What Will You Do Today That Will Matter Tomorrow?
One of my favorite quotes is “What will you do today that will matter tomorrow?” I don’t remember where I first heard it, so I searched it online so I could give credit to the author — quotes are always more powerful when they are credited to a respected icon of wisdom—but all I found were some school websites that use that quote as their mantra. The reason I like this saying is that it reminds me to keep focused on improving myself and my situation every day. I know that the life situation I started with is not the one I need to end with. It is this simple belief that I attribute to my success.
If you do the same thing over and over and expect different results, you are thought to be insane. Yet this is what I see time and time again. I talk to business owners who want to make a positive change in their business but are not willing to make the changes necessary to do it. Maybe you have wanted to start a new process, install new software, or offer your clients a new product but did not want to take the time to become an authority on it. What you end up with is an outlay of cash or increase in debt, and a small buzz of excitement and a halfway implemented project that doesn’t work.
Learning something new is hard—at least until you have learned it. It’s hard because it requires change and we humans resist change.
Make change a part of your life. Do what is uncomfortable. It’s okay to feel awkward because that is a part of growth. I always tell people, “if you are not failing, you are not learning.” Snow skiing is a great example. Success is not making it down the slope in total control; it’s about pushing yourself to the edge of being out of control and learning your limitations. If you don’t fall a few times, will you never actually learn your limits?
The biggest fear of change in most business is the fault of the human heart. It is your people that need to be changed and most of you don’t have the heart to do it. We either need to push them to grow or find other employment. You can’t grow your business with people unwilling to grow with you. Our people need to be pushed to their limits so they can grow. I am not suggesting that you become a tyrant; I am suggesting that you get them to test their limits by challenging them to do things they are uncomfortable with. Stars will rise and loafers will become resisters. Get the resisters out.
The biggest change you can make is changing your recruiting process. Don’t hire the best of the bunch; keep searching until you find the perfect fit.
Do what’s uncomfortable and learn to be a master recruiter. Always be working on your leadership skills. Read a quick chapter of one of John Maxwell’s books each morning and try to apply what you read each day. You don’t have to learn it all right away, just be sure you learn something every day because it is what you do today that will impact tomorrow.