You have ‘run out of’ warm market contracts and basically feel that there is no one left to talk to. In other words you are limiting your perspective on the opportunities in front of you and thus have already decided you are without people to connect with.
Does this story sound familiar? Have you ever felt as though there was no one left to buy your product, get started in your business, become your new client or even listen to what you have to say? Perhaps you have felt as though all of your avenues are exhausted. Maybe you have started to believe that the people you know think your product is too expensive, that your opportunity won’t work or that you are not credible. The likelihood is that the more you believe your own self-defeating thoughts the more your perceived limitations become your reality.
Here is one gentleman’s story that caught my attention from past articles I have read. He shared how a happy circumstance had turned his limitations into a sea of possibilities. One day, Harry was at home wondering who to call about his opportunity. He had presented his business to his friends and family. Some of them had come in while others had simply turned him down.
On this particular day while Harry pondered the next phone call, his wife asked him to clean out the closet. Initially Harry was a little bit upset. Cleaning out the closet was not an income producing activity. What was she thinking? They had a business to build.
On the other hand, he was a dedicated husband and father. He knew that a happy wife meant a happy home so he complied with his wife. After an hour or so of cleaning Harry found a business card on the floor of the closet. He could not remember ever meeting this person and he also saw that their office was in Puerto Rico.
Harry decided to take a risk and call the gentleman on the card. He was nervous about calling and unsure exactly about what he would say. When the man on the other end of the phone answered, Harry shared how he had found the card and although he could not remember him, did want to catch up and let him know about his business. The man became intrigued and ended up joining Harry’s team. The irony was that Harry’s company had just opened in Puerto Rico and this man became one of Harry’s top producers.
By calling this man, Harry risked rejection and humiliation. In the end his risk yielded a great gain. The truth is that even if the man had not joined, Harry would have had a ‘win’ because every time we make a phone call to recruit a new person or make a sale, we learn something about ourselves; we find out where our ego intersects with our desire to achieve.
There are risks in business. Some pay off and others do not. Sometimes the result is less than hoped for. Some risks cost money which ultimately teach more lessons than an MBA. Other risks simply cost effort and require overcoming fear or intimidation and these are valuable life lessons.
At the end of the day, every risk I have ever taken has taught me more about myself than anything else. Will I take more risks? Absolutely. Will some of them yield less than desirable results? Yes. Will I continue to move forward and create more revenue and larger businesses? Yes. That is the difference between winners and those who constantly find challenge – a winner takes more risks.
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