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August 09, 2012 at 12:00 AM
In the Marine Corps, I was taught many valuable lessons that have helped me throughout my life, both personally and professionally. One incredibly helpful motto is “adapt and overcome.” This principle gets to the root of what it takes to overcome any challenge you may face, whether it be a health, financial, personal or career obstacle. Before you can overcome anything, you must first adapt to it.
So how do we adapt? Much like a chameleon, we can learn how to blend into our circumstances. In your business, this may require you to learn a new skill, learn how not to be a control freak or accept that your staff may not possess your same drive/conviction/determination to succeed. It may also be learning to get out of your own way.
For example, as a business owner, you may feel that your business is your baby and no one will love it and raise it the way you do. But the reality is that you cannot do everything. You have to surround yourself with people that want you to succeed. You have to trust your staff, give them authority, responsibility and the autonomy to allow you to do what you are good at. As a business owner, you are best served by focusing your energy on revenue-generating activities.
Seek your passion
Your obstacle may be motivation, self-doubt or self-sabotage, which can damage your business. But those, too, can be overcome. You must realize that you will not always be motivated to work hard every day. This is when you must be disciplined with yourself. If you are feeling low on motivation, seek out your passion—the reason you got into your business in the first place—and remind yourself what you are working for.
If you are struggling with self-doubt or self-sabotage, you must stop now! If you do not believe in yourself, no one else will. If you doubt your skills, get professional help to improve them. If you doubt your level of experience, be patient; experience takes time. But you must get out there and work at it. If you are sabotaging yourself, examine your fears. What is driving your behavior?
