The Business Of Business

Sue Tracy wrote me and asked me to talk about: commitment, follow through, success, failure and the value of muscling though?

Commitment is central to success. When things get tough and they always do, commitment is the only thing that carries me somedays. I just have to do the work. Sounds simple, right? It's not. There is a fantastic book that I read, and re-read when I am in a slump: Do The Work by Steven Pressfield. Commitment requires courage, self confidence and a strong desire to make things work. My motivation to stay committed comes from remembering why I was ever passionate about the task or idea to begin with. It's easy to get lost in the minutia of a task and unless the task is looked upon as part of the greater good, the whole, it can feel overwhelming. Commitment keeps me on task.

Follow-through is generally the boring part of any task or project. I really dislike it quite a lot. I am impatient and I am a procrastinator, so follow-through is not easy for me. I'd prefer to do the task, check it off of my list, and then forget about it and move on to the next thing. Life might work that way, but the business world does not. I know that without follow-through, all of my hard work up front is in jeopardy or lost. Especially in this age cyber communication. There is always someone waiting in the wings ready to grab the ball if I drop it.

Success? What is success? That's such a personal thing, an opinion. For me? Success lies in finding purpose and balance. In all things. Success is doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons.

Failure? Failure is a state of mind. There is no such thing as failing unless I allow a  mistake to define me or stand in my way of moving forward. Failure means that I have let someone elses standards or values matter more than my own.  

The value of muscling through? That's the prize. That's the light at the end of the tunnel that turned out to not be a train.

XO, L.