Reading articles in Renegade COLLECTIVE is one of my pastimes when travelling. Well, it’s the only magazine I buy! There are interesting articles and I love the quotes and stories behind the businesses.
In many of the articles I’ve read (it seems to me as though it’s all of them!!) there is one thing that many successful businesses and their owners have in common, and that is they have gone through some tough times. You might have heard this many times yourself – you know – the story of how someone overcame tough times to come out the other end and was successful. It is true of many businesses, and I know it has been true for me, many of my clients and people I talk with.
Being in business has its tough times and some can be very confronting. There will be many hurdles. Just when you think you cannot keep going, there may be another hurdle to test you. Something I’ve learnt and that was to look back at all the hurdles in the past 12 months, (and there are most likely a few that seemed insurmountable at the time – as if you were climbing Mt Everest with no oxygen!!), and think about how you feel about those hurdles now. Are the hurdles still there?
There may have been days when you felt you could hardly get out of bed because of what you had to face. It could have been fear, it could have been because you didn’t have any support, or it could have been that you were plainly exhausted and sick and tired of pushing through the tough times. When you look back you will realise you did overcome these hurdles or challenges and you kept going.
Know that there will be tough times. There will be challenges. You will need to step up and keep going or your business will not last. Keep busy, keep going and don’t let the fear take over. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and have a plan. When you have a plan – a very specific plan – all you have to do when you are stuck is to look at your plan and take action on the next thing to do.
Know that you are not alone, that many very successful businesses have also gone through periods of challenge, obstacles and hurdles.
Something else I’ve learnt from experiencing tough times is that if you share this with people around you, your audience, your clients and connections, it can be both empowering for you, and for the people you share your story and experience with. As I mentioned you are not on your own and by sharing this, others will connect with you and see you as a real person who has had real issues to overcome. I’ve found it quite cathartic to share personal and business stories about the things that have held me back, and I’ve built some lasting connections and brought people into my community because I have been open about sharing.
When you focus on the positives and feeling grateful for all the lessons you’ve learnt and all you’ve worked through you’ll feel like continuing and feel as though you have achieved a lot.
While you’re busy you do not fear failure. Keep busy and keep going. Keep living life with gratitude and keep following your passion.
M x
Leave a message below if you can relate to having tough times in your business … have you shared your experience with others?
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