One of the best ways to grow a small company has nothing to do with your actual skill and or even your profession. The truth is the more you can grow yourself, the more you will be successful. Even if you are a solo entrepreneur.
As a teenager, like most boys. I hated school. I could not wait to graduate High School and move away. However, society had instilled in us, that if you want to be successful in life, you must go to college. I tried that for 3 years. It was not for me. But the reality I would learn later in life is, you must have a zest to always be learning. You must be intentional about it. Want it, seek it, make it a habit, a daily ritual.
Legend has it that after Hall of Fame College Basketball Coach John Wooden died in his sleep. His wife would later check under his pillow, and sure enough he was reading a book on personal growth and development. He never lost that thirst for knowledge, all the way up to the hours before he passed. He was in his 90s.
Grow yourself and grow your people. I had to learn all this. I now practice it daily.
The more you grow, the better decisions you make. What is the quickest way up the mountain? Easy, ask those who are coming back. We learn from those that have been there. That is what I did.
“Do or do not, there is no try” – Yoda
Hearing this path to success was easy, implementing, however, is the hard part.
I have spent nearly two decades in personal growth and development. This was necessary. Why? Because I was not that good. My business grew painfully slow the first few years. It was not until I was introduced to a gentleman that instilled in me the lesson, “we don’t know, what we don’t know”! You must learn how to be successful.
Leadership is learned, not born. There is no such thing as a natural born leader. When we see leaders emerge in young kids through groups like music, arts, sports, student council, etc. that is because of the influences they have been raised up with. Positive or Negative.
Buyer beware though. There is a cost, and great leaders are willing to accept those costs.
The University of Georgia Football Coach Kirby Smart summed it up best with these three pain points.
1. You will have to make hard decisions that negatively affect people you care about.
2. You will be disliked, despite your best attempts to do the best for the most.
3. You will be misunderstood and won’t always have the opportunity to defend yourself.
However, the relationships you make, and the positive influence you leave on the few who succeed under you, easily wipes away the pain of the 3 lessons above.
There is no easier time in history to find someone to motivate you. It is at the tips of your fingertips, and it is never too late to try.
Craig Moody
The Business Climb – Business Mentoring