If you’ve been struggling in your business — or just feel like WILD unreasonable success remains JUST OUTSIDE of your immediate grasp —this five part blog series is for you.
If you’re feeling like your business is missing some secret, mysterious ingredient, this blog series is for you.
If you’ve been “coasting” at the same level of success for too long and you’re ready to up your game tremendously… this blog series is for you.
For one week, we’ll cover the topic of DESIRE and how it pertains to your success. Today, we’re going to start with the idea that you WANT to succeed in your business — however you define this success — and we’ll discuss PARAMETERS to your desire. I hope you’re ready for some unbridled, unfluffed, perhaps even a bit harsh truth.
Let’s jump right in. When I quit my job to be a stay at home Mom, I had $213 in the bank, and NO other “savings.” This meant that in order to keep a roof over my infant’s head, I’d have to immediately replace my income…. which I did. But, during those first couple of years, I’d hear ALMOST all of my friends (and even people I’d meet at the Y or the grocery store) say things like this,
“Man, I wish I could stay at home.”
or
“You’re so LUCKY. I wish I could afford to stay home with my kids.”
Man those comments used to piss me off.
First, luck had nothing to do with it. Neither did “being able” to afford staying home…. There’s NEVER a convenient time to cut your household income by more than HALF, people…. I had to CREATE that ability to stay home. And also, I hated these statements because these people stopped MID-sentence. Had they honestly finished their sentence, they’d have said,
“I wish I could afford to stay home with my kids AND…
keep shopping like I do now…. AND
not have to live on a tight budget…. AND
not give up driving a new car… AND
never have to worry about money… AND
not have to do without my hair and nail care routine.”
Who WOUDN”T want to stay home under those conditions??? Now… don’t get me wrong. I don’t care what you decide or decided to do with your kids if you have them. Childcare wasn’t an option for ME… but that was MY decision. My focus here is on the PARAMETERS people put around their DESIRE for something, specifically their desire to succeed in business.
Is your desire to succeed a BURNING, EXCLUSIVE desire? Or a casual, convenient desire with all sorts of parameters? If you’re reading this blog, you’ve already found that business is NO PLACE for the timid to come and play. You know it’s not as “easy” as you thought. Whether you’re a doctor or accountant or CEO, you know that wild success will require MORE of you than you intended on giving when you began this little venture of yours.
So, let’s look at YOUR desire.
When I began my own business journey, it was fueled by the un-tamed, un-adulterated desire to raise my own kids and create an income around THEIR schedule. Nothing upstaged this desire. I had NO parameters on this desire. It was a burning pressing “MUST DO” for me and I sacrificed much to make it happen.
Is your own desire to succeed a burning NEED? Or has it been quelched by the realities of the “COST” of being successful? Napoleon Hill discussed this burning desire, as it was / is present in ALL amazing high achievers. Dan Kennedy wrote about desire in this month’s NO BS Marketing letter.
And, all week, we’re going to delve into the PRACTICAL aspects of DESIRE.
Now, I’ll readily admit there are firm parameters around my own desire to succeed in business…. I refuse to give up my life in order to make a living. It’s just not worth it.
BUT, these parameters are few and far between because I’m not playing business over here. My goals MUST BE REALIZED, and every day I’m in this office, I re-realize the cost. I can’t succeed if I’m only willing to work when it’s convenient… if I’m only willing to take action when I feel “confident”… if I’m not willing to hustle like a madwoman occasionally to meet that deadline… if I’m not willing to RISK… if I don’t do things that scare me… or avoid proven strategies that make me uncomfortable… if I’m not willing to DO what I have to DO –– regardless.
So, for day one…. let’s assess YOUR OWN desire to succeed. Is it still as BURNING HOT as it once was? IF not, how do you intend to crank up the temperature? What parameters have you put around your business activities? Are they too narrow and confining? Here’s how you KNOW FOR SURE:
If your parameters keep you IN YOUR COMFORT ZONE in your business, your desire is not hot enough… you have a convenient, room temperature desire to succeed. =( Crank it up a notch if you don’t intend on joining your peers as a CORPSE on the battlefield of business in the new economy!
Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about this whole notion of BALANCE … and how it pertains to our success! You don’t want to miss it! =)
