Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between entrepreneurs who achieve fast success and those who struggle.
Across my many years of leading hundreds of consultants inside The Upside, I’ve noticed one theme that holds people back:
Caring too much.
Caring too much about your clients.
Caring too much about your work.
Caring too much about the outcomes.
Caring too much about details.
Caring too much about what people think.
Caring too much about getting it all perfect.
One of my biggest regrets in business is caring too much for too long about people and situations that should have been like crumbs on the table that I just brushed off for my dog Annie to lick off the floor.
I sometimes still think about people who upset me, did me wrong, or made me feel poorly. And those thoughts take up brainspace that could be used for much better purposes.
As advisors, consultants and coaches, it’s our nature to care…a LOT.
Yet, as the CEO of your consultancy, caring can become an unnecessary weight you carry on your back as you climb the mountain of entrepreneurship.
I’ve noticed that entrepreneurs who…
Move on quickly,
Don’t care too much about what others think,
Don’t take things personally,
Don’t overanalyze,
Don’t agonize about what a client said,
Post on LinkedIn even if it isn’t perfect…
…are the ones who advance the quickest.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t care. You very much should care.
But caring too much can hurt your business.
It can weigh you down.
It can lead to poor decisions.
It can hold you back.
It can take up space.
It’s easy for you, the consultant, to give your clients accurate, unbiased advice with a clear perspective on how to build their business.
But when building your own business, that clarity is often clouded by emotions and lived experiences.
Consider this as a non-judgmental nudge to reflect on any kind of emotional weight that you may be carrying about your clients, individuals or your own self-worth.
Is there anything or anyone you may be caring about way too much?
What thoughts need to be shed and released?
How much lighter and faster would you feel if you could care a bit less and move on a bit quicker?
For me, caring less about things that don’t deserve space in my brain is a work in progress and I’ll probably never be the type of person who can just brush things off and move on quickly.
However, once I began intentionally caring a bit less, my business immediately accelerated and hasn’t stopped since.
You’ve got this, too!
