Heat, Pressure, Time. Are You Making Business Popcorn?

There’s something about going to the movies. It’s not just about the big screen, the dark room, and the surround sound system. It’s the experience.

Part of the experience for me is the hot buttered popcorn. I smell it when I walk into the theatre. As I sit in my seat and the lights dimmer, I tuck in my popcorn. And the inevitable happens!

I reach the bottom of the bowl. Invariably, I get one of the unpopped seeds. No matter how much I wish that seed had popped, it didn’t, and the potential for a broken tooth is the evidence.

What does it take to pop popcorn?

Pop! Pop! Pop! As the warm energy heats the kernels, the water inside them expands and puts pressure against the hard outer shells. As their external layer softens and gives way, the kernels pop.

Kernels need heat and pressure to transform. How much heat? What kind of pressure? Too much heat applied too quickly would burn the grain, and we would have little or no popcorn. Adding pressure without heat would also yield a poor harvest.

What unpopped seeds do you have?

We all have unpopped seeds. Those seeds are our strategic goals. Unless the right amounts of heat and pressure get applied to those seeds, we might never know what we can become. What a tragedy that would be!

How much heat?

One way of knowing if the heat is on is to examine your level of procrastination. What steps have you taken to realize your strategic goals? You may tell yourself that you have all the time to make them happen. There’s not much heat in that. What do you think happens to popcorn in low or no heat? It does not pop.

The key is to turn on the heat bit by bit. With too much heat, you crash and burn. With no heat, you chill and become lazy. Do you have an emotional thermostat (a strategic financial emotional intelligence coach) to regulate you and your business? If the answer is no, how will you know how much heat to apply to meet your strategic goals? You can’t see it when you’re in it. The truth is, you still have business growth seeds in their unpopped state.

How much pressure?

Unpopped seeds need the pressure to soften up and break open. Pop! Pop! Pop! The energy heats the kernels, and the pressure pops the hard outer shells.

Your strategic goals are kernels waiting to pop. How will you truly know how much heat they need and for how long?

Without an emotional thermostat (a strategic financial emotional intelligence coach), most people turn the heat down too early or too late. They misjudge what’s needed and let the pressure get to them. The result is burnout or an upsetting yield. Do you know someone who burned out or lost a ton of money? I bet you do. What did you tell them? What did they do?

An emotional thermostat knows how much heat and pressure to apply to you and your strategic goals to make your business pop. I use heat to dissolve your fears. I light a fire under your behind to speed up your business process. I believe you want to achieve your strategic goals with maximum yield. The days of going at it alone are gone. You know you need help.

Who is your strategic financial emotional intelligence coach?

Popcorn smells and tastes delicious, but these kernels need a blend of heat and pressure to pop. Making popcorn is both an art and a science. One must get just how much heat and pressure to apply. We can’t leave those results to chance, for much is at stake.

Your comfort zone is full of unpopped seeds that need heat and pressure to break open. Your strategic goals also need heat and pressure to transform. How much heat? What kind of pressure? It’s all guesswork unless someone expertly walks you through that process.

So let me be bold. It takes the right amount of heat, pressure, and time to create the delicious experience that pops your strategic goals into fruition. Let’s work together and make something delicious! I would love to assist you. Are you with me?

Anne Beaulieu, inspiring the next generation of emotionally intelligent, strategic women through:

• Your personal emotionally intelligent strategic plan
• Developing strategic emotional intelligence
• Financial emotional intelligence coaching
• Financial emotional intelligence consulting
• Chartered financial analysis
• Finance economics
• Forbes and The Curious Leader value contributions