One of the ways to success for the small business entrepreneur is to do your own research in terms of what’s out there in the marketplace then re-create your own version of what you see and hear.
When you try to re-create what you see and hear to perfection you risk never starting your own venture. Let go of the need to recreate the perfection you see around you. Allowing yourself to do something that comes from the authentic you imperfectly gives you a starting point and something to learn from.
The How
Decide what you’re going to do. Keep it simple. Work on it consistently – ideally every day or every week. Don’t discount the small gains/wins. Have a clear vision, a long-term mindset and a certain sense of urgency.
Review your progress on a regular basis to keep you on track – e.g. weekly, fortnightly, monthly and make adjustments.
Start anything you’re unsure about straight away. You need to be able to answer these key questions very early on: What am I doing? Why am I doing it? What’s my approach going to be? When and how do I get started?
Getting Motivated
In order for you to be motivated there’s got to be a hook. When you see, hear or feel something, it has to light a fire inside of you. You’ve got to feel that spike of excitement somewhere within you. It has to strike a chord. If these sensations are absent chances are there’s no connection with what you’ve just seen, heard or felt and chances are you won’t maintain your motivation (even if you initially have some of it).
Motivation also comes not always from taking the action but completion and looking back at what you’ve achieved.
Balancing Movement
Part of establishing balance in your life is getting the right amount and type of exercise for you that will leave you energised and not exhausted. It may be you need something like Tai Chi or yoga for example, as opposed to running or vice versa.
Balancing Timeframes
You also need to get a balance in terms of how long you spend on something. A timeline needs to feel like a bit of a challenge in order to galvanise you. If, however, it’s too short there’s a risk you either switch off because part of your brain won’t believe it’s possible for you to achieve your outcome within that timeframe, or you become highly stressed trying to get everything done within the period you’ve given yourself.
A key skill to develop is therefore to establish a balance between a timeframe that’s too short and unduly stressful for you and one that’s too long and risks you becoming distracted by less important events occurring around you.
Personal Development vs Personal Connection
Sometimes when you go from programme to programme it only means something to you when you have your own product or service that you’re offering. Only then can you really connect to what you’re seeing and hearing. Otherwise it can just feel like theory. Before you spend thousands on yet another programme look at what’s around you and bring it together into your own programme.
Use your existing contact-base! Are you a member of an existing group with whom you can share the benefits of what you offer? Who do you already have around you to assist you? How can you help them?Find out from them what they actually want and need, package it into a programme and offer it to them in the format they want.
No Substitute for Getting out There
There’s no real substitute for getting out there, getting your hands dirty and coming up against those walls, problems, frustrations, stresses, errors, miscalculations, missed deadlines, conflicts… and successes! These are all learning opportunities. You just need to ensure that there’s a balance between stepping out and stepping back in, i.e. coming back home to yourself, stepping back in to your comfort zone to recuperate, renew and refresh before stepping out again.