“Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice.” – Henry Ford
There’s a lot that I can tell you about successfully building and running businesses. I’ve been an entrepreneur for 14 years. Longer if you go back to my high school days. I faked doctor’s notes to skip school and to buy and resell stereo speakers.
So I’ve been at it for a minute, and I can tell you that growth is never consistent.
You’re going to have good years and bad years.
Why is being successful something that everyone wants?
Because it’s hard. If it were easy, then it wouldn’t be everyone’s goal in life.
It takes a stroke of luck as well as having a good product or service.
Staying in the game is just as important as the game. Nobody wins in business. Everyone is trying to stay alive long enough to hopefully sell their brand one day.
That’s the holy grail.
Results are not guaranteed in the game of business. At the end of the day, it’s rather impossible to control.
It’s about time in the market, not timing the market.
You can’t control what happens to you. One week, things are good. The next, you’re picking up shit and banging your head against the wall.
Printing errors occur on packaging.
The fulfillment center is ruining your product by jamming it into small boxes.
Ads aren’t converting.
You feel like your working so hard but the business is moving sideways.
It never ends.
There are countless things you cannot control that will potentially derail your progress.
That’s life.
The quicker you accept that you can’t control those things, the better off you’ll be.
Earlier in my career, these types of things would ruin my week or longer.
I’m way more even-keeled about things now.
In the short term, shit is going to happen. But, in the long term, consistent right actions greatly boost your chances of success.
Control what you can and forget the rest.
You can stack the odds in your favor by controlling what you can control.
In business and life, here are some things I’ve focused on to stack the odds in my favor.
Outreach
You can’t control how many people buy your product. But you can control how many people you reach out to and tell about how you can help them. If you reach out to enough people, there will be some who need your solution.
The same is true in dating, attracting investors, and building your social circle. It applies to anything that involves marketing yourself or a business.
Environment
In business, you can’t control your team’s actions. But you can boost performance. Create processes, incentives, and an environment that increases productivity.
The same is true for your own performance. Some days, you may not feel like it. But if you create a better environment, you’ll do it more often.
Trying to work out first thing in the morning? Put your phone on the other side of the room so you have to get up to shut it off. Trying to get deep work done? Put the phone on Do Not Disturb and a timer on it.
Relationships
You can’t control relationships, but you can increase the chances of building solid ones if you do your bit. Take time to maintain your business connections and relationships. It will pay dividends for the future of your business.
Luck
You can control your own luck by sticking with it and not getting too high or too low. Simply take advantage of opportunities when they arise and be prepared.
I believe that the harder you work, the luckier you get. You have more chances of getting a good break or a new partnership to take your business to the next level.
Health
The biggest investment in life is taking care of yourself. My physical and mental state deteriorates when I neglect nutrition and exercise. It hurts my energy levels.
Think of yourself as an athlete. No matter your goal, being in shape gives you more energy. You’ll have more drive to achieve what you want in life.
Embrace the fact that not everything is under your control.
It frees up mental space to focus on what you can control.
That’s all we can do.
If this helped you, share it with a friend. It helps me out.
Til next week.
Your Montana Friend,
Cody
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Have a positive week,
Cody