Today my kids have a half day off of school. My oldest already has his entire day planned. From what he wants to eat for lunch when I pick him up to who will be the team captain for their kid run and managed lacrosse game this afternoon. As he shared his day of plans with me his eyes were lit up. He is selling me on the fact that he needs to be outside half the day. As I watched his face light up with excitement it made me realize that spark is inside all of us, somewhere.
We spend our life wanting to be accepted, wanting to be liked. We like having friends. We like being a friend. We like planning, and organizing. We like communicating and sharing our best to help another person. We want to be on the team and play the game in a big way.
When most entrepreneurs or business leaders start a job they have big dreams. They have plans to achieve great things. They dream of a better life. Their WHY is right before them and in the center of everything they are doing.
However, over time most get pushed down. They may start to lose belief in themself. They hop on Twitter and are lost. They try to figure out Facebook but have a hard time getting fans. Or they might even setup their account wrong without knowing only to have to start all over with a real official business page versus the profile page they just made that breaks Facebook rules. They get frustrated because they don't feel they can manage it all. They feel the mountain is too big to climb. They may even run into bullies along the way pushing them down the mountain and feeding doubt to their belief in why they started the business in the first place.
Before most entrepreneurs know it they lose sight of their why. They are stuck at the bit and byte level trying to make ends meet. They are following others who really aren't reaching their goals any faster either. They start to look and feel like a hampster in a wheel running for something but who knows what. Only difference is instead of a wheel it looks like Tweets, Facebook pages and random acts of marketing. A wheel making you feel busy will do just that, make you feel busy. However, it will do little to move your business forward. Will do little to move you closer to living your WHY, not just dreaming about it.
Our lives as adults will never be as simple as it is for the kids headed to the park for a Lacrosse game this afternoon. However, life is what we make of it. Our business is what we make of it. Our relationships are based on what we put into them. Our social media and business results are based on how we play the game.
We need to reach down inside and find that kid in us that wants to play the game. Find the dreamer inside your heart again who knows, understands and wants to live your WHY!
10 Tips To Stay in the Game
1. Develop a game plan. What is your game. Why are you playing? How will you build a team? What are the plays you need to win? Who needs to be on your team? Goals and objectives are critical and a must have for any business. If you don't have a plan for your social media efforts and don't know how to build one, find someone who does. Hire a coach and your ROI can be exponentially higher. Start right from day one. Don't waste cycles on guessing.
2. Work smart. Remember your time is your most valuable asset. Social media isn't free. Be wise in how you spend your Tweet, Facebook and learning time. Ensure your efforts, tasks and tactics map back to your WHY, as well as your goals and objectives. Don't get over caught up in tools. Yes, you need to learn tools but knowing why you're using them and what your objectives and goals are should come first. You don't need to know how to run a twitter auto follow tool to set objectives!
3. Build yourself a team. Surround yourself with believers who also have a why. Rid yourself of the parasite type who only want to complain. You need team captains and go to people. People who have your back. Coaches who can lead you. When building your network using social media focus on conversation that helps you learn and grow. Conversation that can help others. Keep a focus on connecting with an objective to build your team, your tribe.
4. Learn the drills. Research smart. Don't waste hours a day on Twitter learning with no objectives. Set objectives for every phase of your social media starting day one. If you are in early stages and are listening then set objectives for listening. Who are you listening to and why? Are you sure they are the right people you should be learning from. Set goals each day for what you want to learn. Listening all day with no outcome will do nothing to get you closer to your why.
5. Show up for practice. Don't just go thru the motions. Engage and truly show up with hands, feet and heart. Be ready to put in the effort to learn, tweak and grow. Accept the fact you don't know everything and that you will make mistakes. Practice doesn't have to make perfect. It just needs to make you better each day. When you make a mistake, learn from it. Stand back up fast, wipe off the hurt and don't head to the bench. Head back to the practice field with a positive outlook.
6. Be real. Don't let your fear or insecurities keep you from letting people know the real you. Don't be afraid to share your WHY with others. You'll find the more you share of yourself, the more you put yourself out there, the more you'll attract like kind.
7. Seek joy. Don't look for trouble. Don't worry about the competition. Don't let only dollars keep you up at night. Focus on the joy, the people that bring you joy. Focus on what will bring you joy in life, joy in your business. If you do this then you'll find yourself bringing joy to others. If a potential client doesn't bring you joy then it may be the right decision not to work with that client.
8. It's not all about winning. Yes, we all like to win. We all want the medal at the end of the season. However, we don't have to come in first place. Set a plan with goals and objectives and you'll have something to celebrate.
9. Celebrate the milestones. As you reach a milestone, win a point, celebrate! Take your team to lunch or dinner. Order a cake and share for an afternoon break. Take time to thank those who helped you get there. Make time to celebrate and relish in the greatness of what you've accomplished.
10. Don't give up. Just because you hit a wall, run out of money or become over tired, do not give up! If you're an entrepreneur, what is your alternative? Go back to corporate? Is that really what you want? Set your plan A and tweak it if you want. However, don't fall back to a Plan B if it has the word “Quit” in the first paragraph. You can and will succeed if you work smart. Be dynamic and respond to the market but don't quit!
Your Play
What is your role in the game? Are you a good team player? Are you showing up but not really a true team member? What tips can you offer to coach and mentor others that are just joining the game.
