If you’d like to read part 1 of this article, where I discuss the Role of Discernment in Achievement, ‘Say Nothing’ To Anyone, & Gratification over Commitment And Follow Through … Read it here!
Decisions to start or stop things…
I think both of these are equally as important as the other. Starting something is very difficult for most people.
However, most entrepreneurs don’t have this issue. Starting stuff comes easy for us. It’s fun and exciting, but finishing it is the hard part.
That’s where if this is happening to you frequently you’ve got ask why.
Why is it that you keep starting something but fail to see it through? Are you easily distracted? If so, what is it that is causing you to get distracted?
And, how can you change that?
It might be changing your social media habits, changing who you hang out with or it could be down to your mental or even physical fitness.
Do you need to train both to be better? I know from personal experience that when I made the decision to get fitter physically – which requires a daily commitment – I have so much more stamina to overcome the lethargy that inevitably sets in when I am halfway through a project and it’s getting a little boring.
If I am fitter and more mentally focused because I have more energy, I am able to push through the times when I would have ordinarily ‘given up’ on the project and found a distraction that excited me more. Will power is difficult to muster so I prefer to fall back on stamina and standards.
Mental focus can be trained also. I read lots. And one of the reasons I do so is because it increases my levels of concentration. I can read for hours and hours.
Same with writing.
I find that doing these two things regularly forces me to focus better and for longer. Whenever I am in the mode required of writing a book I know my commitment to any other project is better as I am training a muscle. As with all of these things, it’s mostly the awareness that these ARE influencing you and that you CAN do something about it that gets in the way.
Now of course, there’s always the issue at the other end of the spectrum that says you should know when to STOP doing something.
There’s a term called “sunken cost” that refers to how much you’ve put into something that increases the likelihood that you’ll stick with it – even though it’s obviously not working. This usually happens with staff. You’ve hired and then you’ve spent months training them and it’s obvious to everyone that he isn’t going to work out.
Yet, despite that, you continue to train. Every day you do more – you’re “sinking” further into mire meaning you’re likely to keep them around even longer.
Sometimes it takes just as much courage – and discernment – to walk away from something that isn’t working. Don’t NOT do something just because the only reason you can find is “this isn’t how it’s normally done by others” and don’t continue with something if the only reason you’ve got for sticking with it is your pride.
Don’t be the type of person who says: “I’m the type of person who once they start something will always see it through”. Better to be the type of person who is open to always asking: “Is this still a good idea and is this going to give me the outcome or quality of life I thought it would when I started it”.
Remember, you don’t want the “thing finished” – you want what happens when the thing is finished and what it means to your life.
Don’t make the idea the master.
Don’t let the idea wag the dog.
Most times being fluid and open to change will serve you better. Blindly sticking to something – just because you through it a good idea 12 months ago – is, in my humble opinion, really, really DUMB!
Better to look at situations daily and learn to trust yourself that you’re making the right decision to start or stop something based on what you know NOW.
Decisions over whether to hire or not…
If you’re an entrepreneur, you might be able to get away with NOT hiring people. However, if you’re a real business owner and you’re actively growing a company – taking an idea from inception to its fullest potential – then you’re going to need to hire people.
If you’re serious about living a life that does not have you shackled to your idea, then you will need people. If you want to be able to have the time to do other things, to go places, and not always have to be the one who does everything or have to pick up the pieces when they break, then you will have to hire people.
What’s more – you will have to get good at hiring the right people at the right time and most crucially, for the right positions. For companies to grow, and last, it’s not so much about people as it is roles and people in those clearly defined roles.
In the end, how much you’re able to achieve largely comes down to the people you’re surrounding yourself with who free you up to do the highest and most advanced work on that business that is possible.
Think about what that means… if you’re still stuck today doing the same work in your business that you were 3 years ago then you’re not growing. You’re not going to be achieving what is really possible.
How can you? All of the work required of growing is in the future. Your goal is to remove yourself from the work you’re doing now – that produces what you’re getting today – to be able to do the creative work that produces more value and promises more things to more people. That’s how you grow.
You can’t do that if you’re still doing your own bookkeeping or answering your phone to patients. Sure, you may have achieved a lot more than most to get to that point – but it doesn’t mean you’ve achieved what you’re really capable of. Expansion is the name of the game. Seeing how far you COULD go is surely what this is all about?
Sure, some don’t want to go further. Or that’s what they’ll tell you. But they’re the ones who are still moaning about how little freedom or life choices they’ve got (because they didn’t hire). Anyone who does this is living one way and thinking another.
There’s a mental war going on in their head every day. One that no one can win. They want the freedom and choice that comes from hiring people – but they don’t want to go through the uncertainty and sometimes heartache that comes with hiring people.
Fine.
I get it.
But it’s a decision you’ve got to make. Stay where you are and accept it – or hire and look to push on and grow.
I’d sum it up like this: to achieve more than you currently believe you are capable of you will need to hire people to free you up to even be able to think about what it is you could achieve.
Most don’t achieve it because they don’t know it is possible. You don’t hire people then precisely what you’re capable of suddenly materializes – it is the other way round. You take the plunge to hire people because instinctively you know that you’re capable of more.
You do it because you’re somewhat irritated by the tension that builds when you realize that you’re not growing as fast as you would like to serve your purpose – growth and expansion. And what’s more, you do it in spite of the uncertainty you’re living with that inevitably comes with the unknown. You’re going to commit and do it anyway. You can’t fail because you won’t fail as even if you did fail, you would have loved it.
Take the pressure away from yourself by changing the meaning of why you’re doing it in the first place.
To hire or not to hire is a big decision.
Not nearly as big as who to hire and what role will they occupy. But either way, it’s a strategic decision you’ve got to get comfortable making if you want to achieve what you’re really capable of.
Decisions over who you surround yourself with
Is there any bigger decision that who you chose to surround yourself with? I don’t think there is. They say you’re the sum of the five people you surround yourself with and I believe it to be very true.
What you know now is all you will ever know if you don’t talk to other people. Your perception of the world and the events that happen in it can change and often this perception is what keeps you stuck or starts you down a new path that is more fruitful.
My life changed in an instant when I realized the fastest way to get the level of success I wanted was to hang out with people already at that level. I looked at successful people and I wanted to know how they got there.
My curiosity caused me to want to get closer to them to find out for myself how they act, how they invest, how they hire, how they live, what their standards and habits are and crucially, how they think about things differently to me. My decision making process changed because of the people I surrounded myself with.
I went into Mastermind programs hoping to find that people did things differently from me… looking for people who had different opinions… actively wanting to talk to people with different beliefs than me and I became a sponge for all that I was discovering. It literally changed my life.
Your commitment to action will help with improving the quality of life that you desire.
The only difficult part was as I first started to leave old friends and conversations behind. I wasn’t overly sure how to deal with that.
But all that needed to happen was I had to figure out a way to be part of ‘old’ conversations without getting sucked into them. Be present without being emotionally tied to what they were saying or doing that I now had a completely different view of.
How did I do that?
Easy.
I learned it from people at the Masterminds I was attending. I learned it from the people I was hanging out with. I learned it from the people who were having not just the financial but also LIFESTYLE success I craved.
It’s why I believe so much in the 4% Club Mastermind Program. It’s the thing I am most proud of. We’ve brought together a collection of the best and most successful and progressive clinic owners in the health care world – all committed to wanting to go further than they are now.
We’ve put together people who are willing to help each other out with their growing challenges, to help with plans for growth or offer tips and advice on how to talk to friends and family who don’t always understand what we’re doing as we try to grow our businesses.
We’ve made it very easy for people to WIN and do so without guilt or expectations and we’ve made it easier for owners to NOT be held back by the fear that can so often get in the way of making the high quality decisions needed to reach their full potential.
All three of which are absolutely needed if you’re got any aspirations to be truly FREE in the way that you hope.
What’s your next course of action?
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