Whenever we work with any client, anyone running a business or aspiring to run a business we always tell them the same truth, right out of the gate; if you don’t want to change, nothing will actually change.
When it is all boiled down, this fundamental truism remains intact.
No matter what, if you don’t want to work on improving yourself, you can never improve your business, because you are it’s pilot, and unless you become a better pilot, you’ll always fly off course.
What is self-improvement?
It might seem like a self-explanatory term, but there are many nuances within the sphere of “self-improvement” that make it a very wide and complicated issue.
If you simply embark on the loose and ever so wide target of simply improving yourself, then you’re going to find it challenging, because you’ll suddenly find yourself stood at the edge of a vast and diverse land alone and without a map.
So, before you start, you have to first decide upon your destination, and that can be simply the first steppingstone. Your intended destination could just be the first thing you want to work on, and that’s fine. It’s a start.
Often the idea of working on one’s self can be so daunting and uncomfortable that it feels unachievable. Little more than a nice pipe dream, but nothing you’ll actually spend much time actually doing, because it’s like trying to build the great pyramid by yourself and so, you’ll tend to ignore it, avoid it and procrastinate on it as much as possible.
And that is human.
You’re not alone and you shouldn’t feel guilty for having done that. Most people do.
Where to start
As with most large undertakings, you need to do a few key things to help you get along the journey:
1 – Admit what your biggest failings are
This is often a very painful bit, but you have to start by first admitting to yourself what facets of your behaviour and your habits have a negative impact on what you want to achieve in life.
2 – Pick your battles
It is no good to then simply get started, you have to assess those habits and behaviours and decide which ones you can realistically hope to achieve. If it’s a major, deep routed thing, it’s probably not the best thing to start with.
3 – Break it down into manageable chunks
Continuing on, after you’ve understood what your problems are and have picked those that you can manageably and realistically improve on, then you need to take the next logical strategizing step – make it manageable. Think about simple, easy and small things you can do to start changing your habits.
These steps are just the start, but they help you take a big and complicated problem and make it feel more achievable. Rather than thinking about building the Great Wall alone, start by laying a single brick every day, before you know it, you’ll have a decent wall starting to form.
How will this help your business?
Few small business owners are aware that their businesses are usually reflections of who they are. This is because, as the sole driver, you tend to create a business that matches what you do, how you behave and how you think, it’s only natural.
As such, it is an inarguable fact that if you improve yourself, mend some bad habits, get more focused and become more diligent, your business will naturally start to follow.
Of course, if you run a larger organisation then it’s more down to your people management skills, your ability to communicate effectively and help others see and understand your vision clearly. All of which typically come from you and how you present yourself to the world.
Unfortunately, and here’s the difficult bit, you have to WANT it to happen. Not just wish it would happen, not just would really like it if it did happen, you have to WANT it to happen and you have to do that. No one can instil desire in you, all we can do is show you a way to make it possible, you have to want to make it come true.
What do we help with?
The simple answer is; just about anything! we work with business owners of all kinds and ages, running business of all types and sizes to help them improve themselves and, by extension their businesses.
If you’d like to have a chat with us about our process and find out more, please get in touch today.
