As time passes and I put in more time, effort and infrastructure in my business, the results also get bigger and more obvious to the public. The perception that I have achieved success is discussed and I get to hear that I inspire lots of others. I also equally as much get my fare share of criticism and sabotage from those triggered by my success.
I get to hear this a lot more: ‘You are so lucky. I wish I would get the opportunities that you do.’ Or ‘Your program is high end and provides a tangible results for your clients. I can’t do that with mine, I am different from you.’ Or ‘You are so lucky you have your husband to help you and take care of the children. I don’t have that kind of support.’
Lets get one thing straight. Success in Business is not about LUCK, its about taking the logical steps that will get your from A to B whatever you A and B points are. Some will take quicker to get to their B and others slower depending on skills, resources and amount of effort put in on the journey. It has nothing to do with LUCK. The Harder you work the Luckier you will get.
I am no different from anyone else. I didn’t have many skills to run a business when I started out, I certainly had no capital and made do with spare cash from my day time job, but one thing I did have is the ability to put in lots of time, effort and sacrifice to develop the skills and get to the point of having more resources to scale my business eventually.
I also did not have my husbands support in child care from day one. He was in day job for the first 3 years around which I took care of the kids and grew the business around his 50 hour a week work roster. So how did I create my own luck eventually….
- I said Yes to everything that came my way. It didn’t matter if it was a good opportunity or not. I just said yes, so that I can figure out what was good and not good but at the same time I would put in the hours and serve anyone I came in contact with. I still kind of do that nowadays, I just make sure it won’t drain me and I like to prioritise who I spend my time with and how much. I am of the belief that you just never know where you will get your Big Break.
- I spent a lot of time out of the house and not behind the computer. I filled my diary as if I had paying clients and when to talk to lots of people whether at events or one on one. I focussed on building my network and new close friends that inspired me to be better, think bigger and often shared strategies I hadn’t thought of myself.
- I educated myself heavily in the first 3 years around business. I attended and invested in courses, mentors and webinars which took up a third of my time. Most importantly though I immediately took action and followed the rules they shared with me. I did not waste time thinking if the advice was right for me, was there a different way, waited until a better time turned up. I just put the blinkers on and took the action. After I took the action, I’d ask myself: Was that the right thing to do?, Could I do it differently next time?, Was this is good time to try this? Of course most of the time the answer was Hell Yes.
- I asked myself this question each night as I put my head of the pillow super tired and exhausted from the days actions: Did I do everything I could today to get myself closer to achieving my goals? If the answer was Yes, which 80% of time would be, I knew I am closer even without any tangible evidence yet. 20% of the time I would have doubts if what I was doing was working or would help me get my break.
- I didn’t have any other options but to keep moving and being flexible to change what wasn’t working. Sometimes I think there isn’t enough pain where we currently sit and so we think we are trying to change what we don’t like, but the comfort of a steady income and mediocrity keeps us stuck. The safety of being unseen is better than standing out. The barrier the computer creates between us and real interaction is easier to handle and the time we enjoy for ourselves too hard to give up.
Where are you at? Are you frustrated that you have been trying for a long time and you are just not getting your break? Here are my key questions you should honestly answer for yourself. Be 100% truthful, you don’t need to share with anyone else, no BS or excuses what are the answer to these:
- Each day when you put head on your pillow ask yourself: Do I feel like I have given and done all that I could for my business today?
- Do I put myself out in the real world enough?
- Do I hide behind my computer a lot?
- Do I educate myself enough?
- Have I got mentors around me that I pay to stretch me and I listen to and follow their advice to move forward?
- Am I trying to do it all myself?
- Do I take 2-3 actions from every learning experience?
- Do I believe I deserve to achieve success in my business?
Ultimately we all create our own LUCK in life and business according to what we believe we deserve to receive. In hindsight, the lucky breaks and people of influence come into your life when you have proven that you have done the work equalling the effort and energy they operate at. At every stage of business, I notice the connections increasing in quality and magnitude. Why is this?
We only receive that which is in similar vibration to ourselves. Who do we need to become to match the vibration of those we admire? My quality of client also changes as we move and evolve through different stages of growth, confidence and certainty in our businesses. Its amazing to watch.
Another thing that is really cool to see is the people we don’t connect with at certain times. I know when those that cancel attending my seminars or workshops are just not ready for me. They have accidents on the way, fall ill and have things come up that are sometimes quite freaky. Sometimes this happens a few times and they never get to my event as they are not ready to hear the information I will be sharing. Interesting J
I trust this has given you some food for thought and maybe a couple of strategies that you will focus on taking action with.
Love Nat x
