Most people have attended a birthday party for a one-year-old. The one-year-old is usually confused but has fun. The kid ends up covered in cake, and everyone has fun and talks about the event for weeks afterwards.
- Brailey's First Birthday
If you want to experience true success in business and life, approach your idea the same way a small child views their first birthday party.
Countless businesses or new careers are roadblocked every day by fear and his destructive cousin, should. It usually sounds something like this,"I should start this business, new career, go back to school, etc.; but I just don't know how it would possibly turn out."
If everyone waited until they were 100% ready and confident of their outcome, zero innovation would ever happen. Every successful sales professional or business owner has built the confidence necessary to succeed on the shoulders of uncertainty.
1. Every experience is new and different
Small children view new experiences through a lens of wonder and amazement. Fear and uncertainty are learned traits. I highly doubt that a small child would be thinking, "I hope I don't mess up putting my whole face into this chocolate cake. What will they think?" It's okay to feel fear.
Randy Gage sums it up perfectly when he says, "If the thing you endeavor to do doesn’t hurt a little, involve risk, or scare you – it’s probably not a goal worthy of you."
2. All of these people and all these gifts must be here for me!
The level of expectation of a small child is unparalleled. What would happen if you viewed your next three sales calls with the expectation of, "Of course they want to do business with me. Why else would I be here?"
3. Make a mess and have fun
Most one-year-olds wind up wearing more of their cake than eating it. Yet everyone has a great time, the mess gets cleaned up, and people talk about it for weeks. What is the worst thing that could happen if you venture out and pursue a new career, business, or relationship? Get out of your own way.
When I first started speaking, I had never delivered a program that exceeded 60 minutes in length. I finalized a deal with an event planner who booked me for a half day long workshop for $5,000! At the time, I had never received a fee like that.
I called one of my mentors to share the great news, exclaiming, "I just booked a half-day workshop!" After he congratulated me, I realized, "Holy crap, I have never delivered a half-day long workshop. What am I going to do?"
I learned as I went along, and the event was awesome. Every entrepreneur or successful person has ventured out into the land of uncertainty with nothing but the light of faith to guide them. Sometimes things work. Sometimes they do not go as planned. Life goes on.
How do you celebrate your business every day?
