I bet you started a business for one or more of the following reasons:
- To chase down your freedom
- To spend your time on the things you really enjoy.
- To choose your own hours
- To pick your own team
- To be creative
- To take control of your finances
- To do things on your own terms.
But I’m guessing from where you’re sitting right now, you are stretched much too thin across 11,003 different tasks and battling a severe case of shiny object syndrome (‘ooo, maybe THAT’S what I should be doing!’ *ditches existing plan for the third time in two weeks*).
This might sound like some kind of business fairytale but if building a business that lets you live the life you desire were a fairytale:
- It wouldn’t be Cinderella
- Or Sleeping Beauty
- Or Aladdin
It’d be The Tortoise and the Hare. And YOU would be the tortoise!
I know that is not sexy or glamorous. And it means you don’t get a pretty princess dress. It is great news though because it means you don’t need a fairy godmother, a rich-and-handsome prince, or a royal birthright to go BIG with your business. You just need focus, consistency, and the ability to put one foot in front of the other.
Don’t believe me? Let’s break it down with some good old fashioned myth-busting.
Myth #1: You must hustle harder
Now, I *hate* the word hustle. And that saying ‘no pain no gain’? It comes a close second. Because being successful in business is about working smarter, *not* harder. It’s about making the RIGHT decisions for you and your business and ignoring the rest.
This honed-in approach allows you to put your time and energy into the things that will actually move your business forward, getting you to your goals a whole lot sooner (and keeping you happy and healthy in the process).
Which brings us to our first tortoise-like quality-- focus.
Myth #2: You need to get everything done overnight
A lot of entrepreneurs are so focused on immediate results, they throw EVERYTHING at their business in the first few months. Unfortunately, this plan of attack usually ends one of two ways:
- Doing everything and then watching it all fall apart
- Doing everything, seeing it succeed and then totally burning out
The fact is, building a successful business has a lot more to do with longevity and sustainability than quick wins. And this is why consistency is so important.
Myth #3: You must learn a few more things
While collecting info and learning new things is helpful, it's *not* the thing that makes a business actually succeed. Because ideas - even great ones - are worthless on their own. The real magic happens at the time of implementation and this is why the ability to put one foot in front of the other is key to your success.
If you’re ready to make like the tortoise and put yourself ahead of the pack, choose focus, consistency, and implementation over hustle, burnout, and the endless cycle of learning. Start writing your business fairytale just the way you want it.
