January 1.

I think I’ve experienced all three scenarios at different times in my personal and professional life.  So has Libby Gill, the author of You, Unstuck: Mastering the New Rules of Risk Taking. Libby’s thoughts on getting unstuck can offer insight into how to achieve a solid launch towards our dreams and goals, whatever they may be!

Libby Gill is the former head of communications and public relations for Sony, Universal, and Turner Broadcasting. She is now CEO of Libby Gill & Company, an executive coaching and consulting firm. An international speaker and bestselling author, she has shared her success strategies on CNN, NPR, the Today Show, and in BusinessWeek, Time, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and more.

Libby helps established and emerging leaders at organizations including AMC Networks, Cisco, Disney, EY, Honda, Intel, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, Oracle, PayPal, Royal Caribbean, Safeway, Viacom, Warner Bros., Wells Fargo inspire purpose and ignite performance.

I am one of the fortunate executives who had Libby as a boss, before she transitioned to consulting.  To say that I have experienced both outstanding and incompetent management environments would be an understatement.  Libby walks the talk. Ask anyone who worked for her during her years as a corporate executive – and they are legion.  I can’t even count how many times I have heard “Libby is the best boss I ever had” repeated over and over again.  I owe her a special debt of gratitude, because she was my boss during an entire pregnancy and I was not stressed out! Demanding but human, she inspires people to do their best, meet deadlines and still have fun.  Truth be told, she remains close friends with myriad former co-workers for this exact reason. I assure you, Libby Gill has incredible instincts and I hope she can help you take risks and get “unstuck” in 2017!

Don’t Miss Libby Gill’s Three-Step Exercise to Jumpstart Your Year with a bold Risk!

Q & A with Libby Gill:

1. What inspired you to write your book You Unstuck: Mastering the New Rules of Risk-taking?

It was inspired directly by my experiences with my coaching clients. I was working with two women, both in senior-level corporate positions, both with a high level of achievement, and both wanting to transform their careers.

With a bit of coaching and direction, one of my clients embraced change and completely transformed her career, moving from engineering to entertainment. As she was soaring in her new field, my other client was struggling just to wrap her head around the idea that she could actually transition to a more satisfying career path.

Granted, she had set the bar very high, wanting to move from her current profession as an attorney to public service or non-profit. Despite her intelligence and desire, I had to use multiple coaching methods – and develop some new ones – to help her break through fear and resistance. But she finally did and I was very grateful that she let me share the story of her transformation from corporate litigator to judge in You Unstuck.

2. You make an amazing promise right in the first chapter of You Unstuck. You say that you will personally coach anyone who follows your program faithfully and doesn’t get positive results. Aren’t you taking a big risk with a guarantee like that?

It was easy to make that promise. The research and my own experience show very clearly that few people have the tenacity to follow through on their goals, let alone the courage to pick up and phone and consult with a stranger (even if they feel they know me through my books and videos). But I wanted to ensure that anyone who was struggling and couldn’t find a way to break through the resistance had some additional help. Even now with my speaking and coaching schedule, I always make time to answer inquiries from people who are serious about success. All anyone needs to do is email me at AskLibby@LibbyGill.com and I’ll send a video or written response to the question.

3. As a coach for entrepreneurs and executives from all over the country, you’ve gotten a lot of people unstuck. Have you ever been stuck in your personal or professional life?

Boy, have I! I’ve been stuck in just about every key area of life – work, health, relationships, money – and I’ve blasted through all those barriers so I really know what I’m talking about. I had a pretty chaotic upbringing (see my book Traveling Hopefully) that, like a lot of people, was less than ideal for setting me up for success. And after making every mistake in the book, I was able to truly transform my life – in my mid-forties, at that!

I left the corporate world (nothing against it, I was just ready to move on), started my first business which is still going strong 16 years later, published my first book, dissolved a marriage that wasn’t working, and essentially started over. Now, I’m happy to say I’m in a ten-year loving relationship with my significant other, I travel the world for fun and business, and I’m in the best shape of my life (okay, I struggle with those last five pounds just like everyone else). I’ve learned a lot in my 30 years of managing and motivating people and in this stage of life, which I think of as my legacy stage, it give me great joy to share my insights, resources and shortcuts to success.

4. Why do we get so excited about our goals and plans and then just drop off over time?

Things that are new tend to grab our attention. Just try taking a different route to work one day and you’ll see how much you notice about your surroundings that you tune out when you take your regular, i.e. non-new, route. That fresh perspective can often give us the excitement and energy we need to get something new off the ground. But when left to our own devices, over time we lose focus and revert back to our old habits. Take a look at new gym memberships in January and then see how many are still sticking by July.

That’s why support and accountability are so critical to success. You’ve got to have someone or something – a teammate, coach, calendar, whatever – keep you on course. And that’s on a good day. When we hit those times of stress, change, and challenge we need even more help to get us over the hump and on track to success. That’s exactly why I started my new coaching community so I could give more people access to tools, resources, and guidance to keep them moving toward their goals.

5. Do you have a tip to help people wrap their heads around risk-taking and to work through fear and resistance?

Absolutely! I always think about the big picture vision first. What do you really want? How will you feel when you reach your goal? Then move on to the actions that will get you there. It’s a three-part process:

• First, clarify your vision of your ideal work/life scenario or the change you want to make. A clear vision is a critical starting point so you can see what you want as real and attainable. If it’s too abstract, distant or unrealistic, you won’t feel passionate enough to put in the work needed to reach it.
• Next, simplify the path that offers the most direct route to realizing your vision. This is where things begin to get harder, which is another reason you need your vision to keep you motivated. Fears and resistance may come up, but that’s your cue to challenge those limiting beliefs. So keep brainstorming, reviewing past failures and successes, eliminating obstacles, getting expert information, etc. Once you’ve got a clear vision and an action path, all you have to do is act.
• Finally, execute the plan. Determine the specific action steps you’ll need to take, put them in the proper sequence (you can’t do everything at once), and then determine how you’ll hold yourself accountable to each action item on your list. Consider asking a colleague to serve as an accountability buddy, using technology to keep you on track, or hiring a coach (like me) to keep you on track!

Read Libby Gill’s Book, Unstuck and make 2017 your best year yet!

Editor’s Note: Click on Libby Gill & Company to learn more about business coaching and brand marketing. Check out Libby Gill’s Amazon page to see her myriad of  books on getting unstuck in all sorts of areas of your life.

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