As a consultant I am constantly cast in an expert role and for the most part that’s okay, but I want to be clear….I don’t know everything and that’s what makes me an expert. I know a lot about my specialty but when it comes to taking my own advice, I could do a little better. So here’s the best advice that I can give myself and hopefully it will work for you as well.
Be still and celebrate
I always tell my clients to listen, listen to your books, listen to your experiences and listen to your staff. I find that I am not so good at that. I run from one project to the next and don’t make it a point to stop for more than an end of project briefing. The problem with this is that I will only ever have fleeting moments of greatness; my successes are erased as soon as I rush to my next project. Be still and revel in your greatness, if only for a moment.
You are far more prepared than you think
Some people are planners, like me. We think about everything and anything that can go wrong and that analysis often prevents some of the best innovation I have ever had. In this Twitter era we are petrified of doing the wrong thing that will live forever in cyberspace, but the thing is that if you never make a mistake you can never truly succeed. So stop planning, just try it and stand back in awe of your ability.
Try again tomorrow
I think that I suffer from my expectations of greatness, like every entrepreneur. We think that we have to come up with the best version of whatever it is we are doing. The truth is that even after the worst debacle, tomorrow is an opportunity to try again and do a little better. So go ahead and fail, you will still get up tomorrow and the world will still turn. The experience will take you some place you never would have gotten to on your own.
Be forgiving
Now this is something that I have learnt from life and not just in the business sense. Things happen usually for reasons that have nothing at all to do with you. The best thing you can do in business is get over it. Stop talking about the negative thing that happened and start talking about what you learned from it. Stop forcing people to keep their word and start working with people where that isn’t an issue. I’ve noticed that most negative interactions in business come from a place of fear. Fear of being taken advantage of, fear of not having all of the information, fear of not being good enough. Stop being afraid and get in the game.
In the end being an entrepreneur is like navigating the ocean without a compass. The water is cold, deep and terribly unforgiving and that makes it the perfect experience. So stop hiding from yourself ,your greatness will find you if you let it.
