The Secret to Success is Smaller Than You Think
Success itself is arbitrary. It doesn’t mean you make a certain amount of money or have reached a level of fame. It is self defined. Success to me may not mean what success is to you at all. The thing about success, however, is that regardless of what you are seeking, there are always people seeking answers. “How do I get there?” There being the magical location where it all seems to fall into place.
People tend to ask those they view as successful, “How did you do it?” They assume that if they take the same steps, or follow the same path, they too will get there. Well, I am about to tell you that there is no answer, and there is no magic pill or pre-charted course. Success is made up of all the minute decisions that begin to add up. The small choices that make a radical change.
The Secret is At Your Fingertips
Tabloids tend to taint our viewpoint, touting that all of these people we read about are overnight success stories. They hit headlines for that one final choice that they made that suddenly put the wheels in motion. I don’t care if they are 5 or 105, there were a series of things that led to that success. It could have been any number of things:
They tried something else first and it failed;
They grew up with entrepreneurial parents;
They worked towards their goals while still juggling a typical 9-5;
They dreamed about it for years before they took any action;
They landed some funding;
They bootstrapped it for years;
They know all the right people;
They introduced themselves to all the right people;
They had a stroke of luck, or
They worked their butt off.
But just because one of those things might be true, doesn’t mean that hundreds, if not thousands of small decisions came before it. It is a series of small choices that lead to radical results. It’s a conscious effort to battle the noise, look past the negativity and continue to push yourself forward. It means getting out of your own damn way. It means believing you are capable of more than you thought possible.
Take Action
We’ve heard one too many times of businesses falling apart because they don’t see the success they thought was possible. Their sales are poor. They are frustrated and feel defeated. It is not because they aren’t capable. It isn’t because they have a crappy product or are bad at their craft. Often that is not even remotely the issue. They assume that by putting up a shop or sales page, starting an Instagram account and posting once a week that things are just going to fall in place.
We’re about to ask you some tough questions. Are you ready?
When is the last time you specifically asked someone to buy your product? Like told them it was for sale, showed them how to get their hands on it and walked them through the process?
Have you properly educated your audience on why they NEED your product or service? Have you showed them how it could save them time, money, frustration, etc?
When you hear crickets, are you actively looking for opportunities to put yourself in front of people people, new audiences, new selling opportunities?
When is the last time you made a blind phone call, email or straight up walked into someone’s home, store, boutique, etc. and explained to them why you want to work together?
Have you had coffee with influencers in your network? Have you asked for referrals?
Have you told all your friends and family what you do and why you need their support?
Being in business is no joke. But success doesn’t come to those who wait. It comes to those who get off their butt and are willing to do ANYTHING to make this thing successful. ANYTHING to make their dreams possible. ANYTHING to support their family. ANYTHING to move their business forward.
We want to challenge you to make small strides. Even just 30 super dedicated minutes a day can make a WORLD of difference. Show the world how much you want this to work. Don’t take no for an answer. You got this.
