I had the wonderful experience of attending the National Speakers Association (NSA) convention earlier this week. I met a lot of amazing people; on the very first morning I met Greg Bell. Greg has a way of conversing that is immediately engaging and made me want to learn more about his business. His company and book are named Water the Bamboo. He tells of a species of bamboo that must be watered for five to six years before it will start peaking above the surface and then it grows to 90 feet high in only 60 days! Wow, this really made me think. How do you manage the patience of working on the long term fundamentals of your business against the pressure to drive forward with strong results quickly?
Overnight Success?
We see successful business owners, professional speakers, and movie stars that appear to be overnight successes in their field. They seem to be naturally exceptional at their profession and we are amazed at their talent. Actually, they have put in years of hard work and focus; otherwise their talent would lie dormant or only be mediocre. They ‘’water their bamboo” and then when they sprout to the surface we say, “Wow, look how quickly they reached success!”
The second day of the NSA convention I heard Josh Sundquist speak. He had a 1,000+ person audience (most of whom were professional speakers twice his age) completely mesmerized. Our eyes were tearing up with intense empathy one minute and then laughter the next as he led us on a magical journey. I was fortunate enough to talk (and pose for this picture) with him later that day and expressed my awe of his talent at such a young age. He smiled, “I’ve been doing this for sixteen years; I started at (the age of) 10.”
No Guts No Glory
Ok, so you need to put in the work. But, this is not an excuse to stay on the sidelines. I heard an example of an Entrepreneur who has been working on their business for no less than eight years and has yet to launch. Analysis paralysis will sap your energy and leave you broke or sitting in your mediocre regular-paycheck job wondering years later what might have been. Patience is good but the key lies in your ability to know when to take the leap and have faith that all your hard work will support your landing. Put yourself out here and try something. If it doesn’t work then make a revision and do it again. David Nour was another great speaker at the NSA convention. I attended his workshop session that was filled with valuable content on successfully using the power of social networking. “Revision one is better than none” is a gem from David.
Balancing Patience and Pressure
- Clearly understand your business’s purpose or vision of success (see last week’s post).
- Do the work. Put in the time to build your expertise and business foundation.
- Listen to your gut. Will this product or service or new potential customer support your long term vision?
- Get started. Stretch your comfort zone and use pressure & fear as a push to move forward.
- Be patient. Expertise takes practice; put in the time and effort to rise above the rest.
How do you balance your patience and pressure to be successful? Please post a comment and share.