4 Keys To Unlock Success In Business

There are so many aspects to building, sustaining, and growing a successful business. We have to constantly be growing and challenging ourselves, if we become stagnant, our businesses will do the same. Success principles are the bricks that build a strong foundation, and without them, we will see no success, or, if one stumbles upon it, that success will not last. I want to share 4 keys that I have seen pop up with steady consistency, over the years I've been in business. I hope they will challenge and add value to your day!

1. Commitment:

Gary Vaynerchuck refers to living without commitment as being ‘half pregnant’, and that analogy painted a very powerful picture for me. I have 2 beautiful children, and my wife had fairly easy pregnancies, but even so, it affected every area of her life. It was a constant truth, and quite a few times she had to adjust plans, outfits, meals and more because of it. I know that there were days that she wished she could have a small reprieve (especially while running around after my oldest, who is only 2 years older than his sister!) but, even if possible, without 100% commitment, the end result she wanted, would not have been possible. Being ‘half pregnant’ would be more frustrating than productive! So it is without a commitment to your goal. Whatever it is.

If you have a hard time committing to something, my first question will be, do you struggle with the commitment? Or the ‘Something’? People usually fall in one of two camps. If you have simply not found your ‘something’, I encourage you, be brave! Get involved in things that you never considered, you never know what will spark your brilliance.

If, on the other hand, you struggle with committing to things overall, I challenge you to take a long, hard look at why. For me, personally, lack of commitment was a convenient excuse, for a long time. When I was young, someone called me ‘damaged goods’. This wasn't someone I respected, looked up to, or was an influential part of my life. Yet, the seed of self doubt took root, and shaped many of my decisions as a youth. It has taken a lot of work to uproot that seedling, and stop it from becoming a powerful tree. All because I bought into that person's opinion of me.

And when you buy someone’s opinion you buy their lifestyle.

2. Consistency

Consistency is key in business and even in relationships. Imagine in business, a coffee shop had regular business hours listed on their website but they were never or rarely open when you showed up to get coffee and a pastry. You would not keep showing up to be disappointed. The same factor applies across your company with your employees and your customers or clients. As an entrepreneur you have to show up consistently, you have to do things consistently, you have to or you will lose people's trust, and by extension, their business.

In his book ‘The Compound Effect’ Darren Hardy retells the story of a Penny Doubled. Just in case you have never heard it, let me quickly summarize.

If given the choice, which would you choose?

$1,000,000 today or a penny that doubles its worth every day for 30 days?

Seems like a crazy choice, right?? But, it is the perfect picture of the fruit consistent effort over time can bear. Watch this; by day 30, the penny will be worth over $5MIL! But, before day 28, that would not have seemed possible. At day 15, halfway through, you would not even have broken $200. That is the frustration and also the beauty of consistency. You will not see it's power, if you do not keep it up.

But I don’t think you can grind that way unless you have a goal, or a vision, and that leads us to our next key.

3. Vision

Vision is paramount to your business success. In life and especially in business, if you want to figure something out you have to reverse engineer it. That means you have to decide the destination or outcome, then work backwards to find out where to start. To me that is the very definition of vision. The actual definition is: the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom, and a mental image of what the future will or could be like.

Without a destination we putter about aimlessly, which, sometimes is ok to do! When it comes to vacation, I want to make ZERO decisions. Or, to be able to design every day on a whim. During normal days, however, I have to keep my vision clear in my mind, or I will be too easily distracted. Life is propelled by decision and our lives are shaped by our vision and ideals. You have to have a vision, a purposefully directed goal, to move forward with your business. As you grow and change, ultimately your vision and culture will grow and change as well. Be prepared for that and allow it to happen. That leads us into our fourth and probably my favorite key.

4. Mentorship

Mentorship is THE key. You have to have someone to help you check your blind spots, especially if you are just starting out. I wish I would have had someone, when I was younger take interest in my life and want to shepherd me along.  My first chance at a mentor came along when I was 17 years old. He was literally a rocket scientist and one of the most amazing men I have ever known. He owned a landscaping company on the side, where I worked for him, and was working for U of M & eventually NASA, and I flaked out on him. I lost out on a lot in my life because I was not ready, or too prideful to accept help or mentorship. I could have been successful in business and in life much sooner if I had accepted mentorship or even sought it out sooner. Every winner has a coach, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Tony Robbins, all of these successful men have one thing in common, and that is strong men behind them to push them forward and to help them work on their blind spots. How far can you go with the right or even any kind of coaching. This is a vital fundamental key in success and business, please don’t ignore it.

Success can take on many shapes and sizes and ultimately depends on what your ideal image is, but I think all of us can agree that true success comes from pursuing happiness, not money and things. A wise man once said that man is only truly happy while in pursuit of a worthwhile goal. So find your worthwhile goal and commit to pursuing it, be consistent in chasing it, keep your vision of the future keenly in mind, and don’t be afraid to seek help along the way.

Here is to you and your success.