Don’t you wish building a business could be easier? Why does every step seem to hold a challenge for us?
Well, let’s go back to late August, 2004, when my wife and I went out into the Columbia River Gorge, and hiked out to some natural hot “holes” – pools by the side of a beautiful river, that are naturally heated. It took us 45 minutes of sweating, stubbed toes, and clinging to boulders in order to hike less than two miles because there was no trail- just the rocks along the river. As one person said, “It’s not a trail- it’s a river.”
We soaked. Then we hiked back. And we felt amazing, as if we had really acomplished something.
If you read most marketing hype about business growth, they are only too happy to talk about the guy who made $1 million in one day on the internet (it’s true), or someone else who brought in $20,000 from one email (also true.)
You can get yourself into hot water with your business, and not the soaking kind, if you judge your goal by the terrain you are in. It’s fun to imagine what it will be like to arrive- to have your biggest month yet, or to soak in the hot pools out in the middle of nowhere, with only the sound of the river running by.
Unfortunately, hiking over rocks doesn’t seem to have a direct relationship with what it feels like to soak in a hot spring. Some people tell you to “visualize” your arrival point. But we had never been there before, and so couldn’t imagine what it looked or felt like.
Instead, I concentrated on hiking the rocks.
I think the mistake many of us make, sometimes unconsciously, is to set a goal of “easy.” And then we judge everything in our business, and our life, by it. But, if you’ve been alive for longer than 1 minute, you know that life isn’t always about “easy.”
A famous Sufi saint, Rabia of B’asra (b. 717 A.D.), had a prayer: “Some people pray to put them in the garden, and if things are good for them, they are happy. And some people pray to avoid the fire, and if they avoid difficulty, they are happy. I do not pray like this- I pray that whether I am in the fire or in the garden, that I never lose sight of You.” (Rough paraphrase from Persian.)
This deceptively simple and powerful prayer makes the case that “easy” or “hard” isn’t the point. Just because something is challenging doesn’t mean you made a mistake. And just because it’s easy, doesn’t mean you are on the right path. Sometimes your business is easy, and sometimes you are hiking the rocks.
Early in my career helping people in business, I had a coach who insisted I could fill my practice ‘like that!’ she said- snapping her fingers. She had a very good reason to think this- because she had done it herself- 20 new clients in a month, rocketing from zero to a six-figure business. Except…
Except that she already had years of business experience. She already knew about client interactions, about charging the right price, about standing in her confidence from a place of experience, and how to close a sale.
If you have read the book Good to Great, by Jim Collins, or The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, (you can see them in my bookstore: click here ) then you already know that “overnight sensations” are never that. Fame and fortune looks “sudden” when you snap the photo at the finish line, and didn’t dog their heels on the lonely back country roads.
We are surrounded by images of successful people. We are told over and over again “never let them see you sweat.” It’s easy to think that if you are having are hard time, if you are sweating, then something is wrong. You missed the boat. You screwed up, or it wouldn’t be this hard.
It’s not easy hiking out along a rocky river bank to get to the hot springs. And, it’s not easy to build a business that makes a real difference and pays the bills.
Try this: instead of making “easy” your goal, set your goal according to what your heart sees is possible for your business, and judge your progress by your relationship to the goal, and not by the terrain you are walking. If you do, you will travel to incredibly beautiful places with your business, no matter what the terrain looks like.
Keys to A Better Goal Than “Easy”
• Insight: Why “easy” isn’t a real goal.
Easy describes an experience or state of being. It’s not really measurable, it’s not really definable. You can do the exact same thing on two different days- once it will be easy, another time it will be challenging. If you set a goal that is actually measurable and definable, you’ll have a much better chance of arriving at it.
• When you are having a hard time in your business, and you feel like you are struggling for no reason- stop for a moment.
Use your heart to see what you are truly needing in this moment. Hint: It’s going to be something emotional or internal rather than external. Then, take a look a see what your goal is- are you in motion towards your goal? Or is your goal “easy?” Be honest.
• When you are having a really easy time in your business, and yet you feel a little stagnant- trust that instinct.
Stop for a moment, and use your heart to see what your goal is- is your goal “easy?” Or is there another goal that inspires you more? Stay in relationship with the more true goal, and discard “easy.”
