Something happened to me recently that I just felt compelled to share in the hope that other business owners may learn from my experience (and a special thank you to Tina my Business Mentor for allowing me to learn this lesson). Now I’m sure we all like to feel as though we are committed in general. We commit to our spouse, to giving the best of ourselves to our kids, to paying our bills, to being a good person etc etc. But how committed are we really to our business? Here’s a quick checklist of how to tell if you are running a hobby or a business (and it isn’t about money either).
- Do you have an escape plan? If you do, you lack commitment. Sorry folks, but that’s how it is. If you are already considering how you are going to quit, then chances are you probably will. My philosophy in bringing people on board to my MLM/Network Marketing opportunity is that if you are already asking the question of how you can get out, then I’m afraid I can’t work with you. I’m not looking for people who just want to dip their big toe in and see if the water is warm. I’m looking for people who just jump in and work it out along the way. Isn’t that life after all?
- Do you have a strong why? And I don’t mean to make an extra $1,000 a month – that’s not a why for doing what you do. It has to be bigger than that. I firmly believe that in order to be a business owner/entrepreneur you have to be a bit of a dreamer. A visionary even. If you don’t have a vision or a goal or a purpose for your life, then guess what – life will remain exactly where it is for you right now. That is the Law of Attraction at work my friends. I’ve worked with some amazing people over the years – people wanting to build orphanages, help more people to overcoming major illnesses, end poverty in certain countries etc etc. Now that is something worth working towards don’t you think, instead of just wanting an extra $1,000 a month?
- What are you priorities? Now naturally this will be different for everyone, however if business and family don’t rank highly for you, then maybe your commitment levels need reflection. If it’s more important for you to watch another re-run of “MASH” on TV tonight than make those calls to prospects, then you need to ask yourself what your priorities are and how strong your commitment level to your business is. What I have found is, simply saying you are busy is BS. It’s all a question of where your priorities lie. Think of receiving an invite to a BBQ for example. If you’re already thinking of what else you are doing that day, then clearly your priority is not getting to that BBQ is it?
- Are you completely in love with your business? And if not, why not? If you’re waking up every morning and moaning and groaning about working your business, then I might suggest that maybe you’re in the wrong one. Life is too short and we are all creators according to the Law of Attraction and even the Bible. We all have the ability to create our lives the way we want them. So why waste perfectly good ability? It’s become cliché the saying “turn your passion into profit” but it’s true. The thing is, if you’re not passionate about what you do, then people will know. They will smell you at 500 paces, I promise you. Doesn’t it just make sense to do what you love? All day every day is too long to spend being miserable.
- Do your habits serve or hinder you? Are you easily distracted? Are you a drama queen falling from one chaos to the next? Do you change your mind easily and often? Once again, if your habits are not in line with the commitment you would like to have to your business, next them. And I know that sounds quite difficult but it need not be. I recently read a fantastic book called “The How of Habits” by Bri Williams. It’s a very concise book however it provides a wonderful road map on how to kick old bad habits that don’t serve you to creating new and positive habits. If you’re at the mercy of your bad habits, it will have a flow on effect to everything in your life. Your discipline, your values, your ethics, your loyalties. And these are character building markers. Do you want to be known as that person who is always unreliable or would you prefer to be the dependable one? The choice is entirely yours.
Now I by no means purport to making this a definitive list of how to be more committed. These are just the main points I have found in both my personal and business experiences over the years. Without these elements, I have discovered commitment will be extremely challenging to master. Now commitment may not necessarily be important to you. Unless you are wanting to see some semblance of results in your business. You can have great habits, but unless you have your priorities in check, a strong why, and passion then it’s just not going to work for you. Especially if you have an escape plan. Likewise, you can have a very strong why, but if you have an escape plan, habits that don’t serve you, priorities inconsistent with your values and you lack passion, then again you will struggle. Just understand that it’s a journey. You won’t master all of these tomorrow, but if you can master one before moving onto the next, then consider yourself ahead of the game. Good luck with it and have fun in the belief that you can make this happen. You were created to.
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