Afraid of Success and What is Next?

Afraid of Success and what is next?

     Often times we work very hard to produce a desired result and achieve greatness. We plan, organize, act and then look at our progress to make sure we are still aimed at our goal; only to pull up short of the finish line. Are we afraid of what will happen after we hit our goals? Are we able to continue progressing if we do not have a direction or course to take in our lives?

     I’m reminded of the story about the Apollo space shuttle and the mission to reach the Moon. The entire country was wrapped around the possibility of touching the Moon’s surface and returning a man back to Earth. This was on the mind of the country and NASA got to work. Everyone at NASA talked about what was happening and everyone worked harder so the mission would be a victory.

     The janitor mopped harder because he was doing it to help the scientists and engineers do their job. The Engineers tirelessly worked to insure the safety of the astronauts who would share the glory. Everyone from top to bottom stepped up their game and put in more effort. We reached the Moon, and after everyone celebrated they wondered, what next? They had done something spectacular and did not have further direction for the future.

     Sometimes businesses set their goals too low. They plateau and stop growing because they don’t know what to do next. If you find yourself in this rut without direction, do some daydreaming. Brainstorm what it would be like if… what you would do if you had… how you would act if you could only do… And then start to plan, organize and act towards achieving your new accomplishment. Set the bar high and you may just surprise yourself. With this, always continue to take your business Up 1 Level.

Being Perfect?!

     I’ve been accused of worse, but when someone accuses me of being a perfectionist, should I be offended? The issue I see is everyone knows they are not perfect, and I don’t ask someone to be perfect but I expect perfection. Let me explain.

     Seems in today’s world, everyone thinks they are an island. With access to the internet and every answer imaginable only fingertips away, people forget to ask for help. Excellence can be easily obtained with teamwork but only if a person learns to ask. If you utilize another person’s strengths while admitting your weaknesses you may find perfection in your work.

     Speed is a lousy excuse for not achieving perfection. Cutting corners, skipping steps and generally not caring about a person’s work is becoming all too common. My thirteen year old son rushes to get his homework done so he can play video games. Then I took away his video games and he did not have a reason to hurry but still did because his mindset is he “just needs to get by” and that is enough to pass.

     ‘Just getting by’ will never lead a person to perfection. Some people quit before even trying to aim for perfection because they have decided to already fail. Then, the next best thing is to tear down someone who is doing more than getting by and actually aiming for perfection. So they call that person a Perfectionist in a bad way as though it is an insult.

     So go ahead, aim for perfection and make someone try to tear you down. We all know with help you can hit perfection if you really try and take your time. People commonly ask me what I know about the subject and I always tell them I talk to myself often about it. Because even I need to consult an expert once in a while and why not someone who is already perfect! (hope you are laughing) Up One Level!

 

Brian Walker

Nothing to do?!%#@!*)

The other day at work, a business associate came and told me she had nothing to do.  My initial thought was "great, glad you got it all done." Then I started to realize what this meant to her business and looked deeper into mine and wondered if there would ever be a point where I am actually done.
    A business owner has the ultimate responsibility to 'finish' every job detail in the business whether it is there direct job or they have staff to delegate the duties. Organizing, cleaning duties and strategy development should be a never ending battle of time and manpower.
     Growing up I always wanted to do the 'hard' things first, get them out of the way and then the rest would be easy. However, after trial and error I've found it more important to get the 'easy' things out of the way. If you finish the quick things first you satisfy the most responsibilities just in case you are not able to finish everything at that moment. The pile in your inbox becomes smaller and the mental challenge of having lots of paperwork is not so daunting moving forward.
     Distractions and procrastination can hinder a project from happening so it is important to leave yourself notes. A list works well if you may find yourself jumping back and forth between objectives and tasks. Make sure to cross off, crumple up or delete notes to give you the immediate gratification of finishing something. If you are working on a long term project, make notes of what must be done before hand and when you have time leading up to the event you can accomplish items from the list so not to wait until the last minute.
     With a never ending Inbox, lists of jobs, and strategy sessions to plan for, you should never find yourself with nothing to do during your day. Understanding your job will never end is a difficult lesson to learn because as kids we are taught to finish things. Finish your homework, finish your practicing and my favorite, finish your vegetables all come to mind. And if you are a business owner, you are finished with reading this so get back to work.