There was a time when I was a new business owner in the retail space.
I got into starting a running specialty store around 2009, because I was so passionate about running and triathlon, that I literally lived and breathed the sport.
I also understood running technique, sales, and had worked in a store prior, so it was a great opportunity.
When I became an owner, my world changed. I had bills to pay, employees to take care of, marketing and networking to do…
And yet, I still was obsessed about my race time-table.
The store was profitable quickly, and even after its first year continued to do pretty well.
But, I was making a huge mistake that was really limiting growth. I had a blind spot that I was completely missing.
The blind spot was that I was training as if I was a professional, and running the business as an amateur.
In my head, I was doing everything right to “run the business,” yet if you were to look at my actual diary and allocation of time, it’s clear that I was spending far more time training and recovering as an athlete.
Not only that, but tasks in the business weren’t getting done.
Of course, this is fine if you don’t really want to grow the business. However for me, at the end of the day it was also a false understanding of the work that needed to be done and what was the most important task at the time.
Understanding what the key drivers are in whatever task that we are engaged in is one thing. What moves the needle in your health journey? What’s really important in your relationships?
Then the next part is the ability to be honest as to whether you’re doing this.
Whether it’s a planner, a diary, project ship dates or some other tool, having a way of actually being accountable to the work that’s being done is a critical part of getting the result you want.
The mind often sees the reality it wants to see in order to support the story it already knows.
Often we need to take some extra measures if we want to change the outcome going forward.
