Top 10 business lessons you can't afford to learn the hard way

Each one of us learns from experience or by trial-and-error. But you would not want to learn these 10 business lessons after experiencing them. That mistake could prove to be a very costly one.

1. No one asks “how much does it cost” when it comes to being healed.

If you’re selling product, your client will want to compare prices. If you’re in the business of healing people, you can charge whatever you want and prospects will gladly pay it.

2. Hire people you would want to fight alongside if you were heading into battle.

When it’s life-or-death, a warrior does whatever it takes to stay alive and win the battle. It’s not good enough to pay people to do a job. You have to build warriors.

3. It’s not profitable to over-deliver on customers.

It makes more immediate sense to pad your bottom line and only deliver what people pay for. But the truth is that you’ll always do better in the long run by delivering an outrageous customer experience.

4. The best opportunities for growth are always up the high road and deep into the game.

Short-term success is tempting but is often just a disguise for greed or selfish behavior. Live fit enough to position yourself to be able to win when it’s your time.

5. Goals matters.

Quotas matter less. A mission matters most. If you don’t have a purpose, you won’t do the ridiculously uncomfortable things that separate a champion from everyone else making important sounding excuses.