Better Attitude For Better Results
I closed 2017 in a rather down frame of mind.
Yes 2017 was better, business wise than 2016 but I did not meet several of my 2017 business goals. I felt I was off track, unfocused and that my Mojo was missing or at least very off.
I took time off over the Christmas/New Years break to reflect, consider and evaluate this. I also talked in depth with my partner, friends, co-workers and my mentor and my counsellor.
In the end the only real problem I could find was me.
I had/have fallen into the age-old trap of “entitlement”, I mean, hey, I have already done the heavy lifting, been working at this for three straight years, so why was I not already enjoying all the results I wanted and driving off into the sunset with my hot redhead beside me in my Ferrari convertible?
“Entitlement” is not a millennial problem, nor is “poor attitude” or “false expectations”. It is a flawed state of mind applicable to all and at any age.
In this, I am reminded of the “Law of the Wood Stove” in which a man stands in front of an empty woodstove demanding it give him heat, and the longer he demands, the colder he gets, right up until he freezes to death.
To get the heat, one much source the trees, fell them, buck the fallen tree into sections, split the sections into fire wood, cure the wood, make kindling, start a small fire, coax it up into a full flame, bank the fire for the night and then and only then do you get to feel and enjoy the heat and then only for a short while.
To keep the heat, one must stay ahead of its need for wood, feed it, care for it and give it balance, not enough and the fire is gone, to much and the fire will burn down everything you hold dear.
My mistake was not in failing to start the fire, but in not keeping it fed, and properly supplied/nurtured.
I liken this to the “turning of the wheel” we learned about in Good to Great and to the lessons of executive boundaries we learned about in Integrity, in that we will only get what we build and what we tolerate.
I had lost touch with these facts and gone astray in thinking that I had done enough. What we focus on will and does change as we move forward, however the level of focus, effort, resilience and determination will never be less demanding and to think it will be is a fatal mistake.
So, did 2017 have great results? Yes, it did, my number one goal, to be in a solid and meaningful relationship with my gal was both realized and is happily ongoing. My number two goal of dropping at least 25 pounds, was also met.
Were my business goals met? No. And the sooner I accept this, get my act together and put my shoulder to the wheel and my axe to the woodpile, the sooner I will be on the path to realizing even greater goals and accomplishments in 2018.
Will I take my eye off these accomplishments or take them for granted? I do not plan to. I have realized they must be invested in daily to bring life to their accomplishment and to myself. Will it take a never-ending focus, effort, and heart ache to gain further on my business goals? Yes, but if not me, then who? So, here I go into 2018. Entitlement at zero, effort to maximum.
What about you?
