As of right now, as a business owner you’re like a caterpillar wrapped up in a cocoon, nurturing yourself. Protecting yourself and your profits. Feeding yourself so that one day in the future, you’ll emerge a brand new, fully-functional, wildly successful human.
Here are 10 (weird) ways to help you on your entrepreneurial journey towards a successful and profitable business venture.
1. Weigh the Odds
Felix Dennis (founder of Dennis Publishing) said in his ground-breaking business book—called How To Get Rich—that “making money is a drug. Not the money itself, the making of money.” Whatever you decide to do in business, weigh the odds and ask yourself: will I get “high” from making money for this? If the answer is yes – give the project/venture the green light. If you answered no, then it’s back to the drawing board. If your only goals in business involve finance, your personal will be truly empty.
2. Out with The Trash
People who are set to remain in their ways, will. You know the drill. It’s good to get out of Dodge every now and then – see new places. Meet new people. Learn new things, gain fresh insights. This is your chance to truly experience the world in ways you never have. If your friends and employees seem set in their ways, remind them that they can always find another job elsewhere. Your job is to progress and evolve your business so it runs efficiently.
3. Are You Frank?
Subtlety gets us nowhere. Often, people won’t pick up “the slightest clues” you put down in front of them; what seems obvious to you, is a space gap to someone else. Therefore, in conversations with your customers and workers, practicing clarity is a trait worth cultivating. By being clear and upfront about what it is you want/are talking about—without the need for being clever—you’ll save time in your conversations.
4. Learn First, Learn Always
Whether you are noob to the business world or a grizzled veteran, it’s important to invest in your mind – by reading books about willpower, building successful habits, what separates the rich and successful from the poor and average, etc. A lot of motivational speakers’ advice for achieving success involves reading more books. Bill Gates (tied with legendary Warren Buffet as the richest man in the world) often releases a list of “must read” books.
5. Disable Enablers
An enabler is that pesky one who argues, “C’mon, having one drink won’t hurt.” Or those who offer to give you a little “taste” of your chosen poison. In business and the work place, enablers are the people who slack off during critical quarters. Enablers quite literally enable other people to use less energy doing their job. In addiction circles, enablers push addicts to their breaking point – and they dive in headfirst into their addiction again; all their progress backslides. Get rid of any enablers, if possible.
6. Rebounding
In relationships, rebounding means bouncing back from a traumatic experience. In many social circles, rebounding is encouraged (and expected.) In the business world, it’s a valuable survival skill.
When you lose a valued client or an irreplaceable worker, it’ll be easy to go after another one to quickly fix your losses. This “next one” will be a rebound – and you must proceed with caution. In your quest to fill the void, there’s a possibility you’ll overlook some vital clues that this replacement may indirectly sabotage your business. Hence, the utmost vigilance is required.
7. What Are Relationship Goals Good For?
As Les Brown (motivational speaker) says, “Your relationships. What kind of impact are they having on your life? Is it nourishing or is it toxic? Does it drain you or does it fill you up?”
The types of people in your life will determine your success or failure – especially in business. When you surround yourself with people who aren’t as success-minded as you, you’ll see the results from their lackluster performances.
What goals from relationships do you want? What results are you expecting from this person, or that person? Setting goals is a way of finding answers for the all-important question: what do you want to do?
Vague goals such as “I want to have healthier relationships” are disastrous; there’s no way to go after that goal. A goal that actually matters—and is realistic—is a goal such as: “I want to understand my customer service department on a more personal level.”
Figure out (and write down) what it is you need to do in order to make the most of your business. You can create all the goals you want – but, without putting them on paper, you’ll have a hard time getting them done. Writing down your goals “cements them” in your mind; not on your phone or your laptop: a real pen and paper.
8. Assess the Damage
Remember: What happened, happened – and there is no changing that. No matter how dire we burn to rewrite the past, or to go back in time and stop ourselves from committing a lifelong mistake… it will never be so. All we’re left with are wishes, fragments of dreams, and the reality of the situation: it doesn’t matter that you screwed up and made mistakes. No, what matters is what you’re doing now to try and fix them. Inspire your employees/colleagues to think the same way the next time your entire staff faces a hardcore meltdown.
9. Be Kind to Your Genius
It’s nigh impossible for most people in their industry to do extraordinary things each and every single day, day after day, week after week. To be honest with you, you probably already know that there are some dark days looming ahead of you and your team.
It’s important (now more than ever) to be kind and gentle with yourself. Reminder: You are not a fragile snowflake. Being gentle with yourself means it’s okay to be down in the dumps. Really. It’s okay to feel like nothing matters and tomorrow will never come, or that lost clients will mean the end. The fact is: time changes.
10. Take Care of Yourself
How often have you worked out in the past two weeks? If the answer is “not often,” then I have to wonder what is wrong with you. “I’m busy” is not a viable excuse anymore, as these successful CEOs work out every day.
Think about it: Would you rather work with clear-headed, focused people who are physically fit… or desk-workers who chow down on a bag of chips every night, binge watch Netflix for 4 hours a night, and heavily smoke and/or drink every night?
Conclusion
There are so many reasons not to do anything – in life, business or love. This is why there are so many bored “zombie” people you see, with permanent long faces who have no spring in their step. Work, business and life extinguished the fire from their eyes – don’t let this happen to you, by remembering that you can always start a new life if you never stop living.