Getting Through the Hard Times – Knowing Your Why
There is nothing glamorous about running a business. Once you’ve been in it a while – you know. One hour you are helping a client change her life – the next hour you are packing a suitcase, entering a business card, rushing to the airport. The “glamour” hours are rare.
Not only is running a business not glamorous – it can also be downright scary. Every day you are learning new skills and doing things that are uncomfortable – that you aren’t exactly sure that you know how to do.
During the first few years of my business – recruiters would call weekly – asking me if I wanted to take a marketing manager position at some of the most amazing companies. I would get off the phone and wonder – wouldn’t it be easier to just go back? Wouldn’t the paycheck and the full weekends off be better? Wouldn’t it be nice to have unlimited resources again?
But there was one thing that always had me say “No”. And it is that very same thing that has me do the tasks that scare me. It is the very same thing that makes all the discomfort OK.
I love solving business problems and helping my clients make more money. I specifically love teaching in small group environments where I can see them grow and change.
I am crystal clear that I do EVERYTHING else in my business so that I can have more intimate teaching experiences with my clients. I know it from the bottom of my toes to the top of my head.
When I have to get on a plane when I am tired, or walk onto a stage when I am scared – I visualize teaching and being with my favorite clients. And it suddenly becomes clear why I do what I do. I stay in a place of gratitude. I am grateful that whatever I am doing now will lead to me doing more of what I love.
I am crystal clear on my WHY. I am changing the conversation about money. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to do that.
So today – on this week where we remember how and why we are grateful – I encourage you to visualize one scene in your business. One specific reason you do what you do. Maybe it’s a phone conversation with a client. Maybe it’s at a live event. Maybe it’s when you are writing. What is that scene that reminds you why you do what you do?
Then use that scene to motivate you every single day in your business. Write it out. Create a collage. Remind yourself of it. This is the very thing that will help you push through the scariest moments and the most mundane tasks.
See I believe it is easier to be grateful when we have something very specific to be grateful about. So visualize your scene and step into it. And if you haven’t figured out your WHY, now is the time to get really clear. I promise it will make everything much easier.
