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No 34                                                                                September 2004

Want to love your work but can't find what it is that you'd love to do? Still waiting for "Mr/Ms Right Opportunity" to come along?

Stop looking. It's already right in front of you. Try loving the work that you've already found. Don't try to change "it", unless first, you've tried to change you. Without inward journeying and inside-out change, trying to change external factors is bound to be pretty much an exercise in futility.

Fall in love all over again with your work. Have a love affair with your business. Who knows - in business you don't even have to subscribe to monogamy. Sex up your enterprise! Romance your job.

You may well then find that your business is on the threshold of achieving greatly improved results. Step one is to revisit and apply the simple basics of your business - and of your life too for that matter.

Strive to focus on those few vital activities that you do best and that bring you the greatest rewards (financial and otherwise). Then, act with a single-minded purpose to "make it happen".

Don't know what those critical success areas really are for your business? Then it's absolutely crucial to find out, right now. Act with urgency; get outside help to identify what it is that will be sure to make your business grow and prosper; and quickly.

Otherwise, you'll simply get to the wrong place faster and either arrive at the right place slower, or not at all!

Find the right formula for you and for your business. It will often be just one simple thing that provides the next great leap forward. One activity. One omitted or avoided area that needs your full and concerted attention.

Make a decision. Decide to devote your time, energy, and creativity to finding out what works best and makes the most money.

If you believe you have that sorted already, then stick to it and strive to keep it simple.

If the accounting function is beyond your abilities or your inclination, consider handing it over to the professionals. If selling your own products and or services is beyond your capabilities and/or your inclination, employ someone else to do it for you. Otherwise maybe it's time to seriously consider devoting your energies and under-utilised talents into a new field of endeavour. After all, we're not all made to be Trump-like entrepreneurs.

Avoid the tendency to sabotage success. Complicate a winning formula at your peril! And remember that only when it's working well, can it be successfully multiplied out, or expanded.

Remember too, that being in business is only about making money. End of story. All the other wonderful stuff is life - not business. Business is business. When at work, constantly ask yourself the question? "Is what I'm doing right now helping my business to make money?"

(And for applications outside of work, the question goes; "Is what I'm doing right now, helping me to achieve my goals and aspirations?")

If the answer is no, then set a goal to change one of two vital aspects of yourself.

Change either (or both of);

1. Your attitude (that's how you think), or . . .
2. Your behaviour (that's the way you act).

We are constantly being enticed away from single-mindedness by those who seek to divert our attention to life's trivialities and irrelevancies. But why? The cynic will suggest that it is so the people who sell that stuff can increase advertising revenue and therefore, make more money.

Such are the breeding grounds for the habits of thought and action that we've developed and built on over the years. We are a conditioned people which in itself is OK. But much of this conditioning stifles initiative, usurps industriousness, permits the avoidance of self-responsibility, and discourages self reliance. These are all tools that a healthy business needs to survive let alone flourish.

Sure, the situation in Iraq or elsewhere is most unfortunate. But what's that got to do with your business? Well, if you intend to do something to change those (or similar) situations, or you're keen to get into arms dealings, then without delay, make it your life's great challenge. Stand for Parliament so you can vote for or against troop displacements. Get passionate and make it your "reason for being".

Otherwise, except for perhaps just once a day to keep up to date, skip those half-hourly news reports. And, don't buy into others' opinions, avoid talkback shows and other such plagues. Stay well clear of "doom and gloom" environments.

Skim the business headlines or better still, completely unsubscribe to the newspaper. Carefully plan any time spent in front of the telly, if at all.

Don't allow "them" to immerse you with the negativity and sensationalism that sells their product and helps them to increase their prices. Try to avoid "their" illusions of fear, uncertainty, and hopelessness that will combine to undermine confidence in your chosen business.

Look at it this way. You'll no doubt have invested wisely in virus-protection and firewalls for your computer. All costs quite a lot of money. Excellent. Better still, it'll all be automatically and frequently updated. After all, the costs of data-loss can slow down or even cripple a thriving business overnight.

So, well done - it's great that you avoid having unprotected exchanges on the computer. Besides, you wouldn't want to jeopardise your business love affair!

But how many of us have the latest virus protection installed to protect our minds and our attitudes? Never mind junk food and junk mail; what about junk thoughts that can silently kill off a venture?

"Unsubscribe, turn-off, and regain control" - control over your thought processes, that is.

Instead, bathe your mind in positive and encouraging messages that will build confidence and improve your self-esteem.

There's plenty of excellent self-help books and material around. Some - "As a Man Thinketh" being just one example - are available free as e-books.

(Interested? Visit http://www.asamanthinketh.net)

Positive, encouraging and confidence-building messages fed into the mind, have got to be good for your business. Again, why?

Because with greater confidence and a stronger self-belief, you'll soon be able to charge much more for your services!

Imagine how your customers will feel about you if you feel even better about yourself, your business, your opportunities and life in general. You'll probably feel that you are undercharging for your services. You'll be able to increase your prices or radically alter your hourly charge-out rate.

You'll soon be making more profit - even perhaps having to turn down business; selecting only those clients that you prefer to work with.

You might have to open up a special travel account to utilise some of the surplus funds. You'll soon be able to give some of it away, should you so wish.

But before that, having decided what it is that you do best, you will need to convey that powerfully and enthusiastically, in a clear and concise message, to your clients and potential customers.

And at the same time, you'll be able to find out what it is that your customers need and want. Really want. Be bold. Knock on doors. Ask questions. Be open. Be positive. Be yourself. They'll tell you easy enough - provided you also really know what it is that you really want.

Then you can ask of your customer - in a way that is the real and natural 'you' - "What can I do for you, valued customer, that will help you or your business make more money?"

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