Achieving success: Are you doing a Dusty Springfield?

Wishing and hoping will
only get you so far...

Much as we love the song, if you want to see your new business achieving success, it's best to avoid too much "wishing and hoping".

A colleague of mine was recounting a conversation he had had with an entrepreneur friend of his. The topic was a new business venture she was entering into. My colleague told me that he had no doubt that her new venture would be achieving success as he could see the certainty in her eyes and hear it in her voice. She knew from the outset it would be a winner.

This provoked me to think of my own business experiences, both the successful and the not so successful. I was able to establish a pattern; all the times I had no doubt about a project’s success, guess what? BINGO – success. All the times I had too much of a 'wishing and hoping' attitude, success either eluded me completely or took more effort than it was probably worth.

So the question now beckons, how do you create certainty of your business’ achieving success without it being a mask for the ‘wishin’ and hopin’ that may lie beneath?

Check your inner conversation

A very good place to observe where your belief in your business and yourself is at. What are you saying to yourself and about yourself? Are these comments supporting your success?

Check your values

Your values are simply what you believe to be important. Are you values supporting your success?

Check your focus

Do you have a clear picture of what achieving success looks, sounds and feels like?

Check your need

The higher your need, the lower your personal power. The lower your personal power, the lower probability of success. Do you need to prove something to someone? What does your success mean to you?

Check your knowledge

Do you have the information your need to achieve the success you seek?

Check your actions

Write a diary every day documenting how you spend your time. Is this the very BEST use of your time to create the success you want?

Check your support:

What support mechanisms do you have in place? Is it enough? Is it too much and getting in your way?

Knowing you will succeed does not necessarily guarantee your success, but I reckon it will make achieving your success infinitely easier.

John Raymond is a coach and trainer who helps people manage people. His aim is that his work will help you to love your work and those important people around you will love the way you work too.

7 comments | Add your own

This is so well put. Thank you John. Great timing for me to be reading this! Ian Knowles from Perth, Australia
Thanks Ian, glad it helped. John Raymond from Sydney | Read my articles
As usual the articles on Fyling Solo are very helpful. We are just looking at ways of increasing our business & have been wondering why it seems so easy for some people. Some of these questions we are able to answer but others we need to look more closely at. Not easy to do but needs to be done. Thanks John for the questions to focus on. Janene from Tamworth, Australia
My pleasure Janene.
One of my favourite sayings is "We are all looking for the answers, but are we asking the right questions?"
Would be interested to hear some of the answers John Raymond from Sydney | Read my articles
I like this - especially the reminder to be alert to our values.
Thanks Donna McDonald from Brisbane, Australia
thanks Donna. I love values work. I think it is so powerful yet quite under utilised. Values are such a powerful conversation to help understand motivations at work and at home John Raymond from Sydney | Read my articles
Spot on, John - can I add that on the way to success, you have to ignore the turkeys if you want to fly like an eagle ? Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles

7 comments | Add your own

Add Your comments

Preview comment

Name

Website *

Town / city and country

Email (never sold, displayed or given away)

* This will link your name to your site. So please avoid self promotion elsewhere! We delete spam, disrespectful or off-topic comments.