As business owners we are always so focused and determined to make change in our business, to get more customers, to drive bottom line results but what about ourselves?
I see it more often than not that business owners are working harder to achieve the same result, they are struggling to achieve success, whatever that means to them, yet when it comes to peeling down the layers of ourselves, exposing our vulnerabilities and weaknesses, most would rather blame outside circumstances for their shortfalls rather than work on probably the most important ingredient to success.. YOU!
Although this will be a brief snapshot – two part guide to transformation and improvement, I hope this provokes some new thinking around transforming your current situation and taking you from where you are to where you want to be. Many of you know me as a business growth & franchise consultant, author speaker, trainer and coach. What many of you don’t know is my personal story and journey and as a transformational leadership & results coach, my mission is to help you maximise your potential in business and also in life.
Move Away from The Woe is Me – Isn’t it Hard Club!
It has been said before by the business greats, you are the average of the five people you spend most time with. So what does that really mean? In short we become like the people we hang out with. That is why it’s so important to spend time with the people you want to become like. It is essential you be selective. If you want to be more successful you have to start hanging out with more successful people.
With social media, this can be achieved quite easily, simply by joining and interacting with successful people from all over the world. When it comes to your friends, limit your time with those who choose to see the glass half empty all the time. Ultimately it is not serving you or them for that matter. Find other places where you can start to surround yourself with successful people who have a positive attitude, a solution oriented approach to life, people who know that they can accomplish whatever they set out to do.
Acknowledge Your Positive Past
As human beings, there is a natural tendency to place more emotional intensity and association around our errors, mistakes, traumas and failures than around your successes and wins. Because our brain more easily remembers events associated by strong emotions, most undervalue and don’t even acknowledge the number of successes they’ve had in relation to the number of so called failures. To counteract this, it’s important to make a shift in your thinking. Firstly it’s important to adopt a belief that there is no failure only feedback. Secondly,
it’s important to celebrate your wins and your successes, no matter how small they may be. Take a minute or two to share with someone right now a success you have had in the past week. You may find it hard as the sad truth is we all have more victories than failures but
we have simply set the bar too high for what we call a success. If you don’t already have one and write in it regularly, create a success journal and be sure you write in it each week.
Focus on What You Want
It’s easy to be negative when things are tough. It takes some work to be positive and motivated and I can assure you it’s well worth it. Commit to staying focused on what it is you want and the next action steps you need to take to get you closer to what you want rather than on the other distractions that take you further away.
It’s always a good idea to set aside time at the end of the day to acknowledge your successes, review your goals, focus on your successful future and make specific plans for what you want to accomplish the next day. Another powerful tool to keep yourself focused on the positive and your eye on what it is you want is the Daily Success Focus Journal. At the end of the day simply identify five things that you accomplished during the day. Look at all areas of your life, work, school, family, spirituality, finances, health, personal development or
community service. Think about why that accomplishment is important to you, and then think of how you can progress further in that area, and then write down a specific action step/s that will lead to this progress. Another thing that can make a huge difference in your life is get into the habit of visualising your next day the way you want it to be.
Clean Up Your Messes and Your Incompletes
To succeed at anything and to get a desired result to fruition there are a number of steps required. It’s referred to as the cycle of Completion and includes these steps – Decide, Plan, Start, Continue, Finish and Complete. It’s not uncommon for many to never complete what they started or decided on. When you don’t complete the past, you can’t be free to fully embrace the present. By adopting a completion consciousness you will find yourself focused on completion. Always knowing what it will take to get a particular task completed. By being
aware of what needs to be done, you will naturally move towards completion. In time management or priority management I’m sure you have heard of the 4D’s. Do it, Delegate it, Delay it (Decide When) or Dump it. The same can be adopted for completing your projects and tasks in business & in life.
Face What Isn’t Working
If you have any intention of achieving more success, you must move away from denial and face what isn’t working in your business and or life. If you find yourself making excuses or you are failing to acknowledge the areas of that have been on a downward trend of late, then it’s time to take a step forward and start being honest with yourself.
Start to listen and be aware of the little things that are not right before they grow into something huge and unmanageable. I stick by the philosophy that you, and only you, are 100 per cent responsible for your life. If you continue to choose to not see things as they are then you are closing the door shut to what could be.
Aim for 1%
Most people I coach and support expect massive changes to take place almost instantly. Why wouldn’t you? We are living in an instant gratification society are we not? The challenge with this is we are setting ourselves up for overwhelm and disappointment. Remember the tortoise and the hare story? Slow and steady wins the race. Improvement works the same way. If you focus on improving all key areas of your business and your life by just 1 per cent every day and you commit to taking consistent action towards that improvement, then I guarantee you will experience massive shifts, change and transformation over a course of one year. Try this with your health and fitness, your lead conversion, your daily activities, your mindset and more… It will be well worth it.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Before we move on to Part 2 of this article in the next issue I want you to make a list of what isn’t working in your business or your life. Ask yourself: What’s not working? Then ask: How can I improve it? Then finally list what steps you need to take and when you need to take them in order to improve or transform this current situation. Here’s a quick tip: it’s always a good idea to choose one action and then complete it. Then take another action and another action until you get the change or improved results you are after. Oh and remember the 1% Consistent Daily Improvement.
Tania Allen is the founder of Vision Alliance and author of Franchise Profits.
Vision Alliance supports franchisors and franchisees in all areas of business growth, franchise development & personal empowerment.
If you would like some more information or support in this area contact Tania Allen at:
Phone: 1300 76 49 20 or 0419 481 203
Email: tania@vision-alliance.com
Web: www.vision-alliance.com
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