Below, I’d like to share nine steps to victory for business owners and entrepreneurs.
a “pros and cons” list. I recommend using a form of the Benjamin Franklin problem-solving technique. Take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle, and draw another line across the top (like a letter “T”). On the top left, write “Pros,” and on the top right, write “Cons.” Write down the present “Pros” about your business on the left, and the “Cons” on the right. Take time to finish this, rather than writing them all in one sitting, since you’ll have different ideas at different times. Next comes a more difficult part of the exercise. Step outside yourself, let your emotional attachment to your business go for now, and look at your list with fresh eyes and a purely impartial point of view. Go through your “Pros,” and number the items from most to least important for your business’s ongoing success. Next, go through your “Cons,” and number the items. Number one should be the item that needs the most immediate attention. On both sides, delete any items that you no longer see as important enough to include in your list. Sit down in a quiet area with your complete list in front of you. Now, bring your emotion and passion for your business back to the table. If the “Pros” list still fires you up, you have that feeling of excitement, and you know that your business provides an important service or product to your clients, then the business deserves to be protected and grown. (If the fire is no longer lit, you may need to seek a new path.) Items that are higher up on your “Pros” list are the business’s strengths, and are the main items for you to focus on and expand. Choose one of these, and discover ways to expand and grow this strength. Look at the “Cons” list. The top items are the biggest challenges you face today. There are solutions and answers for each of these. This
is now your prioritized “To-Do” list. Much of business is simply problem- solving; seek solutions. Problems are opportunities in waiting. For both your “Pros” and “Cons” lists, start by focusing on one item only. Research, read and learn; take quiet time to think; reach out to other professionals and mentors; and start your quest to find avenues for growth.
NINE STEPS TO VICTORY
1. Set a Target. Choose a target that’s important to you, and that you don’t know how to achieve. Write it down, and add a date for achieving it. Review this target daily. 2. Replace Doubt with Curiosity. Ask yourself questions. “What if I...?” “How can I...?” “Who can I reach out to?” 3. Replace Self-Criticism with Determination. Your determination is the part of you that helped get your business off the ground in the first place.
IN CLOSING
The thing that you do best is being you. Whether you know it now or not, you’re exceptional and unique. You have the power within you to create the tomorrow you’re longing for. Your business dreams aren’t lost; they may have taken a detour, but detours lead to new places yet to be discovered. Life is an adventure. Learn what you need to learn, get the coaching or mentoring that you deserve, and then look within. The answers are there for you. You have what it takes to get through these times. With a little ingenuity, stubbornness, foresight, and support, not only can you get your business through this interruption, you can thrive. Sometimes an earthquake in your life, or in your business, provides the gift of change. Seize it, seek the lessons and opportunities in it, and take the next definitive step. You’re either moving backwards or moving forwards; there’s no in-between. During times of adversity, new ideas and passions are born that can impact the world. I believe we have a responsibility to be successful, so that we can continue to provide positive contributions to the clients we serve and those we’re yet to meet.
4. Concentrate on the Word “Opportunity.” Focus on the
opportunities; they are there to find. Ideas are all around you. Be hungry for knowledge, gain it, and apply it! 5. Replace Worry with Action. It’s always better to take a step of deliberate action verses no action. Knowledge times action equals power.
6. Never Accept Excuses. Particularly if they are from you.
7. Never Accept Criticism From Others ... Unless they are someone whose advice you highly value. Otherwise, keep your blinders on, and hold the course. 8. Keep a Journal. Write your ideas down, make notes about your progress, and review. 9. Reach Up to Others. No one achieves success alone. Reach out to those you admire and would value advice from, whether you know them or not. You will find a hand reaching down to pull you up.
Barbie is accepting new clients .
Barbie Moudahi, Master Business Coach Barbie@MasterLeadershipSystems.com 902.807.0587
YOUR BUSINESS’S PROS AND CONS
I would like to share an action you can apply to your business now: write
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