Just ONE Thing
Why Your Auto Repair Shop Feels Like a Rut—and How to Fix It
Episode 211
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening. My name is Rick White from 180BIZ, and this is my Just ONE Thing.
How many of you are feeling stressed about work this week versus excited? Which are you? Are you feeling stressed about this week? Are you? Are you feeling excited about this week? That is super, super a great question to ask.
So real quick—which are you?
Let’s think this through. What’s the difference between being stressed and excited—burned out or excited? That is super, super important.
I want to talk to you. I ran across a quote, and it’s a Simon Sinek quote. It said:
“When you’re working for something you don’t care about, it’s called stress. Working hard for something you love is called passion.”
And I really believe that. My brain is like a rock—what do they call that when you shine up a rock? Right—tumbler. I just tumble thoughts and ideas in my head all the time, and I hope it polishes them as we go along.
Think about this: I truly believe that burnout happens when you forget why you're doing something—not how to do it, not when to do it, or what to do—but when you forget why you're doing something. When you forget your why, burnout is the byproduct.
What happens is you’re going through the motions. You’re just focused on the task, on getting through the end of the day. We call that the rut. And the reason why is because you forgot your why.
Now your why could be anything. It could be to create a better upbringing for your kids. It could be to get stuff that you’ve never had. It could’ve been to create an environment where everybody in your shop could thrive. But if you forget your why, you end up in a trap—the rut trap. And you end up in the rut trap because you’re going through the motions without purpose.
So I want you to understand this: the less connected you are to your why, the more stressed and burned out you’re going to be.
Why is that?
Because you’re focused on the situation. You’re focused on the tasks instead of focused on where you’re going or why you’re doing it—or who you’re doing it for. Because when you focus on your why, it changes things. It keeps that burning inside, that hunger alive, when you remember why you’re doing this.
And the difference is—when you remember your why, even with a slow car count… Like, I’m here to make a difference. I’m here to create a great environment. Now it’s just like—let’s get this done. Let’s go. Let’s rock. And you start to work on it.
You know why you get stressed out when you can’t remember your why? It’s because your fears creep in. They start to create a different destination for you.
Car count goes down and you think, “Oh my God, I’m going out of business.” That’s a different destination. And it’s because you’re not remembering your why.
Signs that you’re in a rut:
* Every single day feels the same.
* The work drains you.
* You wake up and don’t want to get out of bed.
* When you get home, you just feel completely drained.
* You’re just surviving.
That is amazing, okay? When you feel that way—because you can recognize that you’re in a rut, not in the groove.
We have groove, rut, and grave.
The groove is when time flies, challenges energize you, and you’re thriving. Why? Because you’re doing something bigger than you. You’re doing something bigger than just the dollar.
That’s what’s so important about this. You’ve got to have that why—your purpose.
What I want you to do is step back and remember why you started the shop.
You may have started it for a loved one. You may have started it to give someone else their dream. You may have started it to dig wells in Africa. You may have started it to give your clients—your community—a place for honest, competent auto repair. Maybe you were tired of seeing people taken advantage of. Tired of seeing people get ripped off.
It all depends. Everybody’s why is different, and it doesn’t matter.
But—“Rick, mine’s a little selfish.”
What do you mean?
“Well, I didn’t grow up with much, and I want to make sure that my family and I don’t go through what I went through. I want to make sure my kids don’t go through what I went through.”
That’s okay! That’s amazing.
And then as you grow and you achieve that why, now you find your next why. That’s what’s so cool about this.
This is the difference between being in a groove and being in a rut.
When you’re in a groove, man, you’re rocking. You’re doing the stuff. But it’s because you’re focused on who you’re serving—on why you’re doing it—what you want to achieve.
The rut is when you forget.
The rut is when you’re staring at your feet.
The rut is when you’re just doing it to get it done.
Instead of picking up the phone to help someone and care, you’re picking up the phone to stop it from ringing.
This makes all the difference in the world.
Does it mean you’re not going to have any issues or problems in the shop? No.
But when you’re in a groove, you don’t call them problems—you call them challenges. And guess what? A challenge is just a speed bump in getting to where you want to go.
When you’re in a rut, the problem feels like this big, giant dam in the way—and you’re not going to be able to get through.
That’s what’s going on.
So what I want to do right now, real quick, is help you rediscover your why.
I want you to just think about what drew you into this industry to begin with—beyond just making money.
What drew you into starting your own shop—beyond just making money?
Think about it:
* Was it the satisfaction of solving stuff that nobody else could?
* Was it helping your community when they were stranded?
* Was it mastering complex problems?
Whatever it is—here’s your Just ONE Thing for this week. The one thing shift:
What made you choose this business in the first place?
And maybe some of you feel like, “Well, I didn’t get a chance.”
But here’s the thing I want you to do:
I want you to restructure your day around your core passion.
If it’s family, build it around family. Don’t lie to yourself and say, “I’m working for my family,” and never see them. Because you’re killing one to feed the other.
You’ve got to get it so that you’re working around your core passion.
How about during the summer, your family comes over and you have lunch together? Or you find a little spot outside, and you sit on a picnic table and have lunch with them?
How about getting out a little earlier so that you’re not staying all hours of the night?
You’ve got to get away from rut-inducing tasks to groove-creating activities.
* One—you’re focused on what you’re doing.
* Two—you’re focused on why you’re doing it.
This is really, really cool.
So what I’d like you to do is get back in touch with what got you excited in the first place:
* Who did you want to serve?
* What difference did you want to make?
* What did you want to achieve?
Remember those things.
Fall in love with your passion again, and you will see some amazing things happening.
That is my Just ONE Thing for this week.
Thank you guys for being here. I appreciate you.
If you want to—remember—July 10, 7 PM, we’re doing our Shop Owners Round Table.
We also have our Pocket Business Genius Webinar Series. Did a really great one—“Going from Chaos to Freedom and Prosperity”—this past week.
If you missed it, the recording will be up shortly. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d love to have you check that out.
That’s the Pocket Business Genius—our webinar series.
Would love to have you in there.
Everybody, thank you so much for being here.
God bless. Have fun. And go make some money this week.
We’ll talk to you all next week.
Take care. Bye, bye, bye.
