Let’s take a look at 3 lessons in business I’ve learned in the past month.
Recently I’ve been having trouble with writing and more importantly writing with consistency. I’ve reduced the frequency of my blog to 2 times a month, and even then, I’m still having a hard time meeting that goal. As I reflect on what was interfering with my writing, I am reminded of three lessons in business I have learned over the course of the years which are applicable to both my blog and my life. These business lessons are what I’m going to take a look at in this week’s inside look at Building Towards Wealth.
3 Lessons in Business
Lessons in Business #1 – Consistency is key: When most people are most productive It is because they are giving consistent effort.
As some of you may recall, my family and I had COVID back in April. This unforeseen circumstance put a pause on many important but not urgent work tasks. I then spent most of May digging myself out of the backlog that had grown as a result.
Fridays, which were normally dedicated to writing and pursuing other creative projects, became a catch up day. The more I did it, the more it became the new normal. Even just this morning, I began to get off track from my writing. I quickly reminded myself that if I am going to get this post done then I need to be consistent with my effort and not allow myself to be distracted.
The same is true in financial planning. Consistent effort in working toward your goals will help you accomplish them. Consistency is what helps you accomplish your goals in life. There is usually no single action that allows us to achieve our goals. Instead, it is the accumulation of many positive efforts, taken consistently, over a long period of time. Consistency is key a lesson in business that can relate to every industry no matter your business.
Lessons in business #2 – The value is in the journey, not the destination:
When I created this blog, I thought of it solely as a business generator. I was focused on the destination.
Now, 22 months later, I have discovered that my favorite part of this is my ability to clarify my own thoughts and beliefs on a variety of topics. Nothing clarifies one’s own thoughts like having to write about them. I have had to research a variety of topics and have been able to challenge my own way of thinking on subjects that I had an opinion on. Forced to either verify those opinions or change my way of thinking.
What I had allowed to happen with my writing was for it to become too production oriented. I had become focused on getting out the newsletter and blog posts and not taking joy in the journey. I had started looking at the destination or in this case the finished product. Losing the joy of the journey makes it easy to get off track. When running your business, remember to step back and enjoy the journey, an important lesson in business.
Lessons in business #3 – It is Ok to fail sometimes:
If you had talked to me in May, I would have told you that I felt like a bit of a failure. Although I devoted every ounce of effort and availability to my clients, I felt that I had failed in running my business.
Even though I was beginning to catch up on the things I missed in April, I was still falling behind on my writing. And to be completely transparent, It was frustrating. I needed to remind myself that as long as these small setbacks didn’t snowball into a complete catastrophe, I would eventually get back to balance.
We are all human and imperfect. Not every decision needs to be rational, only reasonable. Every outcome does not need to be perfect and if we run into a setback, we just need to make the effort to get back on track.
When planning for your financial future, you don’t need to spend time worrying about having enough money at age 35, 45, or even 55. What’s important to remember is that you can start being diligent about it moving forward. But by all means, if you find a time machine, feel free to share!
I hope these three lessons in business I’ve learned in the last few months have been just as valuable for you as they have been for me. Applying them to my writing, life, and financial planning has helped me in business. My hope is that this will come across your search at the right time, and help you get back on track to achieving whatever goal it is that you’re working on.
If you have any questions, fell free to contact me here