Tony Fields

Small Business Advice

TONY FIELDS | December 06, 2021

You have just finished another long day. Your children love it when you arrive home to tuck them in bed and read them a story; however, you have work to do. You will make sure you read to them tomorrow morning over breakfast. You are always occupied with work. You run a business, and the pandemic has not been easy. You have had difficult decisions to make, you have had difficult conversations with staff, lots of businesses are struggling, and you know you are lucky. You are lucky to still have a business. You are feeling tired and drained; however, you need to keep going. You are not someone to give up. Your solution is to work harder. Your solution has always been to work harder. You need to work on that new proposal. It is so important that you win this proposal, as there might not be another opportunity for a few weeks. Opportunities are Hard to Come By: You wake up tomorrow and have received an important email overnight. You tell your children that you must go to work early again, and so can’t read them the story you promised. You need to prioritize this piece of work.  If you are honest, every day follows a similar pattern. Deep down you would like to prioritize your family, however business has always been like this. Perhaps your feelings are akin to that football player, who is trying so hard to put the ball in the back of the net. However, the harder they try, nothing seems to go right. Would you love to feel in the zone again? To get your motivation back. To feel in control. If only there was a different way! As individuals, we are all brought up with limiting beliefs. We are all essentially programmed very early in life due to our upbringing and environment. You could liken this to a computer that has an operating system inbuilt. The computer can never outperform the operating system. Most individuals go through life and accept that we are the way we are, with little or absolutely no room to outpower our limitations. You have always thought that to be successful you have to work very long hours every day. Or perhaps you have always excessively worried about things and the pandemic has not helped with this. You worry the worst is going to happen. Or perhaps you suffer from imposter syndrome. You don’t feel deserving of your numerous accomplishments. Explore Your Potential to the Fullest: Most of the time we KNOW what to do; however, due to these limiting beliefs, we don’t do what we are capable of.  When you start to challenge your limiting beliefs, everything starts to change. When you start to talk to yourself, ‘very positively’ internally you start to feel so much better. When you learn to let go and focus on things entirely within your control, you will realize that just because others have struggled to post the pandemic you don’t have to.  There are so many businesses that have thrived after the pandemic, and you can too.  A large number of people have re-evaluated what they want to achieve in life and in the business post the pandemic. There is never a perfect time to make these changes. When was the last time you identified what you really wanted for your business? What are your goals over the next 12 months? Not just the numbers, what is your why?  How often do you look at these goals? Do your current goals inspire you? As an entrepreneur or owner of a business firm, you need to ask the above questions aloud to yourself. When you reconnect with your “why” you will get new levels of motivation. When you start to associate creativity with a calm mind and focus; and discipline with success (essentially the right habits), as opposed to simply hard work, you will start to get time back every day.  We Become What We Think About: To excel in business or any professional productivity, you should start focusing your time and attention on what you are good at. Earl Nightingale said that “we become what we think about”. This is so true when we are honest with ourselves.  When you start to CHOOSE to think about the exciting new direction for your business, and the new life you are creating for your family, this will create new levels of motivation. You will then make the changes that you have been putting off for so long and will begin to lead the life that you want. By imbibing these changes, you will have time for the most important things in life; you will also start to keep your promises and will be back home in time to read that important story to your children. And what you will find is that you as "you" are more present, as you have a calmer mind, as you feel in control, you will significantly amplify your happiness quotient. The business owners and professionals who have come out of their “not today” stage and those who have shunned their procrastination characteristics are coming out most successful in the world of business. You can make positive changes now. You may take the help of self-help guides that have proven exercises that may really help to develop a more positive mindset.  There is never a perfect time and so start today.