Quit Fix'n To Get Ready-Reboot #190

Podcast Show Notes:

Ever feel stuck staring at a decision that should be simple, while the industry keeps flying past you at 80 mph? You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. You’re human. And in this re-shared message, we break down why procrastination sneaks into your shop and your life, and how one clear decision can flip the switch on momentum fast.

We dig into how our brains are wired to protect us, not push us forward. That’s great when you’re avoiding danger, but not so great when you’re deciding on ADAS training, EV safety procedures, hiring your next tech, or finally fixing that workflow bottleneck everyone complains about. While you’re thinking it over, the world doesn’t pause. OEMs update procedures. Insurers shift expectations. Your team waits. Pressure builds.

I share a personal story about waiting too long on a decision and losing years I can’t get back. The relief didn’t come from the perfect answer. It came from deciding. From there, we walk through a simple framework that works in real shops: decide, observe, adjust, and keep moving. No perfection required.

We also connect mindset to real results. Better hiring choices. Cleaner processes. Higher profit. Stronger leadership when things get heavy. Tools matter, but mindset runs the shop. Coaching comes up as a force multiplier, not a magic fix, but a way to shorten the learning curve and stop going it alone.

If you’re tired of “fixing to get ready,” this episode is your nudge to move.

3 Key Takeaways

1. Waiting feels safe, but it quietly costs you time, energy, and opportunity.
2. Decisions create clarity. Clarity creates momentum.
3. You don’t need perfect answers, just the courage to choose and adjust.

Press play, pick one decision, and move forward today.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And New Year Reset
• 1:10 Subscribe, Reviews, And Daily Quotes
• 2:07 Why Most People Stall On Decisions
• 3:39 Childhood Boldness Vs Adult Overthinking
• 5:18 Real-Life Stalling: Gyms, Purchases, Careers
• 6:01 Rick’s Career Turning Point
• 6:47 Message To Collision Shop Owners
• 7:34 Coaching Offer And Industry Pressures
• 8:38 Change Is Constant; Mindset Is Choice
• 11:03 Decide, Learn, And Course Correct
• 12:00 Final Mindset Warning And Close

Transcript

Rick: 0:00

Last year, about this time, I dropped episode number 190, Fixin' to Get Ready. This was designed to give everyone a gentle nudge, or for some a little kick in the butt, whichever you needed, to take advantage of the beginning of another brand new year, to stop contemplating changes you want or probably need to make, to stop stalling, quit making excuses, stop fixing to get ready, and just make a decision and move forward with those changes and see what great things come from that decision. Welcome to the minority. Thanks so much for stopping in. If you're a returning listener and haven't done so already, please take a minute and click the follow or subscribe button and then rate and review the show. When you rate and review the show, the algorithms for Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, and all the other platforms will see that it's valuable and show it to more people that have never seen it before, and hopefully it can help them too. I would really, really, really appreciate your help sharing this word with your friends and family as well. And if you're a brand new listener, welcome. I hope you find something of value here that helps you in your personal or professional life as well. Please make sure to click the subscribe or follow button so you never miss another episode. If you've been listening to the show for a while, or been on the receiving end of my daily quote of the day emails, or maybe just catch my posts on Facebook or LinkedIn, you know I'm all about the quotes, right? If you'd like to start receiving my quote of the day emails, there's a link in the show notes to sign up. It's free and you can unsubscribe at any time. Last year, about this time, I dropped episode number one ninety, fixing to get ready. This was designed to give everyone a gentle nudge, or for some a little kick in the butt, whichever you needed, to take advantage of the beginning of another brand new year to stop contemplating changes you want or probably need to make, to stop stalling, quit making excuses, stop fixing to get ready, and just make a decision and move forward with those changes, and see what great things come from that decision. I had great feedback on this message and thought it'd be good to share again at the start of this year. So let's take a short trip back to January 2025 and give this another listen. Well, here we are early in the new year. Maybe we made some last minute resolutions on New Year's Eve or worked on setting some realistic goals for 2025 back in December. Or maybe we're still on the fence what we want to commit to. If you made those decisions to change something or make some kind of improvements to your business or your life back in December or even on New Year's Eve, regardless of how minor it may seem, and you are currently implementing those changes, congratulations. You are in the minority, my friend. Most of us are still sitting on the fence waiting to decide, fixing to get ready, as they say. These are actually very easy decisions to make, but as adults, we tend to make these more difficult than they need to be. We overthink, overanalyze, weigh out the risk and reward aspects way more than we should. But think back to when you were a kid, or even look at your own kids if you have them. They don't overthink anything, do they? No. They get an idea and then they act almost immediately, right? Jump your bike over a couple buddies laying on ground like evil canival jumping buses? No problem. You can do it. Just need a couple old tires and some plywood. Ride your wagon down a steep hill to see if you can steer it with just a handle? No problem. Seems like that would be easy, right? Or you want to fly like a superhero, hey, no problem. Just need a cape? A towel will do. Climb the fence and jump. Well, good thing mom and dad have a medical plan, right? The great thing about being a kid is you don't have the fears of failing. Risk is not in your vocabulary, and most things you tried you approach with great enthusiasm and a positive I can do this attitude. Your mind hasn't been conditioned for twenty, thirty, or forty years with no or don't, or that's too risky, or you may fail. I know it sounds a little heavy, but it is a hundred percent true. But as we grow into adults and have that multiple years of negative programming from first our parents, and they don't mean for that to happen, but it does, then our schools, our society, and the news media, we have a harder time making the decision to make the decision. It also doesn't help that our two million year old brains are hardwired to protect us, to keep us from danger, to protect us from getting injured, and that presents a really difficult current to swim against. Now it may have kept many of our ancestors from getting eaten by a saber-toothed tiger or something way back then, but it really isn't a concern these days, is it? Some of us spend weeks, months, years, even decades fixing to get ready, depending on the subject or situation. Take, for example, making the commitment to invest in a gym membership so we can start getting healthy again. Make it postponed for months on end as we get further out of shape. Or just making a major appliance purchase. It can take weeks to decide. Maybe buying a home or deciding to sell your current home during a hot real estate market can take months of agonizing over the decision, and then possibly lose out on thousands of dollars. Many people will stay at a shitty or unfulfilling job for years or decades, maybe for their whole career, because they are afraid to make the jump. In fact, this was me for several years. I had a great leadership position and a long successful career in the jobber world, but several things beyond my control changed in the company I worked for. And these were big negatives for me. And it gradually became extremely unfulfilling and miserable for me. I knew I needed to leave. I spent too much time fixing to get ready, but failed to make a decision until that option was taken away and my position was eliminated. Now in hindsight, it was such a relief that I was upset for myself for not deciding earlier, as there was so much more out there for me that I was missing. I had wasted a few precious years that I'll never get back. But internally I just chalked it up to the theory of timing is everything, right? If you're running a collision shop, whether second generation, third generation, or original owner, grinding every day, putting out fires, chasing KPIs, working in rather than on the business, and wondering why progress still feels slower than it should, let's take a little pause right here. As a longtime industry supplier, performance coach, and host of this podcast, I've worked inside this industry for over four decades, and I've learned a few things the hard way. Tools and tactics absolutely matter, but mindset drives everything. How you think shapes how you lead, how you hire, how you grow, and how you show up when things get messy. That's where one-on-one coaching makes a difference. You get focused conversations, real accountability, and guidance tailored to you and your shop, not generic cookie cutter advice. The collision repair business has changed dramatically in the last few years. The technology, the tools, the equipment needed to repair today's new vehicles, customer expectations that vary by generation, OEM certifications and repair procedures, ADAS calibrations, electric vehicles, and the ever-growing national technician shortage, it's a lot, isn't it? It can be absolutely overwhelming and very challenging on where to focus first, right? If only I had someone who could help me find clarity in all the chaos. If only there was someone that could help guide me through the changes I need to make so I could create a successful business and increase my net revenue. If only I had a coach that could help me without getting in my way or trying to run my business for me or costing me a fortune. This is where I can help. The goal is simple: help you make consistent improvements, build sustainable culture, gain better profitability, and shave years off the learning curve. If you're open to adjusting how you think and how you lead, book a free 15-minute discovery call with me right now. No sales pitch, no blue sky promises, just an honest conversation to see if it's a fit. You have absolutely nothing to lose but everything to gain. Secure a spot now. Then there are some people that'll stay in unhealthy, possibly even toxic relationships for many years, decades, or perhaps a lifetime, because they fear the what ifs or uncertainty of what that change could bring. Some people spend almost a lifetime on one fence or another fixing to get ready, only to make no decision at all. One thing for certain, change is constant in all of our lives. It seems as though everything else in our world around us is always changing, yet we struggle to make even the smallest of changes in ourselves. Why is that? Do we really think that everything else can change, but I don't have to? Don't be ridiculous. If you own any type of automotive repair business, you know for a fact that all the tools, all the equipment, the supplies, the types of materials and the substrates we repair, and the repair methods themselves are constantly evolving and changing, aren't they? Now you can't repair uh, let's say a 2005 GM Ford or Toyota the same way as you would a 2025 model. What in the world makes you think you can run your business the same without making some meaningful changes to how you process those repairs? And if you can't continue to eat fast food, drink beer all night, and raid the fridge at midnight without gaining any weight like you did twenty years ago, what in the world makes you think that you really don't need to change your consumption habits and still survive another twenty years? Wouldn't your mindset or way of thinking about what you really need to do change as well? So here's the difference. Those changes in the world around you and your business were made by someone else besides you, and you have to react and adapt. You had no choice in those decisions. The decisions you make or don't make, and believe me, not deciding is a decision, are completely reactive. Yet sometimes we can stay stuck in that funk for long periods of time, overthinking, procrastinating, occasionally mentally frozen, unable to move forward. But here's the thing, when you decide to make a change, you do decide to gain some additional knowledge, you do decide to implement a new way of doing things, you do decide to make a positive effort to improve something like your health, your relationships, your mindset, then you, my friend, you are in charge. You are being proactive. You are no longer the byproduct of someone else's decision to change. See, doesn't that hit a little differently? When you actually decide, you will have one of two outcomes. Either things will work out the way you envision them, or they won't. At least right away. But with the correct mindset, they will probably reveal to you a few lessons you need to learn, which will cause you to adapt a bit, course correct, and continue in the path you chose to an eventual positive outcome. Your mindset, which is 100% under your control every single day, is the only thing holding you back from or propelling you forward to accomplishing whatever you need to do to be successful, to lose that nagging extra weight, to start that new healthy habit that you know will be so good for you, to realizing your dreams of having a profitable collision or automotive repair business. But first, a word of warning. And this is important. If your mindset is not where it needs to be yet, the first thing you need to change or adjust is that. Then simply just decide. Don't let others decide for you. It's really as easy as that, and everything else will follow. Thanks again for tuning in. I really appreciate your support, and I hope you have a great week. I can always be reached at www.rixilover.com, where you can find all my social media links, podcast episodes, blog posts, and much more.