Main Idea:
Are you facing significant obstacles in your business? What is the general mood of the country? Is anything under control? Are people happy and easy to deal with? Can you find employees? Has supply chain issues impacted your business
Expansion of the Idea:
Life is as complicated now as I have ever seen it. Inflation reminds me of the 70’s and 80’s. Political activism is extremely polarized. All of our businesses are facing a lot of uncertainty in almost every aspect. It is hard to find employees who want to work. Trying to get new customers is hard because of all of the false ads. No one believes anything. The stock market is in a bear market. Borrowing money is costing more every day. And technology is changing so fast that it seems like all we do is upgrade software. On top of all of that is a regulatory environment that is unfriendly to business and extremely uncertain. It is very easy to get depressed and throw your hands up in the air as if there is nothing you can do
However, as I was thinking about all of these problems, I also started thinking about the upcoming July 4th holiday. And if you go deeper, if you start thinking about the founding fathers and what they faced, you realize that we have it pretty good. Or if you think about what is going on in Ukraine, you realize that our problems are really pretty minor. The key question is how do we navigate all of these issues. That is going to be different for everyone. But I think there is one characteristic that we do need and it needs to be developed for us to succeed.
Optimism
Optimism is one of those special forces that impacts everything and everyone around us. When you are optimistic, you start to see paths out of problems. You encourage people around you. You also attract people because no one wants to be around pessimistic people. You provide hope. It also leads to other positive characteristics such as determination, hard work, collaboration and enthusiasm.
As Zig Ziglar says, “Your attitude determines your altitude.”. No matter what else happens, the one thing that you can control is your attitude. If you choose optimism, with a little determination, then you will succeed.
As we go into the Fourth of July weekend, I hope you can celebrate our nation as well as your future. Just as our founding fathers created a great nation, we can go out and create great businesses.
Next Steps:
Make a list of things you are optimistic about.
Make a list of things you are thankful for.
If you are struggling with optimism, call someone who is optimistic.
Encourage 3 people today.
Make a list of the challenges in your business that you are going to tackle.
If still struggling, reread “The Little Engine that Could”