How to create a landslide success

Early on as an entrepreneur I realized that I could not achieve the level of success I desired by doing everything by myself. It’s like pushing multiple boulders up a very slippery hill.

The first thing I did was get help, as in hired help, to take over tasks I was not particularly good or fast at, or that cost me less to have someone else do than the money I could be earning by spending my time on income generating activities.

But getting help with workload only removes the strain of pushing SOME of the boulders. We all have our own personal boulders – doubts, fears, self criticism, negative attitudes – and these are the ones that are the heaviest. The harder we work and the more we put ourselves out there, the more it can feel like we’re in the middle of a landslide.

This is why so many successful entrepreneurs invest in coaching and mentoring. Having an objective expert look at your business as well as provide you with support is invaluable. I have invested a lot of emotional and financial dollars in coaching and professional resources because I have seen the value first hand.

One of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned came from one of my business coaches. Before each discussion she asks you to fill out a form and one of the questions is “What opportunities do I have available to me right now?”

This question smacked me right in the middle of the forehead. It forces you to stop and think about all of the opportunities you have in front of you at this very moment. Some of them may be in progress, but I would hazard a guess that for most of us, many more are in the “to do” pile.

When I work with business owners and I am looking at the current state of their business, versus where they say they’d like to be, I often find they already have the bits and pieces of an extraordinary business. They have great ideas. They have existing clients. They have built in networks.

But, there are usually two areas that are holding them back.

• One, they can’t see the potential in its entirety and also can’t see a way to pull all of the pieces together. This is the value I can offer them.
• Two, they haven’t followed through on opportunities they have right in front of them. So I help them identify and create a plan to capitalize on them.

The truth is that most of us fail to follow through for any multitude of reasons. However, we place limits on ourselves by doing lower return activity, focusing on the day-to-day busy-ness, trying to do everything on our own or find other ways to sabotage our own success.

The next time you find yourself saying that your business isn’t going as well as you’d like, or you’re not getting enough clients or making enough money, the very first question you should be asking yourself is if there are any unharvested opportunities before you right now.

I bet you’ll find there are lots of half-dones that are just waiting for you to follow up, that can make you money and build your business.

So dust off those ideas and take outward action on them. Do more than plan and think about them – make a phone call, follow up with a lead, get in touch with someone you’d like to do business with. Blast those boulders up and over the other side of the hill!

And don’t wait too long before you do this again. Set aside time to do this at least part of every week. Or take a day out of the month to do the bigger planning, and do smaller follow throughs each week.

The point is, don’t let those opportunities pass you by. You can create a landslide – of success.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:  Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and  unlock their business potential for greater  personal freedom and prosperity. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful entrepreneurial adventure. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for free tips on how to unlock the business in you.