Are you showing up to work energized each morning? Are you excited about the work you plan to do that day? Do you feel intellectually stimulated and emotionally satisfied by your work?
If you can't answer yes! to these questions at least seven days out of ten, then you're not having as much fun at work as you should
be. No, I'm not joking. I'm not even blue-skying. Not everyone has the privilege of work they can enjoy — I do get that. But if you're reading this blog, chances are very good that you own a business. And if that's the case, you can do something about this rut you're in. You not only can, you must.
So how do you do that? By stretching, innovating, and growing. Reams of psychological research support that people who are growing and learning are happier than average. Stacks of business case studies show that people who continuously learn and innovate have more successful businesses. And I don't have to provide you with any supporting data to state that businesses that are paying the bills have at least more relaxed - if not happier - owners.
Where do you start? I'd suggest starting with the core premise of your business: your business vision. Your business vision answers the questions:
- Who do we serve?
- What do we provide that makes us different?
- Why do we matter?
When you return to your business vision, you may notice several things. You may notice that you do not have a clear answer for one or more of those three very important questions. You may notice that your answers have migrated or even changed completely since the last time you pondered them. You may realize that you had never asked them in the first place.
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As you work on your answers to these questions, you will gain insights about your business. You will see that you are sometimes spending your time in the wrong ways or on the wrong things. You will realize that your prospecting efforts are not targeted enough. You may see that what once differentiated you has now been copied, and that it's time for you to jump out ahead again.
From these insights, it's a very short leap to discovering new ways to improve your business, feeling like you accomplished something at the end of each day, and waking up energized.
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So stop fighting the same old battles and doing the same old things! If that's what you're doing, it means you've stopped reinventing yourself. Take hold of your business vision and give it a good shake. You'll be surprised at the new ideas that will fall out.
