Note: I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner.
Do you ever feel like a windup doll? That you have to wind yourself up every day? Well, you do! And if you don’t, who will? It takes discipline. Here are 4 tips for renewing your passion for your business:
1. Work up a sweat.
You know working out is good for you, but it’s also good for business. There is nothing like physical exercise to clear out the cobwebs, reduce stress, come up with a great idea and improve your morale. Do something every day, anything, that causes you to break a sweat. It could be as little as 10 minutes of running, brisk walking, climbing stairs, or a few sit-ups and planks in your office. When you most don’t feel like it…do it, because you will always be glad you did. You will never wish you hadn’t.
2. Let him or her go.
How much time have you wasted fretting about whether or not to let an employee go, when you KNOW in your heart and gut that it is the right thing to do? Clear, written expectations and systems make it easier for both of you to know whether or not the relationship is working. Put in the systems and listen to your intuition. You have the right to go to work without a sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach. And, you are wasting so much time…yours and his or hers…when you keep a bad relationship going. It doesn’t make you or them bad people. Sometimes it’s just not a good fit, so let ‘em go. You will feel better.
3. Listen to good news.
What if you just didn’t watch the national news? What if you didn’t click on the news blogs first thing every day? Instead, what if you clicked on www.TED.com and listened to 15 minutes of a bright, mind-expanding presentation? I suggest you search for Simon Sinek or Maya Penn or take a chance on a fresh voice. Don’t listen to talk radio. Instead, pop in a CD by Wayne Dyer or Louise Hay. If you are so inclined, read the Bible or your favorite religious tome. Drench your mind with powerful, positive thoughts. The energy is contagious…and motivating.
4. Have a Weekly Meeting with YOU.
Take an hour, once a week, and ask the big questions. What do you want? What do you want your company to be? To look like? To feel like? How much in sales? How much on the bottom line? How can you be of the most service? How can you best express your unique gifts? How can your company help you serve your highest purpose? Review your to do list…what you have to do, what you want to do and what you could just not do.
Then, block out specific times on your calendar for the week. Include time to work on projects that will move you in the direction of what you really want. Don’t worry about making the wrong decision. The more certain your intention, the less effort required to bring your vision into reality. Just DO what you put on your calendar. Production improves morale.
“I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” ~Henry David Thoreau
xo$, Ellen
PS… Joe Crisara is putting on a rockstar Sales Super Summit. Great way to get fired up! Coming up in San Antonio on March 5-7. Check it out!
