One of the most crucial parts of building a successful business is easy to improve even though it is also easy to overlook. Find out what it is and how to put it to work for you.
Remember those two of Winnie the Pooh’s friends? They couldn’t be more different. Eeyore was a downtrodden donkey. Nothing ever went right for him and he always let you know it.
Tigger, on the other hand, was so full of life and energy that no problem ever fazed him. Granted, he was a little scattered. But if you had to choose one of them as an example to follow as a business owner, which would it be?
If you’re like me, you sure wouldn’t choose Eeyore. Do you want to run your business on the basis of constantly expecting disaster? Not me!
It’s easy to run a business like Eeyore, though. High expectations for success can leave you feeling like you’ve constantly fallen short of your goals. It can leave you finding problems around every corner. It can leave you feeling overwhelmed at how much you need to do.
I’ve been there myself. I would pick up notes on the things I felt were holding my business back. Then I’d shuffle them around for an hour or so, hoping for inspiration to strike. When none did, I’d tuck them away, no closer to a solution than when I started.
I had shut myself off from new ideas. Every new direction seemed too filled with potential problems. I was running my business like Eeyore.
It doesn’t have to be like that, though.
Here’s the secret I discovered: the problem in those Eeyore times wasn’t with my business at all; they were with me.
There is something more important to your business than how much you know about marketing or what traffic-generating tactics you use in your business.
Focusing on tactics to the exclusion of more important things can easily overwhelm you and turn you into an Eeyore-like business owner. It can leave you always feeling like you’re lagging behind where you should be. It can leave you feeling like you’re always on the edge of failure.
But there’s an alternative. Remember Tigger? Do you think you could accomplish more for your business (and in your life in general) with the kind of energy and outlook that Tigger displays?
Consider the most successful people you’re aware of. Do they display energy and enthusiasm, or an Eeyore-like attitude? That energy and enthusiasm aren’t something they were born with. It isn’t an accident. And it isn’t a RESULT of their success; it’s a CONTRIBUTOR to their success.
Successful people have learned to harness their energy and outlook to lead them to success. And they don’t have a corner on the market.
Changing your energy and outlook takes far less effort than you might expect. Not only that, but little changes can make a big difference in the results you achieve.
The fact is, you have far more control over your energy and outlook than you think you do. You can’t force your surroundings to change to suit your wishes, but you can choose the way you deal with your surroundings.
It only takes your decision to make this change. And it can help you transform your business from an Eeyore to a Tigger.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jeff Baas helps new business owners develop the outlook, mindset, and skills for a successful business.
