The Three C's That Will Kill Your Business
Over the last 15 years, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Like…a ton. I’m ok with that because, as they say, there are no failures. Mistakes are just opportunities to learn and grow. I’m so grateful to have stumbled onto this saying because WOW would I seriously consider myself a failure without it!
I’ve learned a lot over the last 15 years, but the three C’s are probably one of the most valuable lessons that I believe is worth passing on.
Comparison. Comparison is the death of all joy (Mark Twain), and this is no lie. If you want to take a perfectly awesome day that was meant to kick ass and deflate it like a sickly, 3-day old helium balloon, take an hour and compare yourself to your local competitors. Quit doing that. You have your own lane to cruise in and your own vibe to exist in. You don’t need anything else.
Competition. Competition is the death of all creativity (lots of people). This goes along with Comparison because if our reaction to compare ourselves to others doesn’t instill a sense of loser-ness, then it has a tendency to flow in the opposite direction, which is competition. Healthy competition is ok, however, I would say there is something even better than that: collaboration. Whether you believe it or not, there is enough to eat for all of us and if you want to bask in the karmic delight that accompanies the efforts of those willing to lift others up alongside them, I would redistribute the energy your putting into competing with your peers and collaborate with them. This also has the awesome side effect of eventually bestowing the title of “Industry Leader” upon you. I’m patting you on your back right now. Can you feel that?
Complexity. The enemy of execution is complexity (Tony Robbins). The more complex you make your day, your systems, your interactions, your website, your services or products, the more likely you are to execute each of them poorly because you just have too much going on and too many balls in the air. Also—the more complex you make things, the less likely your customers will stick around to figure it all out. Confusion = No. When people don’t fully understand your products/services, systems, or anything else going on with your business, their confusion will turn into a No because they won’t feel confident about parting with their money. Save yourself all that time you’re about to put into your stuff and rely on the old adage “Keep it simple, stupid”. It’s an “old adage” for a reason.
BONUS! I said 3 but here’s a 4th I think we can all get on board with: Complacency. Complacency is what you get when you engage in any or all of the 3 C’s above. You get deflated, let down, lose your will for productivity, and before you know it, you’re wondering why you bother anyway. Do yourself a favor and do what I do: I bury my head, chug along, assume my ideas are awesome (and they are), and continually come up with new ideas that I run past people that have nothing to do with my industry. Fifteen years in business…must be doing something right!
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