80% of success is about showing up.
A similar saying was first printed in the New York Times and often attributed to American director, Woody Allen. If you remain focused and show up consistently, success follows.
Why, then, do so many small business owners have trouble showing up, fail to step out of comfort zones and take simple actions? When one of my clients was wavering on whether or not to show up for a monthly training call, he admitted he didn’t “feel” like dialing in. No matter how simple it was, he was hesitating.
Then he thought about what he would miss if he didn’t attend. So he decided to listen in. Although he must have heard a few nuggets of information in previous presentations he has attended, it finally clicked. While learning about the importance of lead generation systems, he realized how much easier his life would be if he had a system operating 7 days a week 24 hours a day pre-qualifying his prospects and continuously filling his prospect pipeline. He said, “It was as if a curtain had lifted.” He finally heard the importance of leveraging his business in a brand new way. He wouldn’t need to hire a staff of sales people just to grow his business. He could expand his business and broaden his reach easily.
Imagine what you could accomplish if you just showed up fully engaged? The next time you are overcome with fear and you hesitate or abandon forward action, think for a moment about what your life would look like from the other side of effort once you’ve accomplished your goal. Consider how you will be once you made the effort and moved through the challenge.
Because you made the effort, you’ll realize how much stronger and capable you have become. Your decision to move ahead helped you to grow. You’ll discover that your choice, persistence and commitment took you someplace special.
The next time you think something is overwhelming, you don’t feel like showing up, you don’t have enough (time, money, resources) or you’re saying something won’t work before you even try it, stop yourself and imagine what it will be like once you make the effort. Keep that “after” image in your mind as you work through the challenges. Remember to continuously invest in yourself and your business. When you do this, you’ll start to attract opportunities because you’re now prepared to receive them. You’ll notice a continuous flow and pieces start to effortlessly fit together.
Have you ever showed up (even though you didn’t want to) only to secure a new client or have an opportunity you wouldn’t have otherwise? Share it with us!
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Lisa Mininni is a best-selling author of Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change. She is also the President of Excellerate Associates, home of the sought-after Entrepreneurial Edge System showing small business owners and to bring in a consistent supply of pre-qualified prospects and turn them into invested clients. Discover how you can pull in your ideal clients at www.freebusinessplanformat.com