If you’ve been reading my materials for any time at all, you’ll know that I try to take a less conventional approach to managing my business. I’ve found a lot of success over the years by doing things “differently” or by doing things that many traditional business owners think is crazy.
After all, the great Albert Einstein once said, “If you want different results, do not do the same things”. If you want to be more successful than you’ve ever been and come out on top, you have to take risks and do things differently than they’ve ever been done before. If it’s good enough for Einstein; it’s good enough for me.
Along that same line, Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done”.
When I think about both of those quotes, it makes me hungry for success. If I want something that I’ve never had (i.e. more and more increasing success), then I have to be willing to do something I’ve never done before (i.e. think outside the box and take risks). I think here we could add some disciplines to our daily tasks and STOP doing some of the things that we’ve been doing that aren’t productive.
People who are constantly striving for success recognize the importance of being willing and able to do things in ways they’ve never been done before. They invest in themselves and their businesses – including in their team… they’re building an all-star team to carry them to championships and beyond, not a team just to get them through the game. They focus on hiring and training, building leaders, and instilling skills that WILL help them take their businesses further than they ever thought possible.
I tell you all of this to make one bigger point: If you’re stuck in your business or not achieving the level of success you want and know is possible, maybe it’s time to try another approach.
The truth is really there in the words of those famous folks above… if you continue doing the exact same thing you always have in the exact same way you’ve always done it, you’re going to continue to get the exact same results you always have – you’re certainly not going to be more successful than you have; if you’re lucky, you’ll at least remain consistent.
These thoughts really hit me over the head like a sack full of bricks, and I wanted to share them with you so that you too can have the pseudo-wake-up-call as I did after hearing them. If you’ve been in a rut in your business or personal life, try thinking about doing things differently, branching out, trying something new, or getting to the edge of your comfort zone with whatever decision or situation you’re handling. You have everything to gain if you really apply this to your life – the only thing you have to lose is your business.
Most people don’t have financial success and never will unless they change something in their lives radically. This is where the “Do the opposite of what everyone else does” really shows up. Financial expert Dave Ramsey says it best about financial savings, security, and planning: “If you live like no one else now, you can live like no one else later”. Many of those who achieve longstanding success, both professionally and personally, are those who are doing things differently than everyone else is.