A year ago I made a decision to remove myself from things that no longer served me and let a new adventure begin. In truth, it was more like being pushed to the point of no return rather than a courageous leap of faith. But whether a leap or a stumble, once I let go of solid ground, I had to learn how to land safely. While taking the leap sounds spontaneous and courageous, the truth is that it took months, if not years, of preparing. But ultimately it came down to the final straw, a decision that could no longer be avoided. In the past year I’ve come to realize that plucking up the courage to take that vigorous leap does not even come close to the real guts it takes to then do it all over again day after day facing the many obstacles along the way.
With all the research, prep work, and planning, starting a business is a lot like sky diving with a questionable parachute – you take the leap and build your wings on the way down. Entrepreneurship is personal. Every business owner has a different story about taking the leap. If you listen carefully, you know that the story is not just about passion and happily ever after. Every story is about challenges and twisty roads, fear, and uncertainty. Some days, the weather is nice, the air is crystal clear, and the path lays open and wide inviting me to touch the horizon. Others feel like taking a walk in the dark where I feel out of balance losing my footing being unsure where to step and which direction to take. Staying empowered through tough days that otherwise may leave me feeling powerless, requires persistent and unwavering optimism believing that difficulties are temporary and can be overcome. Few things are either black or white. I have to notice the shades of grey and the many more colors in-between.
I love the story about the father who was worried that his son was overly optimistic. Wanting to prepare him for life’s disappointments, he takes him to the stables filled with horse manure. Rather than crying or showing any signs of disappointment, the boy starts jumping up and down with excitement asking his father for a shovel. The father asks: “what do you need a shovel for?” And the boy responds without pause and with absolute certainty: “Well, with this much horse poop, there must be a pony in here somewhere.”
Being relentlessly optimistic is not about being a Pollyanna seeing everything as positive ignoring reality and avoiding hard truths. It is about seeing options when things go awry and turning negatives into positives. The one thing I’ve learned this year is to look forward to trying again tackling old problems with new strategies. When faced with tough challenges we can either feel hopeful, or hopeless. It’s a choice. And in every situation, it’s always best to hope for a better future than despair over the present circumstances. Hope is a renewable resource, that when used, opens up new possibilities and the freedom to make decisions anew. As much as I’d like to, I cannot control everything that happens in my life and in my business. The only things within my control are my attitude and effort. So why not choose hope? And why not keep trying? When losing a big client, I can say “I was just not good enough. I will never close a big deal.” Or say: “Too bad I couldn’t close this client this time. The client wasn’t ready for the commitment. I will apply the lessons learned and do things differently next time.” The beauty of it all is that I get to choose what is true for me, so why not choose the story that’s most empowering? I believe that successful people are those who are fundamentally hopeful believing that with a strong will there will be a way, even if not the one planned for.
A year into the journey “following my passion,” this is not (yet) a story of great success and loads of money. But it is a story of falling in love with work hoping the results will follow. It’s been a year of taking first clumsy steps addressing challenges never encountered before and learning new skills charting new territories. I am not sure what the future holds. So far, the 80/20 rule applies to running my business. I am spending 80% of my time doing things outside my core competencies, such as Marketing & Sales, to get to spend 20% of my time doing what I love, which is coaching people for career success. If there is a key to unlocking business success, I haven’t found it, yet. But I know the results shouldn’t be judged merely by the seeds planted to date. The harvest may not come for a very long time. All the key learning moments from this past year can be summed up in a nutshell: “optimism.” No matter what each new day brings, I am going to face all obstacles and challenges with hope and work to realize the opportunities and possibilities to be found.
Unfortunately, optimism doesn’t come easy to me, and I have to proactively work on remaining hopeful even on cloudy days. I’ve implemented the following five practices to my life to hold up hope as I forge my own path to entrepreneurial success:
I finish every day writing down 5 things that went well and/or that I am grateful for in my life.
I make sure to check at least 3 things off the daily to-do list that move me further along in achieving my short-term and long-term goals.
I do 5 nice things for others every day, even if it’s just a quick “get well” message, or running an errand for someone in need.
I take the time to analyze the temporary set-backs to create a moving forward plan that aligns to my ideal vision.
I do at least 1 fun thing every day and make sure to have fun things to look forward to booked and on the calendar.
I have found the above to be a sure and steadfast anchor of my entrepreneurial soul to tackle each new challenge with a sense of excitement, anticipation, and energy.
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.”
~Emily Dickinson
What is the song in your soul?
