My co-blogger Arianna Huffington (I loved writing that, even though I’m a bottom-rung blogger for her gig… ;-)) quoted what President Charles DeGaulle’s said to his aide Jacques Soustelle when Jacques complained that all of his friends were bitterly opposed to the government’s policies. “Changez vos amis.” (“Change your friends.”)
The context here was Arianna’s latest post on Barack Obama’s campaign. Her message to Barack: “Don’t pander to conventional wisdom, stay true to yourself.”
It’s the Same in Business.
The conventional wisdom has it that your business needs to deliver what people want and need- and that’s true. If you aren’t fulfilling basic wants and needs of people, chances are your business won’t really take off.
However, there is another side of this- showing leadership. Sometimes people don’t know what they want. A clear example in our business is that often business owners want to rush into getting something done- they want to jump into action.
And yet, before you can get into action, you have to have clarity. Without clarity- clarity of heart, clarity of purpose, clarity of who you’re serving- your actions may well be totally useless. I sometimes have to reign someone in, and help them take a look at something more internal, or more profound, or more challenging to look at than usual.
That’s the case with the upcoming course Heart of Money Transformational Journey. Money is a HUGE topic- and yet many business owners never really face their doubts, fears, assumptions, and beliefs about money. Which makes it very, very hard to be successful, no matter how many “right actions” you may take.
It’s not always fun, but it is incredibly liberating and effective, and I wouldn’t be showing leadership if I didn’t cover this territory.
Are you letting your friends change you?
Are you Jacques Soustelle or Charles DeGaulle? Or Barack Obama? Well, maybe you don’t want to be any of them.
But here’s the real question: are you being you? Are you being true to your vision, are you planting your flag? Are you leading the way in your business?
