Have you ever predicted the outcome of a situation based on the attitude with which you approach it? You know, that legendary self-fulfilling prophecy; where your predictions were actualised? No! you do not have any superpowers. Your attitude and mindset played a significant role in the results you achieved.
Think about the last time you went to a restaurant and found a waiter who went out of their way to make you feel comfortable and gave you menu suggestions that were on point. I bet you went back to that restaurant again because your experience was pleasant. In this situation, it was not your mindset or attitude that determined the outcome but the waiter’s. Undoubtedly, other people’s attitudes towards their work affect our experience.
If you are a parent, I am sure you have had a conversation with your child about someone who did or said something mean and hurtful in school. I once read that I cannot control what happens to me. But I can control how I respond to the treatment—the power of response is mine. I always remind my children that no one can make them feel inferior unless they allow those words to sink in and take root, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent—powerful words by Eleanor Roosevelt.
The best way to approach life situations (Personal and Business) is with a positive mindset.
The best way to approach life situations (Personal and Business) is with a positive mindset. Rest in the knowledge that you gave it your best shot. If you achieve your goal, then Hurrah! If you did not, you have learnt that the route you used was not ideal, and hopefully, you will try a new approach. We are not perfect (and that’s OK because who is perfect?), but it’s the ability to make progress, a life mantra that will make the overall difference in your life.
If you would like to find out more about your attitude and the effect it has on your ability to thrive, then read on. You may not always get the results you set out to get, but you will have developed areas in your life that, unbeknown to you, needed an update.
Attitude Is a Choice, and You Get to Make It.
I like having the ability to choose. I like the freedom to mix and match to make things my own, you know, add a colour here, throw in some spice there, have breakfast for dinner, my choice.
Attitude, good or bad, is a choice we make. I worked for an international organisation that encouraged us to have a ‘can-do’ attitude back in my corporate days. A ‘can-do’ attitude is empowering because it removes the element of chance and places the desired results in your hands. You choose to facilitate that part of the project that is yours. Oftentimes, I worked with people whose first response was, “it cannot be done”, “it’s too hard”, “it’s impossible”, and the best one was “we do not have the resources.”
All are valid points and often true, but I know that you will become resourceful and figure things out if you approach life, business, and projects with a ‘can-do’ attitude.
I will sneak in a growth mindset here because these two are closely related. A growth mindset keeps us hungry and humble. Hungry for knowledge that will help us get to our destination. Humble enough to accept that we have to put in the work to get our desired results consistently.
As an entrepreneur, your attitude will affect the vibe of your business. It will show in one way or another. As a business owner, you have to emit a positive attitude towards your business and its customers. Many people will be counting on you to get them the impetus they need to solve problems in their lives. I am not asking you to be perfect, by no means, but be the person who looks for solutions to problems.
As an entrepreneur, your attitude will affect the vibe of your business
Actually, you are in the business of offering solutions to problems that your customers face daily. My friend, that is the basis of your business – giving the best solutions to problems.
You choose your attitude; if you choose a positive one, you are better placed to have the confidence to execute your business strategies because you will have within you a clarity of purpose (serving your community).
There will be good times, and you will also go through tough times. You will be better placed to make decisions and follow through to the end. It’s the attitude that needs to be consistently positive.
Agility: You Need to Pivot When the Times Change
Do you enjoy the process of moving? I have moved continents, countries, and houses quite a bit in my recent life, which is a contrast because I stayed in the same place for the first two and a half decades of my earlier life. Within those moves, I had also had to move houses sometimes within a year of settling into a new country. It can get very overwhelming.
I have a clever friend who insists on pursuing all her projects with a ‘who’. A ‘who’ is an expert in their field. A person who will help you manage the change or a project. Albert Einstein’s movie Genius showed Albert always looking for a ‘who’ to help him prove his theories. It was not a one-person show; he got help from other experts in their fields. He sought people who were leaders in their sphere of influence. In particular, his first wife and classmate Mileve Maric , at the Zürich Polytechnic university.
If you want to be agile, you have to be honest with your current abilities and where you want to spend your time. Ideally, you want to spend time on things that add value and give you the most significant return on your time investment. Simple things like using your social media planning app to increase your productivity( Planoly, Promorepublic, Smarterqueue etc.) so that you can free up your time to develop products for your customers.
If you want to be agile, you have to be honest with your current abilities
Agility brings to mind the word flexibility, which has connotations of stretching. As an entrepreneur, it is crucial that you have the knack to project where you want to go with your business, where the world is going and then have the confidence to make the changes so that you are better equipped to face the new world. During the Covid Pandemic, numerous businesses have had to develop new ways of conducting business and develop new products.
Designer Helen Tolbort was able to pivot her business during the pandemic. Helen had until the pandemic specialised in occasional wear for Kenyan women. The global lockdown meant that there was no demand for her gowns and dresses. She quickly diversified her product line to offer her clients the clothes they needed for the lockdown. She was able to pivot to save her business.
An agile business is one that actively pursues to develop tangible responses to the ever-changing marketing Ecosystem
Humility The Invisible Strength and Driving Force
Humility is an eight-letter word that is often depicted as a sign of weakness. I hold humility in awe, and to be honest, I feel that it is the most misunderstood word in the English language. If you are honest with yourself, the mental picture that the word conjures in your head is that of a submissive, simple, quiet, meek, docile individual.
Yes! All the adjectives mentioned above are one way of looking at the word. Let us be honest in the world that we live in today, where the bigger you are, the better you are in your sphere of influence. It takes a massive amount of strength and self-awareness to be stoic and surf the waves of life.
It takes a bigger person to accept that life is one continuous process of learning, applying, reflecting and adjusting. To be humble, you have to submit to something greater than yourself, even if it’s the five minutes to listen to your child tell you a story that has no beginning or end.
Humility is an eight-letter word that is often depicted as a sign of weakness.
As an entrepreneur, you need the humility to accept that you need to perform specific repetitive tasks (who likes keeping track of expenses?).
Your Joy as an entrepreneur is helping your customers achieve their dreams, and, in a way, they help you achieve your dreams as well. Respectfully listen to what your customers need, take the time to understand and immerse yourself in their world. In this way, you can learn what your customers need and search for innovative ways to get them the help they need.
In my opinion, humility is your greatest strength, and it is invisible yet formidable. It is the one force that propels you from the earth’s gravitational pull and lets you acquire your terminal velocity. You operate in a flow state, a feeling where you become fully immersed in whatever you’re doing under the right conditions.
Humility makes you absorbent. You will be surprised at your ability to take in data, digest it, and then proceed to process it into a form that is beneficial to you and your business. When Foolish pride is removed, bias can be set aside only then will you take in knowledge that makes a difference.
The Responsibility Lies with You! Only You Can Start the Change
If you want to make a difference in your life, you have to start from the inside out if you’re going to turn the tide. A lot of work has to be done on the inside before it can manifest itself outwardly.
Start by asking yourself the famous seven levels deep ‘WHY’. Click here to download your free copy of the seven levels deep clarity tool and start working on your transformation.
