True Confessions:
I love pain.
I run 100 mile races for fun.
I procrastinate all the time.
I hold on to grudges long after their time has come and gone.
And worst of all… I try to do everything myself in my business.
Admit It. You Love Pain Too.
You know you should be working on your business instead of watching another re-run of Family Guy.
But you prefer the pain of your present situation to the potential bliss of your future.
You know you should probably call that person you haven’t talked to in 2 years because of some stupid misunderstanding.
But you prefer the comfort of harboring the yuck feelings to the potential happiness that comes from a repaired relationship.
You know you should be hiring someone to help you grow your business instead of trying to do it all yourself.
But you prefer the false comfort that comes from being a “DIYer”.
You prefer pain.
The truth is evident in your actions.
And you aren’t alone.
The Addiction To Pain Makes You Weak
I am a hypocrite.
I tell my email list ALL THE TIME, “It doesn’t have to be hard. Rich people use leverage, poor people take on a second job.”
And yet, I find the act of leveraging to be one of the most difficult to actually carry out in the world of business (and in life).
Michael Jordan was an amazing ball player. The best.
But he also passed the ball. And the ball was passed to him.
He didn’t do it alone. He had help.
He knew what he was good at, and he knew what his team was good at.
Michael Jordan didn’t win the NBA Championship. The Chicago Bulls won the NBA Championship.
He wears the rings, but so do his teammates.
Michael Jordan overcame his addiction to self-inflicted pain (aka Hogging The Spotlight/Doing It All Himself/Creating Reasons To Complain) and that is why he became one of the all time greats.
Loving your self-inflicted pain more than you love success leaves you weak.
Just look at my own copywriting business.
Until this week I simply refused to bring in an outside consultant to help me fix my business.
I enjoyed “grinding it out”. I preferred the pain of a poorly functioning business.
I am an idiot.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Hard
Listen, there is no natural law of the universe that says you must suffer in order to make money.
That you must suffer in order to build your dream organization.
That you must suffer to follow your bliss.
Nowhere.
I’ve looked.
Suffering for greatness is part of the “ghetto mindset”.
If you were raised like me, you were taught that “Hard work wins the day”.
“Early bird catches the worm.”
And all that blue collar stuff.
Great pearls of wisdom if working two jobs to barely meet your rent payment on time is your life’s goal.
You think the wealthy say stuff like that?
They don’t.
Random quote to prove my point:
“The key to competing and surviving against Wal-Mart is to focus your business into a niche or pocket where you can leverage your strengths in the local marketplace.” – Michael Bergdahl
Notice how he didn’t say, “The key to beating the giant box store of imported Chinese goods is to work 20 hours per day and try to out muscle them.”
No.
That is not a quote.
Leverage my friends.
It is all about leverage.
Leverage What You Have TODAY To Give You What You Want Tomorrow
Here is what I don’t have:
Time.
Here is what I want:
More time.
I have to have SOMETHING that I can trade, something that I can use to convince another human being to help me get what I want.
And I do.
I have skills.
I have money.
I have connections.
And you have these things too.
Or maybe not.
Maybe you have:
Passion.
Drive.
Time.
You can leverage those things to get what you want. But you can’t get it alone.
Trust me. I’ve tried.
The point is, if your business isn’t 100% where you want it to be TODAY, then use what you DO HAVE today to get what you want tomorrow.
Hire a consultant.
Hire a VA.
Hire a copywriter.
Hire a JV manager.
Hire an editor.
Buy some FB ads action.
Whatever.
Just don’t stay so in love with your pain of being stuck in a business you aren’t 100% pleased with that you miss out on what you could achieve with a little leverage.
Don’t do it the hard way.
You don’t have to.