Eleven Years, Eleven Lessons

This week marked the eleven-year anniversary of pulling my own parachute.

After seven years in the nonprofit space, I felt the nudge to launch what's now Keynote Content.

And it's been one of the most rewarding, white-knuckling, and purpose-evoking adventures of my life.

Earlier today I wrote down eleven lessons scrabbled together from this vortex called entrepreneurship.

Some of these are self-inflicted 'tuition'. Others are nuggets spied in the rocks before hard work broke them free.

Whatever the origin, these are meant to inspire, challenge, and fuel your journey with your own business.

1. Invest in buying back your time. You can always make more money. You can always meet new people. You can never get back time lost for good.
2. Mentorship beats trial and error. Just today I met with two of my mentors in person and called a third. The discussions all involved seismic questions about future planning. In short, I want to know how each of my mentors navigated a key season I'm facing right now.
3. Average talent with an indelible mission will always outlast world-class talent that lacks conviction.
4. Every prospect you meet deserves (and craves) a human-to-human connection.
5. I can scale my business, but I can't scale my parenting, marriage, mental health, or time availability. As Kara's husband and dad to four adorable lookalikes, I sense the vapor-like fragility of this season of life. These days are fleeting, but I'm soaking in what I can each day.
6. Integrity still reigns supreme. There is greater pressure now than 10 years ago to compromise who I am and what I do. Leading with integrity is also more valuable than ever.
7. Let others borrow your fire. One of the greatest gifts you may ever give someone is believing in their abilities even before they do. The goal is to let others see your belief to help light their own. I call this 'borrowing fire'.
8. If you want to sell a premium service, develop an above-premium skills set. "Above-premium? What are you talking about, Jon? There isn't a level above premium." That belief is the embodiment of a missed opportunity. It's not about above-premium being an odd name. It's about believing that you can always uplevel your skills and capabilities, even if you're already at the 'top' of your game.
9. Trust your gut more. Many of the best decisions I've ever made in business came on the other side of following my gut instinct.
10. If your joy for work and life feels siphoned or suffocated, find the root cause - and eliminate it from your life. If it's a client, happily fire them because their payment, no matter how big, is the new price tag for your joy. If it's a task, delegate with glee. Your joyousity is worth protecting.
11. Stick to the scope, and charge for the creep. Some clients will naturally push the boundaries of your project or program scope. Will you allow them to push you beyond your commitments? Or will you hold fast to what's already agreed-upon? Charging for scope creep is one of the best decisions I made a few years ago.

Which of these eleven lessons resonates with you the most?