You could ask ten different people what their idea of a successful life is and still receive ten completely different answers.
Few would tell you that in order to succeed, you have to put a lot of thought into the small details of your life. Most are focused more on what they consider to be the big things: money, popularity, ownership of things and many others.
How you think about the obstacles you encounter daily makes a big difference in the outcome of your life. What you spend your time on daily also affects where you end up. Deciding what’s important to you will help you to enjoy a successful life, one that incorporates your business as well as every other aspect of what makes a happy life. And isn’t that what we want?
Most of us go through our day on automatic, never stopping to think about why we do certain things or if there is a better way. Many of the things we spend our time on aren’t necessary and actually are just time wasters. We rarely challenge ourselves in any way or stop to think what we would really like to be doing or what we really want. Many of us don’t know what we want. It’s in this way that most entrepreneurs start a business and continue to build one over time.
With little time to stop and go over what they’d really like to do with their business, most business owners continue on the same track they have been on for years. It’s what they have always done, it seems to work (at least financially) and they have never stopped to consider their options or how they would like to tweak their business so it better represents what they enjoy doing.
The first step in the process of successful thinking is spending time doing it. Sitting down and thinking about what you would like to see your business become and exactly how you could go about making that happen. Successful thinking means adding a dose of pragmatism to the little details of your day. Think about the outcome of your actions. Will they benefit you, make no difference at all, or will they actually benefit someone else?
This doesn’t mean you need to be selfish. It just means that you have to be realistic, realize this is your life, and you are the one responsible for it. It’s the same in business. Someone else may have ideas on how you should run things, which products or services you should offer and how often you should work. But in the long run, you are the one doing the work, dealing with the customers and at risk of failure.
Thinking your way to success in your business will involve a change in the way you do things and developing new habits. It will involve saying no to distractions and choosing, for there is always a choice. Making the best choice for you, for your business and for the way you wish to live your life is what makes the difference. Keep the time that belongs to you separate from the time that belongs to others. Spend that time on what is important, what is relevant to moving your business ahead in a way that you will enjoy yet will still be beneficial.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc., 2014
