I’m always amused, and somewhat dismayed, when someone says, “You should simply let success flow to you.”
Although I fully understand Law of Attraction, visualizing what you want and letting things “flow” this way may not be enough. To let things “flow” often leads to frustration, less than desired results and financial ruin.
People, who believe they don’t have to work for what they want, they can do things only when they “feel” like it or when it’s convenient, are likely setting themselves up for a rude awakening.
Sometimes you have to put in more time and effort than you want, but the payoff can be huge.
Over the 20-plus years I’ve been in business, I have countless conversations with people who are stuck financially.
“It’s the economy. People in my area just don’t buy what I have for sale. I need to learn this one more ‘thing’ and then I will make money. I need to visualize more. I need to create another vision board.” And on and on come the excuses.
Yet, they don’t change the actions they are taking. They continue to do things the same way and wonder why they continue to get the same mediocre results.
You can spend your time making excuses or you can roll your sleeves up and find a solution. In the past two decades, I’ve had plenty of occasions when I hit the wall in business. Things didn’t turn out how I had hoped. I was humming along, feeling on top of the world and then BAM!… something happened that turned my life upside down.
When unexpected events happen, we have one of two choices. Use it as an excuse as to why things are not working or step back, evaluate the situation, determine what needs to be done and take action.
In the late nineties, I suspended operations in my business to join a career development company as Branch Manager. Within a short period of time, I was promoted to Vice President of Operations.
I had the corner office, an executive assistant, a great income, a nice sized team I managed, the prestige and power and what appeared to be an ideal situation. One day it all came crashing down.
It turned out the owner was embezzling money, had a bunch of shady dealings going on, and the company was built like a house of cards, From one day to the next I “had it all” to having no job. Not only had my income immediately dried up, I became painfully aware the $20,000 in bonuses I was owed were never going to materialize.
I had gone from being the “super star” to a fallen star.
I was devastated. How could this have happened? How could I have been so blind? What was I going to do?
I felt like I had been hit over the head with a 2 x 4. I wanted to crawl into a hole and make it all go away.
Once I got over the initial shock (which took more time than I care to admit), I knew I had to do something… fast. I had a mortgage and bills to pay and mouths to feed.
Sure, I could have thrown up my hands, held on to my anger and resentment, blaming the idiot owner for why things were falling apart, but this was not an option. I HAD to figure out a solution.
Was I frightened? You bet. We had just taken a trip to Europe. I had assumed I would get my bonus upon my return. It didn’t take me long to accept there was no bonus to be had.
A part of me wanted to hide away, blame everyone and everything for why things were the way they were, but I knew this wouldn’t do me a bit of good.
I had to go back to basics. I had to be willing to put in the time to turn things around. I had to swallow my pride and admit things had gone to poop and if I was to not only survive, but thrive, I had to take focused action. I couldn’t waste time doing things that wouldn’t get me the outcome I desired.
I sat down, pen and paper in hand, mapped out a blueprint to quickly get money coming in. I buckled down and got to work.
I determined the time-wasters and what necessary actions I had to take. I committed to working as many hours as it required to turn things around.
Was I happy about needing to do this? Not necessarily, but I also knew my attitude towards the decision would determine the outcome. I made a conscious choice to do all I could to have a great attitude moving forward.
Over the next few weeks I implemented a plan that got me in front of my ideal clients. I rented a meeting space and picked up the phone and called as many people as I could to invite them to a presentation on customer care. I put together a stellar presentation, had training materials printed, hosted a small, low-cost event, and focused all my attention on creating a great experience for anyone who showed up.
The result? I bounced back, showcased my expertise and signed a client. From there I followed up with everyone who had been at the presentation. The result? More business.
Was it easy? Not at all. I had just gone through an incredibly devastating experience, but I chose not to let that stop me.
In the middle of getting back on my feet, I discovered I was responsible for taxes I thought had been paid while I was working for the career development company. They had actually not been paid. Even though my paycheck stubs indicated the taxes had been paid, that was yet another can of worms discovered after the collapse of the company.
The IRS had very little empathy when they told me I was personally responsible for thousands of dollars in taxes. Ouch! Another hit.
By this time though, I had enough evidence that I COULD deal with whatever else would be revealed. Rather than letting this get me down, my thought was, “What do I need to get through this?” and immediately went to work on the solution.
The greatest lesson I learned through all of this was that there will be times when things appear to be falling apart left, right and center. At times, things ARE falling apart, but that doesn’t mean I have to. What it simply means is it’s time to get back to basics, put a plan together, let go of the time-wasters and unnecessary activities, roll up my sleeves and get to work. Period.
Yesterday I had a great conversation with a colleague regarding people who want a level of success that requires hard work. She was telling me there are times she recommends that clients, who are struggling financially, get a part-time job to take care of the essentials, while they spend time building their business.
On other occasions, she will tell them it requires working long hours and giving up the “play” time. This is when you find out how committed someone is to turning things around.
Sadly, many people have been led to believe sacrifices don’t need to be made on the road to success.
Success takes….
- Work
- Sacrifice
- Commitment
- Time
- Investment
- Flexibility
And it takes a willingness not to be so quick to say something won’t work, but rather, to look at things from a different perspective. There’s ALWAYS a solution.
If things are not going the way you planned, wanted or had hoped for, what are you doing about it? Are you blaming the economy, clients who won’t invest, or any number of excuses? Or are you putting your nose to the grindstone and doing everything in your power to turn things around?
One of my favorite prayers is the Serenity Prayer. I use it in all areas of my life.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
The wisdom to know the difference
The changes I can make regardless of the situation are my attitude, my actions and my focus. With the right attitude, the right actions and the right focus, anything is possible.
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