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The skill you truly need to succeed

What is the one constant in life? Change.

We as individuals are constantly evolving, our work and industries are always shifting. Thinking back to 10 years ago, how much has your life changed? What is different now in your business and the way you market your business?

The answer is likely, a lot.

The nature of life is change and growth. If you’re reading this you most likely actively seek growth. Personal growth. You want to expand your understanding and skills to create a better life and business for yourself. There is plenty of content to consume and so much information at our fingertips, there really is no limit to how much we can grow our own skills. But what I want to present today is that regardless of what you have learnt and the skills you currently possess, there is actually 1 master skill that is essential for your success.

I call it a master skill because it sits above all the others that you have. All the other tips and advice you have implemented simply all lead back to this one master skill. Without this skill, trying to grow and develop yourself and your business will be a much more difficult road. Yet, we are not taught this fundamental skill at school or tertiary education. Most of us learn it the hard way, through life’s challenges. Additionally, most of us never consider building on this skill to accelerate our growth.

The master skill I am referring to is the skill of being able to embrace change. Not as simple as it sounds, actually. But more than worth the effort.
Embracing change is not about being one of the “early adaptors” of technology. Although early adaptors may also have this skill. Embracing change is about understanding, recognising and managing the change process. The change process within yourself and that of the events that are the ebb and flow of your life.

Most of us are not focused on change and it’s presence in our lives, until a big change comes along that was unexpected. Then we start the process of trying to figure out how to deal with it. But some of us do pursue change, at least at an intellectual level, through our pursuit of goals. And this is where we can meet the change process head-on, as we try to create new habits. 

Learning to create a new habit and sustain it requires much effort, I am sure you will agree. The skill you need is built slowly and over time. But like any muscle that is used, continues to get stronger. This is one way for us to learn about the change process, what is involved and the challenges it presents. It creates an opportunity to build a master skill that can be applied to all aspects of your life, namely, being able to change yourself and adapt to change around you.

If you would like to learn more about the change process, I am presenting a Day Course on How To Embrace Change at the St George & Sutherland Community College on Saturday 15th June. Click below for further details:

Learn To Embrace Change – Day Workshop

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How do you deal with discomfort?

When was the last time you felt uncomfortable?

Has it been a while? 

You see, discomfort is actually a good thing. I know it feels awkward, but more often than not, it is a great sign. It means that you have stepped a little (or a lot) outside of your comfort zone. 

It often pops up when we are doing something new or even just thinking about doing something new! 

It may surface when we are doing something that we don’t feel totally confident in.If we’re learning, if we’re exploring and if we’re putting ourselves out there in the world, we often will experience the feeling of discomfort.

Everyone experiences it in their own way. You may feel it in your stomach. You may feel it as a general buzzing kind of nervousness. Some people may feel it as a very distinct urge to retreat, to completely avoid a situation altogether. 

The most important thing about discomfort is how you deal with it.  Most of us assume if we have discomfort in our lives then there’s something we’re not doing right or there’s something wrong with us. Not true. Everyone experiences discomfort, no matter how confident they may look to you from the outside.

So it’s not about if you experience it, but rather how you choose to view it and deal with it.

Discomfort is a sensation we feel when the brain is signalling some kind of fear. The brain is doing this simply because we are doing something new, where it does not feel familiar. You can use discomfort as a sign that you’re learning, that you’re challenging yourself to grow outside your normal sphere.

So, how do you deal with it?

Firstly, you want to recognise that it’s normal. Nothing has gone wrong. Then you can reassure yourself that it’s a sign that you are really stretching yourself. And that’s a good thing. The most important thing is to not resist the feeling. By resisting the feeling you will amplify it. If you accept that you are just feeling a bit jittery or awkward, and that’s okay, then you will find you can deal with it much easier.

How you treat the experience of discomfort will determine how much you can fully embrace opportunities to create your best life and best business. So, remember, you have a choice in how you choose to view it and in accepting the feeling momentarily. Because inevitably, the feeling will pass and you will be glad you stretched yourself.

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5 Steps To Working More ON Your Business (Than IN It)

A common situation that business owners find themselves in, is spending all of their time working in their business. They either don’t have (or don’t make) time to work on their business. There are a number of different reasons for this, but most commonly it is because they are often too busy“fighting fires”. This means that they are dealing with urgent issues and solving problems at the surface level to ensure that the business keeps functioning.

So why is this significant? Because not working on your business will leave you stuck right where you are, fighting fires and not being able to create or accommodate business growth. It’s also very stressful and frustrating for everyone involved- you, your staff and customers. Your business will not deliver the results you want financially or the lifestyle you want until you start to work more on it than in it. 

Working on your business includes tasks such as planning, goal-setting, systemising, marketing and generating new ideas for products or services. Have you done any of these tasks within the last few weeks? If you haven’t, then now is the perfect opportunity to start. The more time you can spend working on your business, the more business growth you can create and manage sustainably.

Here’s my 5 Step Process to Working More ON Your Business:
1. Shift your mindset
It’s easy to stay on the front line of your business, caught up in the day-to-day because there is always something else that needs doing. Your to-do list will never be empty, so don’t wait for that! You need to start to value time spent on the“non-urgent” tasks that are not associated with the basic functioning of your business. These “non-urgent” tasks are the tasks that make your business sustainable in the longer term and eventually will become urgent if you let them go long enough! Creating business growth and managing it requires systemisation, planning and a strategy, all of which require you to step away from the day-to-day. So you need to shift your mindset about how you spend your time.
2. Prioritise it
There’s no magic formula here, you just need to prioritise spending your time working on your business. You can do this simply by blocking out 2-3 hours of your time every week when you will work solely on these types of tasks. Then, commit to it each and every week, no matter what comes up or seems to be more important.
3. Systemise
You can create more time to work on your business when you systemise your business. If you have no written systems for business transactions and operations, then it is running inefficiently and you are spending more time than is necessary working in it. Creating a step-by-step process for the main functions and transactions within your business means that each time you do a specific task, you follow that specific procedure. This speeds everything up! It also makes you consistent in how you do things. The end result is you have more time to spare to work on your business.
4. Delegate or Outsource
There are some tasks within your business that you do not  personally need to do. Delegating and outsourcing some of these tasks frees up your time so you can work on your business. Instead of spending your valuable cognitive energy on tasks that don’t directly affect your business growth, spend time on tasks that do! Do you need to personally clean your office/ do your bookkeeping/pick up your dry-cleaning/update your website? If you don’t personally need to do it, consider not doing it.
5. Get a coach
A coach can not only help you implement all of the above steps, but they will also work alongside you to keep you focusing on your business priorities. Any time spent with a coach is time pent working on your business and you are not working on it alone. A coach can provide an un-biased sounding board, support and the resources you need to assist you in implementing the changes you want to make in your business.

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The ONE thing that makes the BIGGEST difference

What is the one thing that sets apart those who grow their business sustainably to those whose business stagnates?

Here’s a hint: It’s a special type of mindset. As you are managing and operating your business it is your mindset that will determine the results for your business. This is not a theory, this is a reality. Here are the facts:
Your mindset affects what you do (and don’t do)
What you do (and don’t do) will create either business growth or business stagnation

Your mindset has a direct effect on your business’ bottom line. So back to that one thing that some business owners have that sets them and their business apart… It’s a mindset that creates and enables business growth, starting with creating personal growth. It’s known as a growth mindset.

I know, I know, you’ve probably heard of it before and it’s nothing new to you. You are likely saying to yourself, “yes of course I have a growth mindset”. It’s easy to believe that you can learn what you need to and make mistakes and try new things.. it’s a whole other thing to actually be doing that!

Knowledge is not power. Knowing and understanding that you need a growth mindset does not help your business or set you apart. You must be living the growth mindset.

You must be dynamic, looking for new ways when the old ways might still be working. You must be open to changing how you do things and what you do. Not for changes sake, but for improvement’s sake, to create growth for your business. You must be failing. If you haven’t failed at anything recently then you’re not trying anything new. 

Ask yourself:
When did I last try something new in your business?When did I last create a new product or service package?Am I still working the same way that I did when I started my business?
These questions are my way of challenging you to really assess if you have applied your growth mindset to your business and life.

To create the big difference in your business and go for growth, you need to apply your growth mindset approach to your business. Applying this mindset consistently is what makes the difference.

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Perfectionism v’s Entrepreneurship

Are you a perfectionist? Or, has anyone ever told you that you’re a perfectionist? If you’re starting or operating a business, please read on…

I consider myself a reformed perfectionist, for want of a better term! I’m not keen on labels, but that does succinctly sum it up. I say reformed because somewhere along the way I realised a strong drive within me and realistically perfectionism wasn’t going to get me where I wanted to go.

Perfectionism is kind of deceptive, really. Especially if you identify as being a perfectionist and even experience some pride in stating that that’s just how you are. I think it often starts when we are young. We develop certain ways of operating in the world to get our needs met.

Years later down the track, we have these habits ingrained. We have to do things in a certain way. We have to keep and maintain a high standard and we often feel very guilty if we make even one tiny mistake. Think about it. When was the last time you made an error or forgot something? What was your first thought? What did you feel? It’s this fear of making mistakes that will hold you back in your business and of course your life.

Creating a business can often involve a lot of trial and error. This is the nature of entrepreneurship. You have ideas and you bring them to fruition in the world however you can. The journey is not an easy, straight road. You must embrace experimentation and learning. And you need to be flexible. You need to be willing to put things out there in the world, over and above creating something that is perfect.

What needs to come to the fore is your drive to create and connect. This will take your focus away from perfection. I know it can be hard, especially at first, to put something out in the world that is not 100%. The main reason we’ve become perfectionists is because we fear criticism. So I know that the idea of voluntarily posting something we can improve on is not a natural instinct for a perfectionist. But, as I said, focus on that drive to create and connect. You can’t create change in the world, talk about your product/service if you are still working on your presentation or blog post. And this is what often happens with perfection. Not a lot of action.

Like it or not, perfectionism slows us down.

Instead of seeking perfection, embrace your ideas and take action, review and modify. Then, repeat. You’ll find that once you try it a few times (and you don’t die) that it is kind of thrilling. Try it!