While researching martial arts, more out of curiosity than anything, I learned an intriguing concept regarding the ability to break boards and bricks with your bare hands. When aiming, don’t aim for the brick. Aim for the space below the brick. Stopping your vision at the brick prevents follow through and invites you to stop momentum too soon, causing injury and serious pain. Concentrate on going through the brick, and not just on hitting it. It helps that the particular bone of your hand can withstand 40x more stress than the brick can, but success comes more from momentum and physics than size or force.
A fellow Sandler trainer recently shared an article with me, written by Alan Beaulieu. Alan is an economist with the Institute for Trend Research. In a presentation to a few hundred business owners, he predicted the impending end of the recession to begin somewhere in the spring of 2010. His article, which you can read in entirety here, refers to Actionable Items for Business Owners as you prepare your business for the future. He refers to 2010 as a golden time to expand your operation, to exercise courage and lead with optimism. He also says to communicate your company’s vision clearly.
I can hear you thinking…”He says to do what? Vision? Are you kidding me? I’m just trying to pay my stupid bills!”
The point is this: you’ve been running your business in crisis mode for too long. Quit stopping at the brick, the world of reactionary management, poor decision-making, and stress. It’s time for you to aim instead for the space beyond.
Buy a journal. A nice leather one is fun, but a spiral college-ruled will do just fine. Take an afternoon to think and dream. Remember why you got into business in the first place. Rekindle the passion you have for what you’re doing. As the ideas, no matter how big or outlandish, come to you, write them down. Don’t worry about structure and even reason. Your concept of what’s reasonable requires stretching. I want you to play with what’s unreasonable. Keep that notebook with you for the next month or so, jotting down ideas as they come. Pretty soon, you’ll be grinning like the Cheshire Cat after a good nap. Take that information and begin to sketch out your company’s future. The entrepreneur in you is like a little kid. That kid’s been kept inside for too long.
In the words of Helen Keller…
“What’s the only thing worse than losing your sight?
Losing your vision.”
If your company’s vision went out the window in 2009, it’s time to get it back.
Tags: Alan Beaulieu, breaking bricks, Business, courage, goals, martial arts, Success, visionCategories: Business, Business Development, Success.
