One of the greatest pitfalls I've discovered as an online business owner is getting stuck in my own comfort zone. In this comfort zone I'm quite capable, comfortable, stress-free, and quite frankly, caught in a rut. When I make the unconscious decision to "nest" in my own comfort zone, I usually become bored in a short period of time. It seems as though there's nothing more to do, no more great challenges to tackle, nothing to which I anticipate and look forward -- in other words, a slow yet painless death of my business.

When I feel the walls of this comfortable rut grow higher and higher, I think of a story shared by a life coach at a conference I attended several years ago. This coach was vacationing in Australia and had the opportunity to go bungee-jumping. This sport scared her greatly, so she spent the first 3 weeks of her visit coming up with all the reasons she didn't want to participate. Eventually she decided that she would regret this missed opportunity if she didn't rise to this challenge, and made a reservation to go on a jump. On the day of her jump, after she harnessed up, the two people in line in front of her backed out. She was now in a do or die position -- it was her turn to jump -- and she had to decide if she really wanted to do this.

Her bungee jumping coach came up to her and whispered, "You wouldn't be here if this wasn't what you wanted to do." She realized he was right, and she jumped. This defining moment in her life enables her to coach her clients to "jump" from where they are to where they want to be, even though it might be the scariest moment in their lives.

How would your life or business be different if you forced yourself out of your comfort zone? What is it that will make you move forward to get where you want to be? Here are 5 strategies that I use re-energize my online business when I get a bit too cozy in my comfort zone rut:

1. Read magazines/books/trade publications in other industries. I love to use this activity as a way to generate ideas for my business -- it stirs my creativity. Reading what others are successfully doing in their industries inspires to me determine if I can replicate their success in my own business or industry.

2. Contact someone who intimidates you. We all have these gurus in our industries that may scare us or intimidate us a bit because of their popularity. Or, perhaps their success scares you in some way. Determine what you'd like to learn from them, and request to speak with them by phone, email, or in-person for a short amount of time to ask them a few questions. If you don't personally know them, find someone who does and request an introduction. More than likely they'll agree, and you'll discover that they're just as human as you are.

3. Ask for honest feedback from a trusted colleague. Many times when we stay wrapped up in our businesses, it's hard to see where we need improvement or additions because we've become accustomed to how things are. Ask a trusted colleague for honest feedback about some aspect of your business. You can create your own mastermind group and ask for this on a regular basis, as I do.

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