Skinned Knees are Easy to Hide
Here is the thing about being having your own business. You never know—I never know—what the future holds. Maybe that is true for any situation in life. Still, I do know one thing: I will always be just fine. Here is why I can say that. I know I will always keep moving.
“Fall down seven times, get up eight.”
- Japanese proverb
That awesome quote describes me. How about you?
I am very future-focused. I rarely reflect on yesteryear and I never take enough time to celebrate my successes or rest after a big one. How about you? One of the reasons I love direct sales, is because the companies do such a great job at celebrating and recognition.
I am not sure if being future-focused is good or bad. One thing I do know for sure is that I do not focus on the past—on the things that did not work out. I don’t even want to call them failures, nor do I ever think of anything as a failure. Instead, it was just a project or idea that did not work out—like a book for entrepreneurs in Australia into which my team invested lots or research time and I invested several thousand dollars that never got off the ground. Or the two training programs I paid someone to develop from my speeches and writings that I have never done anything with, or that expensive marketing piece on which I spent countless hours and paid beaucoup bucks for that never even got out the door. So what. I can say “so what” because I always have more to-dos and ideas in motion—what I call my exciting projects.
“Fall down seven times, get up eight.”
- Japanese proverb
That is why I love direct sales! Where else can you keep falling down and getting back up, love doing it, and never have to explain yourself to anyone? After all skinned knees are easy to hide. Where in your business is it time for you to risk a trip, stumble or fall?
If you think it is time to risk a skinned knee, here are a few steps to take you there:
- Keep track of your good ideas and not so good ideas in one place. Like an idea journal or word file on your computer.
- Take time every day for some thinking and planning— taking time to review what you have going on and let the ideas come in on how to do it better, more innovatively, faster, more profitably etc.
- Make a commitment to regularly learn in whatever way you learn best. Learn about what others are doing in your industry, in other industries and reflect on how you can be inspired by what others are doing to enhance what you are doing.
- Take action. Make a commitment to implement new ideas, plans and strategies on a regular basis. Some of them will turn into business breakthroughs.
In childhood, skinned knees are often considered a badge of honor—proof that you are playing full out. We could say the same about your business. Risk a skinned knee.
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