Your rallying cry.

If you're feeling low on motivation, you need to work on your rallying cry. Sometimes you get things done and you don't know what to do next. Sometimes you have so much to do in so many areas, you find it had to start work on anything! What you need is a "rallying cry", a vision of the future, so bright and attractive that it formulates your priorities for you and pulls you toward the goal.

I was feeling down. I had just come back from a successful trip to the UK visiting new clients, touring the countryside, laying out a maze. It was a big achievement and took a lot of energy from all involved - it was a success. When I returned however, I found so much on my plate a was paralyzed. I nearly had a panic attack when I wrote out my lists on my white board (which is 4ft x 6ft) and ran out of space.

Out of balance. I also realized that, like everyone occasionally is, I was out of balance. We have had wonderful success on the franchise and product side of the equation, but I had been neglecting the pre-season prep for my home park, it was raining every day with no end in sight, and I hadn't done a thing to market the 2011 season.

One thing leads to another. As you know, when the list is big there are routinely bottlenecks. You'll start on a task, say marketing to scouts only to find that you need, first to update the web page and remake the brochure, but you need pictures for the brochure, then you need to find the pictures, then you need to convert them, then load them to your web page, then the phone rings, then AAARGH! One thing leads to another and another until nothings done. You can't seem to complete anything. Paralyzed.

Change your routine. If you've been working outside a lot, move inside. If you've been working alone in your office, call someone in to work with you. Break the routine and think about a vision or goal that's further down the road. I called Michelle in to have a planning meeting for our home park group marketing. During the meeting we came up with, not only definite steps and tasks to complete, but as we talked through things we came up with an opening weekend "rallying cry"; a greater purpose for our opening weekend.

My rallying cry. What was it? "Robin Hood's Helping Harvest" We're going to make our opening weekend (Aug 6-7) FREE, but only if you bring in two canned food items per person. It aligned our group leader open house day, our parade marketing, our initial PR campaign - everything - behind something we believe in: feeding people. Not to mention, it goes pretty darn well with our "Adventures of Robin Hood" themed corn maze! Robin Hood's mission was to help those needing help!

What's your rallying cry? What motivates you and your troops? What is the foundation of your next marketing season? Feeling overwhelmed? Sure, having a rallying cry isn't going to get your work done for you. It isn't going to give you less work to do. It might increase the work load, but when you're working on something you believe in, it's hardly work at all.

Feeling paralyzed? Re-motivate yourself by finding your rallying cry... and stay tuned for "Hugh In Tights".

Have a great week.
- Hugh