by Kristi Brown | Featured Contributor
Have you ever felt like everything is going wrong. At. The. Same. Time?
Like things are just freaking difficult, and you see no end to the madness?
Yeah. Me, too.
As a business owner, I have had my share of total meltdowns. I mean, lying on the fluffy rug in the center of the living room, crying and saying I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!
I don’t know what it was that day or week that caused the meltdown, I just remember feeling that something had to change.
If you’ve been in business long, you know that feeling.
You begin telling yourself to breathe. You count to ten. You mentally go through every relaxation technique you’ve ever learned. And you still just feel overwhelmed.
I struggled (and sometimes still do) with the fear of being stuck forever.
Fear of never being enough.
Fear of living a life that is a struggle. All. The. Time.
Fear of financial ruin.
Fear of failure, and then, on really good days, scared to death of what success might require of me.
Have you been there?
Let’s get real.
I started our business, Significantly Successful, to avoid normalcy.
Normal scared me. (And it still does!)
Routines, cubicles, and the mundane aren’t part of the life I want.
I wanted to create the ultimate freedom for myself and those around me. I wanted to have enough money to make an impact. To help the world.
I have struggled in my career to find the right spot for me. I have found success in start-ups and in corporate America, but found that, for me, the biggest challenge (and the greatest sense of accomplishment) came from owning, building, and growing my own business.
So, here are 4 things that helped me shift my mindset from over-dramatic meltdowns to focus and success:
1.) Stop trying to figure out the HOW.
If you are anything like me, you want to know HOW things are going to happen. You may dislike routine. You might be willing to be flexible, but you would really like a road map for HOW these goals and dreams will ever come to pass. It can be very challenging for us to let go and let things work themselves out.
HOW am I going to make more money?
HOW am I going to find the perfect team?
HOW am I ever going to be able to stop working 80-hour weeks?
We have all been around long enough to know that the HOW is not always clear. In fact, in my life, things often happen in ways I would’ve never dreamed of!
Demanding to know the HOW blocks the magic of possibility. I know that may sound a little “woo-woo” for you, but if you can take your hands off of the controls, you may find that bigger, more extraordinary things happen to you when you aren’t focusing on the HOW. You have to create the space for what you dream of to show up. Allow the universe (or God) to conspire in your favor.
I promise if you can master this, life becomes so much easier.
2.) Slow down and focus on your vision.
I know that in today’s world, we are all about getting things done fast. If you read anything about owning a business, you will hear the word “hustle” everywhere.
As a result, everyone is sick, burnt out, and an emotional mess.
Start to be specific, and picky, about what really needs your time and attention. Get all those tasks down to a few important, manageable items, that actually matter to your life.
Being “busy” is not helpful.
Productive people have a mission. They are not busy just to look busy. I often feel like fellow business owners are in some sort of competition to see who can work more hours or work later hours.
That is not productive.
Busy people are often scared that other people will see that they’re not working towards a specific goal or with a specific vision in mind.
Decide on a few priorities that move you closer to your ultimate goals and put your focus and energy there. Hustling is not something that will help you accomplish your goals. I highly encourage my clients to extinguish that word from their vocabulary.
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your desired results come from 20% of your activity.
For example: Henry Ford built his empire (and fortune) by building a better system for making cars, not by building better cars.
Busy people try to make better cars, productive people develop better systems for making cars.
I love this quote from Joel Comm: “Hustle: the art of working yourself silly to lose everything truly important in your life.”
3.) Don’t be afraid to say no.
Warren Buffet defines integrity as “saying no to most things.” Saying no to the things that don’t fit your vision allows you to remain true to it.
Remember, when we stretch ourselves too thin, we can’t help anyone.
Be choosy. Be confident in your mission. Learn to say no with grace.
4.) Own it.
Listen, you are not a victim. You are more powerful than that. If you go down a road that doesn’t pan out, just own it. If you take 100% responsibility, you can change the results you’re getting.
Early on, when starting Significantly Successful, I found myself saying things like:
“But there is so much competition out there.”
“I don’t have millions to spend on advertising.”
“I haven’t built my team yet.”
“I don’t know the right people.”
First, so much of what I was saying to myself focused on lack and not abundance. Thinking this way simply dilutes the power you have to get a different result.
If you want to experience the level of growth that you dream of, both personally and professionally, you need to be a grown up and own up to the fact that the choices we make, how we think, talk, behave, and respond all shapes our present and lays the groundwork for the future.
By owning your mistakes and your successes, it puts you in the driver’s seat to speed towards your goals, and to change direction whenever needed.
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Kristi Brown, Small B
usiness Growth Strategist and Co-Founder of Significantly Successful.
Social Media Aficionado. Fluent in #Hashtag. Netflix Junkie. Red Wine & Chocolate Connoisseur. Master of assuring client delight.
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Kristi Brown, Small BBalcony Coral Kristi- editiedusiness Growth Strategist and Co-Founder of Significantly Successful.
Social Media Aficionado. Fluent in #Hashtag. Netflix Junkie. Red Wine & Chocolate Connoisseur. Master of assuring client delight.
