Adversity and Your Business: 5 Observations and Realizations
Not a particularly “sexy” topic, I grant you, but no one among us is immune to adversity. Being in business for yourself – by yourself, as many of us are – leaves you a bit more vulnerable, a bit more exposed, maybe a little more quickly overwhelmed, and quite possibly a lot more prone to indulging in the freak-out dance when adversity shows its face. Going to the balcony to get a little space and practice detachment is your best preventative and also your first line of defense.
Today I want to share some observations and realizations I’ve made this year from my own balcony and I invite you to chime in with your own in the comments below.
1: “I get by with a little help from my friends.”
I can’t stress enough the importance of building a support system for yourself. No successful person ever got that way alone.
I have my assistant, Tracy, who not only helps me with the workload, but she is my biggest cheerleader and reality check. In other words, she keeps me on an even keel. I have Tony, Tom, Karen, Lisa, Deborah and Pam – all people I’ve met through my business whose services I use personally. I have Marty in my corner, too. We are working on some projects together, both of us realizing the advantages of partnering up – sharing the work, the angst and the rewards.
Each of these people (and many others) have challenged and supported me when I needed it most. While it’s the rubber of MY sneakers that meets the road to my success, any success I enjoy has all these people’s footprints all over it, too.
2: Crap is the Great Clarifier
Looking back over 2009, I’ve taken some fairly big kicks in the pants, both personally and in my business. Each of my kids have presented me with multiple, big, life-changing situations or events to navigate, some of which are on-going. You know – the kind of crap we parents dread, that make us wonder why we had kids in the first place, make us question our ability to cope, and leave us fantasizing about running away from home our-damned-selves. To add to the fray, the year has been peppered with some really wrong people showing up as clients, one of whom filed the very first complaint against my business to the Better Business Bureau (that’ll knock you on your butt, let me assure you), and all contributed to the chronic stress and general joy-sucking that goes hand in hand with working with the wrong people.
The good news is you are the creator of your life and business. When crap shows up, you can treat it as the opportunity that it is to get really clear, to make changes based on what you do want, instead of giving in to its drama and giving up. Easier said than done, maybe – but that’s another reason to continually be building your support network – you don’t have to do it alone.
3: The Stronger Your “Whys”, the Better Your Odds
Let’s face it – when things get tough, what gets us through to the other side are our motivators – our “whys”. Sometimes we feel those motivators as the heat on our hind ends, pushing us forward. (The things we don’t want, the things we want to avoid.) Other times, our motivators are those carrots dangling in front of us, pulling us forward. (The things we do want, the things we want more of.) The clearer you are about your “whys” and the more they mean to you, the more stick-to-it-ive-ness you have. The more committed you are, the more willing you’ll be to hang in there and find the solutions you need to move ahead.
This is why it’s so important to do the inner work – the get your head straight and personal growth work – of growing a business. And it never ends, folks. Change is our only constant, remember, so this work is never actually done.
4: Investing in Yourself is More Than Buying the Latest, Greatest Training or Information Product
If whipping out the ol’ credit card was all that was required to succeed, I’d be a billionnaire by now. Investing in myself requires more than money – it requires time, attention and commitment. I actually have to read the e-book, login to the membership site, watch the video. Then I have to apply what I’ve learned to my own situation and adjust from there.
Doesn’t seem like it ought to be such a “V-8″ moment, does it? But, it is, and this one, in particular, seems to repeat itself, at least for me. I’m not any smarter, more capable or successful just because I paid money to add yet another download to my hard drive.
More information is not always (or even most often) the answer. Informed action usually is. Particularly when facing adversity.
5: You Have to Risk Being Wrong to Get it Right
The process of getting from where I am to where I want to be will take forever if I wait until I know everything I think I need to know to get it “right”. Every time I’ve been knocked on my butt, I’ve learned really valuable lessons. I sure didn’t set out to get knocked down, but sometimes it happens.
Adversity has a way of showing you what you’re made of, and I’ve surprised myself this year. I’m a lot stronger than I knew. I’m a lot more willing to take risks, too, because I’m a lot more confident that being wrong isn’t the worst thing in the world. Being stuck is.
What observations and/or realizations have your trips to the balcony given you?
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December 7th, 2009 5:27 pm
Suzanne, you said, "If whipping out the ol’ credit card was all that was required to succeed, I’d be a billionaire by now. Investing in myself requires more than money – it requires time,"
I so agree. My motto is, "I earn to learn," because I love learning. I love the way it changes me and helps me see the world in a different way.
December 7th, 2009 6:13 pm
Julie – I'm with you. I used to use the following in my signature all the time:
"The day I stop learning is the day I draw my last breath."
December 7th, 2009 7:21 pm
"You Have to Risk Being Wrong to Get it Right" I was waiting for this one and I'm glad that you included it. That's been my biggie for the year. In fact I'm now thinking that the sooner I see the error and try another approach the better off I am. In matters of resilience speed does not kill – it resurrects. Thanks for a thoughtful and soul-baring post.
December 7th, 2009 7:51 pm
Thanks, Tom, for chiming in. Being willing to risk being wrong is the prerequisite for me being able to endorse another idea I know you're a proponent of: any action is better than no action because it changes things.
December 8th, 2009 2:34 pm
Crap is the Great Clarifier… Suzanne….thank you for always reminding me that in order to place the right people and opportunities in my life I have to be willing to let go of the things that do not benefit my change and positive growth. And by the way I am blessed with your friendship and working relationship and would not have it any other way
December 14th, 2009 5:46 pm
In my opinion, the ethic of working for what you get is one of lifes greatest gifts, having a real sense of achievment isn't getting it all right the first time but taking a hit and revovering from it to a stronger position-that extra work and the pay-off combined makes the difference in appriciciation to what yo get out of something.
December 14th, 2009 10:17 pm
The biggest problem with my business is high performance automotive jobs. Seems like people want to do more chatting then spending. When you watch your billable hours shrink day by day, the frustration can mount.
December 17th, 2009 9:02 pm
"You Have to Risk Being Wrong to Get it Right" – I add: And you will learn out of the mistakes you made. This counts for the stuff in daily life as well as for any decisions you have to make about your business.
"Investing in yourself" means to me to encourage myself of something I might not really believe in at the time.
A very interesting post, Suzanne, and I looking forward reading more comments about it.
December 23rd, 2009 9:42 am
The most profitable investment is education I think. Skills and knowledge improvement gives a considerable competitive advantage.
“More information is not always (or even most often) the answer. Informed action usually is.” Almost agree. Can not even imagine what may happen to business that is managed by a person who posses overflow of information and shortage of experience.
December 23rd, 2009 2:44 pm
The most profitable investment is education I think. Skills and knowledge improvement gives a considerable competitive advantage.
"More information is not always (or even most often) the answer. Informed action usually is." Almost agree. Can not even imagine what may happen to business that is managed by a person who posses overflow of information and shortage of experience.
December 26th, 2009 6:08 pm
"Investing in myself requires more than money – it requires time, attention and commitment. I actually have to read the e-book, login to the membership site, watch the video. Then I have to apply what I’ve learned to my own situation and adjust from there"
agree with you, short cut not gonna bring us to success
the difference between you and me, the paper book is the best choice for me
January 5th, 2010 1:58 pm
Thanks for the great post. I love your signature about learning. I, too, love obtaining as much knowledge on as many subjects as possible. For some reason, almost everything interests me. My main interest, however, is business. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge on that subject. I am going to subscribe to your site.
January 8th, 2010 5:29 am
I absolutely agree with this post. Without taking the time to learn, I don't think I would be able to make money online. I consider the time I use to learn like I'm going to college for four years. The more I learn, the more money I will make.
January 11th, 2010 3:44 pm
For me I will say that life is really a continous learning process the more you grow old the more experience you have and the more you learn.. this is a very nice and inpiring post TY suzanne
January 16th, 2010 11:03 pm
HI Suzanne, I have had a lot of "why's" lately that leave me feeling reluctant however, this usually leads to a clarifier or an epiphany. We wouldn't be entrepreneurs if we did not enjoy the ride! It is great to share this ride with others who understand.
Thanks for your help, you have made me a wordpress fan!
Deb
January 26th, 2010 4:28 pm
Suzanne, thanks for this nice post. You gave me a couple of good ideas to think about. I'm a current ACCA student, but I feel I need to go further in postgraduate education and get my MBA. That's why it's really interesting to find out something new about "business".
March 12th, 2010 6:24 pm
I absolutely agree with this post. Without taking the time to learn, I don’t think I would be able to make money online. I consider the time I use to learn like I’m going to college for four years. The more I learn, the more money I will make.
March 13th, 2010 10:07 am
I think having a real sense of achievement isn’t getting it all right the first time but taking a hit and recovering from it to a stronger position-that extra work and the pay-off combined makes the difference in appreciation to what yo get out of something. Thanks for the awesome post.
May 15th, 2010 6:32 am
The Stronger Your “Whys”, the Better Your Odds……..
I liked this para specially. Thank you for sharing such important points.
Regards
Antony