Things in business don’t happen easily or immediately. Failure is as much a part of the process as success.
Life is Full of Twists and Turns
Some years ago I was booked to deliver a keynote presentation at a conference being held in a country house hotel about 15 miles from home.
I had not been to the place before but I had the address of the venue and had taken a quick look at the driving instructions (road numbers etc.) on the hotel website.
I was confident about my journey.
Being fanatical about arriving at training and speaking engagements with plenty of time to spare I left home two hours before I was due to speak. I thought “an hour to get there; an hour to get prepared.”
Unfortunately, an hour and a half later I was still driving around and around in circles. I knew I was so very close to my destination, but simply unable to find it.
I was almost crying with frustration!
Just a side note here…
I did say it was a few years ago. I had no Sat Nav (in fact, the day after this I went out and bought one!), phones were not smart and I am ‘challenged’ when it comes to reading maps (and Google wasn’t so ‘mappy’ at the time).
How did I get there? I drove around until I found a person who gave me instructions I could understand.
I finally arrived with 5 minutes to spare – rather than the hour I had planned.
At one point, while I was driving around in those circles, I thought of just going home. But I couldn’t do that. Not only because it would have been totally unprofessional on my part, but also because other people were relying on me.
I had to tell myself, “don’t give up” because I knew, whatever happened, I had to get there.
I am sure you have, at some time, you have experienced similar frustrations with something you have needed to achieve.
Business is Full of Twists and Turns
Starting a business is really easy, all you need to do is phone HMRC and tell them you are trading.
Hey Presto! You’re in business. (I know there is a bit more to it than that, but it’s essentially that.)
However, running a business isn’t so easy. It’s tough and it can take a long time for you to see the outcomes of all your hard work.
That is why, as a business owner, you need to develop a positive mindset and resilience. You have to build a thick skin – and ‘Don’t Give Up’ becomes your mantra.
You also need to recognise what you can do, what you can’t do:
- Which skills do you need to develop?
- What activities do you need to delegate to other?
- How do you ensure action and accountability?
As a business owner, the buck stops with you, so it’s always up to you to ensure stuff gets done. That can be so tiring day-in-day-out.
It’s at the down times we need the ‘lift’ most.
That’s why you have to get support.
The support to not give up, to recognise that anything worth having is usually hard to achieve and that every ‘overnight success’ has probably taken years to achieve.
And, on your business journey remember….
Getting there with five minutes to spare is better than not getting there at all.
Next Steps?
If you’re unsure about how to implement any of the suggestions I have made in this article, why not take advantage of my free, half-hour mentoring session?
What have you got to lose?