The more I hang out with entrepreneurs and stable business owners (yes, there is a difference between the two beasts) the more I become aware of things I need to be doing as my business grows. Unfortunately, nobody has written a book on “How To Avoid Becoming An Axe Murderer At Work: Leverage Alcohol & Pain Pills To Keep Calm In A Chaotic Workplace”
One of the biggest things I’ve learned from successful people over the years is that the key to staying sane is a commitment to simplifying things.
Everyone is different. Some people thrive on checklists. Others live by pomodoro. Others micromanage away the stuff big and small. The key is to know what you’re doing, be aware of what is going on and recognize mistakes. The catch there is that to get that 6th sense about things that are about to go to shit in a big way is that you have to experience those mistakes first.. but details.
For me, business is a marathon. Things are going well or poorly but they are going. I’m going in the right direction. If stuff starts to hurt, slow down. If things feel great, drop the hammer on it. Yeah I’m tired but there is beer at 5pm.
Whether you’re doing great or you’re doing poorly in business right now remember that it’s a race – compose yourself, get some water, find out where you are, where you need to go and then take it step by step. One of the biggest mistakes people do when things aren’t going well is they “keep problems in their mind” and play all sorts of worst case scenarios that typically lead to bad decisions which then creates new problems. Slow down. Take a breath. Write it out. Blow up outcomes in their own bubbles, consider all options, see who can help with what and where. Then start moving in the right direction with hopefully a clear mind instead of crap that is stressing you out and annoying you and slowing things down.
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