Edition 387 – Just Keep Going

You’re on a path in business and things aren’t quite how you want them to be. You think about it deeply and feel there are changes to make. Some of the changes are subtle, others transformational. However, you’re convinced it’s the right path, not for the short term, but the future. Even though you’re moving away from your comfort zone, it feels right. So, you decide to get going.

Along the way, you encounter obstacles. Some clients mightn’t subscribe to your new ways. Some staff don’t want their world to change. Each, and others, defiantly stand in the way of the emerging change. In spite of it, your belief in the journey is strong, so you just keep going.

Things get a little tough. Your desire to morph your business into it being a better representative of you, your family and the pathway you and they want to take in life is still there. However, there’s a few stumbles. Money gets tight. Some of your colleagues take sideways glances and wonder what you’re doing. Why are you changing? What are you thinking? Yet, deep down you know this is right. So, you just keep going.

The seeds of doubt, that have always been there, spring to life. They’re often planted in your youth, by those whose words or actions were hurtful. People you trusted, when you knew nothing or no one better in life, made you question yourself. As the challenges in your business slowly grow, you revert back to that earlier time, and doubt re-establishes its cancerous journey. Yet, there’s something there that makes you feel this is the right way. So, you just keep going.

You reach out to people you know you can depend on. They might be trusted professionals, respected colleagues, former mentors. Some have been in your life for a moment, yet make a consequential impact. Others have always been there and there’s something that’s clicked about your relationship where it’s deeper, more supportive. You talk your doubts over with them and they help you to see what you can’t. That builds the short burst of confidence you need, to just keep going.

When the clouds are darker, and, at times, your doubts manifest in a change in your behaviour, it’s those closest to you that feel it. It might be the words you use, or forget to use. It might be the actions you take, or forget to take. Most of it happens unknowingly and unintentionally, as the doubt seedling continues to grow. Yet, when you finally accept that you need to talk to them about what’s been rattling around in your head as you undergo this change, you realise you should have spoken earlier. For, it’s only with their love and commitment to date, that you each are where you are today, together. And, with that time of reflection, you just keep going.

Then, one day, something happens. People take notice of the journey you’re on. What you’ve believed in, about how you want your business to be in the future, appeals to someone. Then someone else. What you’re doing is different to what your competitors are doing. The way you’re doing what you’re doing is unique, or if not unique, certainly distinctive from most others. The pivot of your business is now viewed as a positive, not “out-there”. People engage with you, for they want to know more. All because, when it wasn’t so easy, you just kept going.

As the sky turns blue, and you take a moment to step back, you notice the impact of the changes, that you were so invested in. The bank account might be a little better. The staff you have on board have an attitude of belief and commitment in this new way of doing things. Your customers are of a better quality, and much more appreciative, than what they were previously. Those seeds of doubt, have been trimmed. It was your deep-seated belief, even when times were tough, that convinced you that not only is this right, but that it will turn out alright. All because you just kept going.

In business, there’s often no finish line. It’s easy to be the same as you have always been, or nothing more than an imitation of others. If you’re passionate about what you do and how you want your business to best serve those around you, and you truly want to make an impact in life, you need to think deeply about what this odyssey looks like. It’s only then, that you can understand that, deep down, in order to succeed, you know the only way forward, is to just keep going.

This Week’s Tip

Just keep going.