How being able to keep your balance while drying your toes is a predictor of business success

The mere fact that you’ve read this far is an indicator that you’re willing to learn and consider new possibilities. That already puts you ahead in the game. Woohoo for you!

So why do I make this seemingly ridiculous claim about balanced toe-drying being a success predictor? Because it’s both an example and a metaphor of how focus on what you want rather than what you fear creates the outcomes you crave.

I noticed that I’d often find myself thinking, “I sure don’t want to lose my balance and fall” when drying my toes after a shower. It took a while, but I eventually also noticed that, the more I thought about “not losing my balance”, the more frequently I did just that. It was not a pretty sight.

Then I started focusing, not on my fear of toppling over, but on the task I wanted to complete, i.e., drying my toes. What I found fascinating was that, almost immediately after focusing on “dry toes” rather than “shaky balance”, my balance improved noticeably.

I believe the same thing is true when it comes to building a successful business. If you focus on what you don’t want to happen—prospects say no, clients want refunds, proposals are rejected—that unwanted outcome starts looming big and scary and intimidating. By focusing on that to the exclusion of what you do want, you chip away at your confidence, courage, and ability to be proactive. Add to that the metaphysical concept that “like attracts like”, and before you know it, your self-fulfilling prophecy of failure has come true. Yippee.

So what do you really want: to dry your toes or not to lose your balance? And how would you feel if, by focusing on the former, you achieved it and avoided the latter? How would your business success increase with that sort of no-lose focus?

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