Greetings! This is part of a series… please subscribe and I’ll shoot new posts right to your inbox. No extra finger work necessary.
**If you’re new here…welcome… you’ll want to start this one on Part One and then it will bring you back here. **
Thinking Long Term
Without a sustainable WHY it’s nearly impossible to think long-term. And long term thinking is what is required to build both a happy business and a happy life. A quick buck and the ability to pay your bills next month may keep your motivation furnace fueled in the short term, but it’s a fire that burns brightly and burns out quickly.
If we are starting with the end in mind… an end that is 10-20-30 years down the line… we must be able to think long-term.
A well-defined WHY will have a ripple effect on both your business and personal life, which as an entrepreneur, are inextricably intertwined.
A thoughtful WHY will boost sales, improve your relationships with your customers and your team, and day by day move the needle on your business in the direction of your choosing.
Perhaps most importantly, your WHY is what you will turn to, sometimes unconsciously, when the going gets tough and you just need to muster the courage to take one more step forward. Will it completely eliminate doubts and fears? Unfortunately not. But it will give you a reason, built on firm ground, to keep marching on.
Hammer. Hammer. Hammer. Are you starting to see the importance of this topic?
Deep Thinking
Finding your WHY is not an easy task… but neither is being an entrepreneur, and you know that. It requires considerable thought, the ability to judge yourself honestly, and a level of authenticity (this is our next series in fact!) that is sometimes hard to achieve on your own.
You can lean on others for advice, but that can get cloudy as well. Not everyone’s advice for you is well-meaning, which we cover in another post. You can get there on your own. However, the fastest and most effective way to determine and then develop your WHY is with a coach or mentor – preferably one with no skin in the game.
A coach can look objectively at what you are trying to accomplish and where your values lie as a person. Without exception, when I am reviewing an initial values list with a client, the real values emerge during our discovery conversation.
When looking at our values, we tend to write down what we think others would want to hear. Sometimes we write down what we think we would want to hear. Whom we would like to be versus who we have been and who we are. Someone looking from the outside in helps correct that bias.
If you don’t yet have a coach or mentor, that’s ok! This blog was designed to help you get started.
See you on the journey…
PS- If you read this far, thanks, it means a lot. If you haven’t already, please subscribe or visit me on the socials. Would love to see you around more.
PPS – I’m looking for test readers for the upcoming book! If you’re interested please email me here with the subject TEST.
PPPS – Stay tuned (or better yet, subscribe below) as we march together towards Part 6 – Surgery On Your Own Eye
