A Hard Question To Face

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We have a kind of a belief system that either we're gonna push you up, we're gonna push you out. I don't wanna be around five other people that aren't pushing themselves to succeed. Success isn't about taking, but giving value first. Compensation follows contribution always. This is true, authenticity. This is our story, we share with you our journey, we share with you our stars. Please welcome your host, Tycombacker.

Ty Cobb Backer 0:27

Hey, hey, welcome back everybody to another episode of Behind the Tool Belt. We are at episode 359, and today I want to have a conversation about something that might make a few people uncomfortable. But you know what? Sometimes the conversations that make us the most uncomfortable are the ones we need the most. So today's topic is a question.

Stop Waiting For Rescue

Ty Cobb Backer 1:02

What if nobody is coming to save you? I think about I want you to think about that for a second. Okay. What if nobody is coming to fix your problems? What if nobody is coming to make that difficult decision for you? What if nobody is coming to rescue your business, your health, improve your finances, repair your relationships, or change your circumstances? What if the person you've been waiting for is you? Now, that might sound a little harsh, but I believe there's something incredibly empowering about that realization. Because the moment you stop waiting for somebody else to change your situation is the moment you start taking control of your future. And that's what I want to talk about today. Okay. And here's something I've learned over the years. Okay. It's easy to look outside ourselves for the answers. We look at the economy, we look at the government, we look at our boss, we look at our team members, we look at our, we look at our competitors, we look at our circumstances, and we start telling ourselves stories. Okay. Stories like if the economy would just get better, my business would grow. If my boss would recognize my potential, I'd get promoted. If my team would just do their jobs, things would run smoother. I think I've used that quite a few times. If somebody would just give me an opportunity, I could be successful. Now, some of those concerns might be legitimate. They could be. There are circumstances out of our control. Okay. But here's the question I want you to ask yourself. How long are you willing to allow something you can't control to determine what you do with the things you can control? Think about that. Because every day you spend waiting for someone else to fix your circumstances is another day you're giving away your ability to influence the outcome.

Create Your Own Economy

Ty Cobb Backer 3:57

I've talked about this before on the show. We have to create our own economy. What do I mean by that? Okay, because sometimes when I say that, I think people kind of look at me a little strange. I mean what? Take a little sippy poo here. I'm still here, Vic. I didn't fall out yet. Yet. I mean, we can't sit around waiting for the economy, the market, or the perfect opportunity to give us permission to succeed. We have to get creative. We have to become resourceful. We have to find new opportunities. And sometimes we have to work harder, learn something new, or make adjustments that we that that we weren't planning on making. Because here's the reality. You may be responsible for the circumstances you're facing, but you may not be. You may not be. Sorry. You may not be responsible for the circumstances that we're facing. But we are responsible for how we respond to them. That's where things really start to change. Okay.

Ownership Kills Excuses

Ty Cobb Backer 5:32

Now, here's where things get very interesting. Why is it so difficult for people to take full ownership? I'll tell you what I think. Because ownership removes excuses. And excuses, excuses can be pretty comfortable. Deflect the blame. Push it off onto somebody else. Think about that for a minute. When sometimes when something goes wrong, it's a lot easier to point the finger at somebody else. The customer was unreasonable. The salesperson didn't follow up. The production team dropped the ball. Again, the manager didn't communicate. The leaders weren't good enough. And maybe some of those things are true. Okay, maybe. But I want to challenge you with with something. Okay. Even when something isn't your fault, there may still be something you can take responsibility for. Some of us were were taught this. Okay. As a leader, I had to learn, I had to learn this lesson myself. Okay. When something goes wrong at TC Backer, it's so easy to start asking who made the mistake. But the one thing that I've learned, there's there's a much more important question. Okay, what could I have done differently as a leader to help prevent this? Did we have the right systems? Were expectations clear? Did we provide proper training? Did we communicate? Did we hold people accountable? And I think most importantly, we are we are going. What are we going to do about it? Most importantly, what are we going to do about it? See, ownership isn't about taking the blame for every mistake. It's about taking responsibility for finding a solution. And there's a big difference. Blame looks backwards, ownership moves forward. Blame ask, whose fault is it? Ownership asks, what's the next right move? And I believe that that one shift in thinking can completely change the culture of an organization. Okay.

Help Versus Being Rescued

Ty Cobb Backer 8:26

Now, I want to be very clear about something. When I say nobody is coming to save you, I'm not saying you shouldn't ask for help. I'm not saying you shouldn't have mentors. I'm not saying you shouldn't lean on your team, your family, or the people who care about you. It's not what I'm saying at all. As a matter of fact, I believe surrounding yourself with the right people is one of the most important things you can do. But there's a difference between asking for help and waiting to be rescued. That's the difference. There is a huge difference between seeking guidance and expecting someone else to do the work for you. And there's a difference between being supported and being dependent. Think about this from a leadership perspective. If every time one of one of our team members runs into a problem and they immediately bring it to you and expect you to solve it, what happens? Eventually you become the solution to every problem. We've talked about this a thousand times. Okay. And what's really cool about this podcast is that Vic has explained it very well in the very beginning of our intro. These are our pains, these are our scars, these are our wins, and these have been our losses. This is what we're sharing with you. And we've been through this. Sometimes it circles back around, and we need to experience this pain again before we grow to that next level, before we raise the standard. Okay. So here we are again. Eventually, we become the solution to everyone and every problem that comes in the door. And our team never develops or loses the ability to solve problems independently. That's not leadership development. It's actually pretty irresponsible and arrogant to want everybody to think that you're the solution to everything and everyone's problem. That's dependency. Now imagine a different situation. A team member comes to you and says, Hey, we've got a problem. Here's the difference. Here's what happened. Here are two possible solutions. And here's what I think we should do. That's a completely different conversation. That person is now thinking. That person is now developing. That person is now taking ownership, and that's what we should be encouraging inside our organization. The goal of leadership isn't to create people who need you for everything, it's to develop people who can think, act, and lead without always needing you in the room. That's how you build a stronger team. And that's how you build stronger people.

Momentum Starts With One Step

Ty Cobb Backer 12:10

Now, let's talk about something else. Momentum. Imagine that. We're going to talk about momentum. There's a reason why a lot of these conversations on this podcast keep coming up. One, to remind myself, and two, because they are so essential in life and in business. Momentum. We've talked about momentum a dozen times on this podcast before, and I believe ownership is one of those biggest drivers of it. Ownership. Why? Because action creates momentum. And ownership creates action. Think about the last time you were facing a really difficult situation. Maybe your business wasn't hitting its numbers. Maybe, maybe you were struggling financially. Maybe you were having a difficult conversation with somebody, or maybe you were trying to accomplish something and it felt like nothing was working. What happens when you sit around and think about the problem? Usually the problem starts to feel bigger, starts to feel heavier. You get frustrated. You feel discouraged. Self-doubt starts setting it. And eventually you can convince yourself that there's nothing you can do. But what happens when you take one step? You make one phone call. You have one difficult conversation. You follow up with one more customer. You change one process. You make one decision you've been putting off. Something changes. Maybe the problem isn't solved yet. But now you're moving. Now you're learning. Now you're creating opportunities. And that movement starts to build confidence. This is my life in a nutshell. I'm explaining to you, my experience in this arena. Believe me, there are days where I just feel like the world is just weighing me down. And here's something I want everybody to lit, everybody that's listening, I want I want you to remember this. You don't have to have the entire plan figured out to take the next step. You don't need all the answers. You don't need perfect conditions. You don't need to know exactly how everything is going to turn out. Sometimes you just need to start. Because clarity often comes from action, not from sitting around waiting for certainty.

Leading When Things Go Sideways

Ty Cobb Backer 15:16

I I wanna bring I wanna I want to bring I want to bring this back to leadership for a minute. Because whether you're whether you're a business owner, a manager, salesperson, or somebody just starting a new career, you're going to have moments when things aren't going according to plan. It's inevitable. Shit's going to happen. And those moments reveal a lot about a person. It reveals a lot about us. It's easy to be positive when business is booming. Okay. It's easy to be motivated when everything is working. It's easy to be a great leader when everybody's happy and the numbers look good. But what happens when the shit hits the fan? What happens when shit gets real? What happens when the market slows down? You lose a key team member. When a project goes sideways, when your team is looking at you for answers and you don't have them. That's when real leadership matters. And I can tell you from experience, running a business doesn't mean you always know what to do. Believe that. There have been plenty of times when I've had to make decisions without knowing exactly how things would turn out. But here's what I've learned you can't always wait until you feel ready. You can't always wait until you're confident. And you certainly can't always wait for somebody else to step up. Sometimes you've got to be the person who says, okay, here's where we are. Here's what we know. Here's what we can can what we can control. And here's what we're going to do next. You don't have to pretend everything is okay. You don't have to have all the answers. But you do have to be willing to lead. And sometimes leadership starts with leading yourself.

Audience Poll On Ownership

Ty Cobb Backer 17:53

So before I forget, let's do let's do the audience poll. I want to know what everybody thinks about this. What happens first when people take full ownership? Is it A more action? Because they stop waiting and start doing. Is it B better decisions? Because they begin thinking about solutions instead of excuses. Is it C less blame? Because they start focusing on what they can control. Or is it D, more confidence? Because taking responsibility helps them realize what they're capable of. I think there's an argument for all four. But but if I had to pick one right this second, I like them all, by the way. I'd probably go with A. More action. Less procrastination and more action. And here's why. Because you can think about taking ownership all day. You can talk about responsibility. You can read books about accountability. You can listen to podcasts about leadership. But nothing really changes until you do something. And the beautiful thing is, once you start taking action, the other three often begin to follow. You start making better decisions, you spend less time blaming others. And your confidence grows because you're providing proving, you're proving to yourself that you can handle difficult situations. So let me know what you think. Drop your answers in the comments. Last week was pretty cool. I had two or three people actually text message me their answers. So put them in there. I know people are listening. I know people are watching, and I know people are thinking. And that's what's so cool, okay, about what we've been doing here lately with with our audience polls and stuff. So we got people thinking. Okay. We got people listening. We got people watching, and thank you for that. Okay.

Rewrite The Story You Tell

Ty Cobb Backer 20:55

As we start to wrap things up here today, I I I want to leave you with something. Okay. I think a lot of people underestimate what they're capable of. Not because they don't have talent or what it takes, not because they don't have intelligence, not because they they don't have opportunity, but because they've never been forced to discover how resourceful they can actually be. Sometimes the greatest growth in our lives happens when we realize that the responsibility is ours. That doesn't mean the situation is fair. That doesn't mean the road is easy. And it certainly doesn't mean we don't need help along the way. But it means we're no longer waiting for permission to move forward. Think about all the things you're capable of learning. Think about the challenges. You've already overcome. Think about think about those moments in your life when you didn't know how you were going to make it through something. But you figured it out. You adjusted. You learned. You persevered. And you became stronger because of it. Maybe you're capable of more than more than you've been giving yourself credit for. Maybe the thing holding you back isn't your circumstances. Maybe it's the story you've been telling yourself about those circumstances. And maybe today is the day you decide to rewrite that story. Remember, sometimes some things I've said many times, things don't just happen to us. We have to find a way to make them happen for us. Even when they're difficult, even when they're uncomfortable, even when they're not what we planned. Because those experiences can teach us something. If we're willing to take responsibility for what happens next, it is amazing what you can accomplish. So here's my challenge to everybody who's listening today or who will listen to this today. Take a look at your life, your career, your business, your family, and identify the one thing you've been waiting for somebody else to change or fix. Maybe it's something you need to change or fix yourself that's within yourself. And maybe it's a conversation you need to have. Maybe it's a decision you need to just make. Maybe it's a habit you need to change. Maybe it's an opportunity you've been afraid of to pursue. Whatever it is, ask yourself one simple question. If nobody else fixes this, what's the next step I can take? Not next month, not next year, not when things slow down or things pick up. Today. Today, brother. Because you have more influence over your future than you might realize. And I don't want anybody listening to confuse this message with having to go through life alone. You need good people, you need strong relationships, you need mentorship, you need a team, you need your family. But you've also got to be willing to take the first step. And sometimes you've got to be the one who leads the way. Which brings me, which brings me to today's closing question. What situation in your life or in your business changes if you stop waiting for someone else to fix it? Really think about that. Because the answer might be the very thing that changes your direction. And remember, nobody's coming to save you. Doesn't mean you're helpless. It might just mean you're more capable than you ever realized.

Closing Challenge And Next Move

Ty Cobb Backer 25:41

Thank you for joining us today on episode 359 of Behind a Tool Belt. If this message resonated with you, please share it with somebody who may need to hear it today. Somebody who's facing a challenge, somebody who's struggling with direction, or somebody who just needs a reminder that they have the ability to take control of their next move. And as always, keep learning, keep growing, keep developing yourself, and keep making positive impact on the people around you. Because at the end of the day, we don't have to do these things. We get to. Until next time, everybody, take ownership, take action, and keep building something great. We'll see you next week.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

Thanks to our sponsors, TC Backer Construction, Hook Roofing Marketing, Roofal, and Project Map It. And thank you for watching. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook. We are streaming on all major platforms. See you next week for another episode of Behind the Tool Belt.