10 Lessons For Life From 10 Years In Business
Mindset Monday
Takeaway: 65% of business fail before their 10th anniversary. I’m excited to say A-Team Fitness is not one of them, as today marks our 10th year creating meaningful health transformations. Let’s look at ten lessons from the last ten years in business.
Ten years of coaching men and women through health transformations.
The gratitude I feel is hard to put in words. It amazes me that we’ve made it this far.
Since I’m already feeling reflective, let’s take a moment to identify ten lessons I’ve learned over the last decade:
Operate with the highest level of professionalism.
Show up on time and be prepared for the task at hand. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Whatever the job is, take it seriously. Everything you do is a reflection of your brand (business and personal). If you have to ask yourself whether something is appropriate, it probably isn’t. Don’t be the reason people around you don’t feel safe or at ease. Be a professional.
I can even begin to tell you how many times over the years I’ve differentiated myself from my peers by simply being the most professional.Embrace all aspects of a growth mindset.
Shed the ideal of perfection and own your mistakes. Strive to remain growth-minded—viewing mistakes as opportunities to learn and get better. In following a growth mindset, don’t be afraid to try something new and take risks. As long as you never stop growing, every small improvement will compound to life-changing results.
Perfect is the enemy of great because it’ll keep you from ever trying to do anything differently.Create a positive environment of change.
Create an encouraging, positive, and supportive space for others to explore themselves, their habits, and their identity. Show up with an unwavering positive attitude to create an environment that’s conducive for productivity and growth, so that those around you can feel comfortable letting down their walls and working on themselves.
This unwavering positivity should not be in violation of your authenticity and empathy. No one feels joy one-hundred percent of the time. However, people have enough negativity in their lives. Be the person that neutralizes that negativity instead of adding to it.“Can’t” does not equal “can.”
Focus on the language of solutions. Offering advice on what doesn’t work does not necessarily lead you any closer to the right answer. Keep this in mind: What actions and beliefs point you in the right direction of what you should be doing, instead of an affirmation of what you shouldn’t be doing?
This focus on solutions keeps the momentum moving forward and improves clarity.Language matters, treat it delicately.
More and more of our daily interactions occur through the written word. This medium opens itself to the potential for miscommunication and misunderstandings; For lost translations and meanings. Understand that every word you use needs to be purposefully chosen to share your intended message.
Words matter, and so does the delivery. Punctuation, spacing, and the strategic use of emojis are all factors worth considering to ensure your message gets received the way you intend. Master this art and every interaction with others will positively reinforce your brand identity and put people at ease. (Again, this could be business or personal brand.)Assume miscommunication before malicious intent.
We see it all too often: Someone makes an honest mistake, or doesn’t realize how their actions were perceived, or generally thinks they’re doing what they’re supposed to do, and the person that was negatively impacted jumps to the conclusion that it was done with harmful intent. This mentality leads to far greater problems and distrust.
Give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that when things go wrong it stems from a simple miscommunication. Clear up the confusion and you’ll most often solve the problem. Clear communication is key.Long-term thinking is a severely underrated superpower.
This doesn’t mean having a five or ten-year plan. I’m referring to something called second-order consequences. Simply put, it involves going the extra step of asking, “If this decision results in a specific outcome (desired or not), what are the consequences that occur as a result of that outcome?”
It’s the ability to think multiple moves down the line, and when done correctly, can give you a birds-eye view of what’s happening around you. That leads to better decisions and less unwanted surprises down the road. (I attribute a lot of my success to this.)Pragmatism is overrated.
Pragmatism is the idea that only knowledge that can be practically used is worth learning. Based on this model, theories, ideas, and even random facts that have no specific use aren’t worth the real estate in your brain. My experience has taught me this is not the best way to gain knowledge. Some of my best (and most lucrative) insights have come from seemingly random pieces of knowledge that exist in my brain.
New ideas don’t just come out of thin air. They are the melding of two or more previously held ideas. Which two? You won’t be able to predict. All you can control is having as many dots ready to be connected as possible. For this reason, learn as much as you can and stay curious.If someone is rushing you to make a decision, the answer should be “no.”
I look at this in two ways. First, from my perspective working with business coaches or other ad agencies who’ve wanted my business. They often push and rush to get you to sign up for their package, offer, or whatever their product is.
Second, from my experience signing up new members for my coaching program. I never want to rush or be rushed into making a big decision. In fact, the more someone rushes me to choose only highlights the lack in confidence they have in their program or product.Take care of the people, and everything else takes care of itself.
Being in a small business for a decade, I’ve seen my fair share of business coaches talking about funnels, sales systems, lead magnets, etc., as a means to grow and scale a business. All of those things have their place, sure. The best lesson I’ve learned is the most important of them all: take care of the people.
Customers, staff, the folks simply window shopping with no intention to buy. Take care of people, have a genuine interest in helping, and you’ll attract the right following of people who will support you.
The last ten years have been an amazing ride, but it won’t be anything in comparison to the next ten. I hope you’re along for the next chapter.
Do you have follow-up questions or anything to add to my list here? Reply to this email and let me know what you think!
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