Have You Got A Bulging Business Belly?

Taking a walk the other day, and listening to Gary V’s podcast, I stopped on hearing him compare business to fitness. – ‘Business is no different than fitness, you need to work out and eat healthily.’  

And it made me think of how a lot of us think that showing up for a few days, and then taking a few weeks off, is going to get us anywhere? – It’s the equivalent of calorie counting for a few days and then attacking the fridge for the rest of the week. Then we wonder why our belly is still bulging over our belt buckle. 

With that in mind, here are a few things that may be both of us should remember when it comes to business..

The Path To Fitness/Business Is A Never-Ending One

We can accept the fact that to keep our teeth clean requires doing it every day, but how many of us do that with our business? We show up for a few days and then drop out. We take a few actions, and then expect an immediate result.  ‘Why isn’t this working?’ we moan, only publishing three pieces of content that month.

Yet in fitness, we expect to have to show up regularly. That if we’re going to get rid of those love handles we know it’s going to be a long term commitment, and you’re not going to be able to look in the mirror and see instant results. – And when you get there, you know for sure that those curves are going to come back unless you keep at it.

There’s Going To Be Sweat Involved

How many of us search for the unicorn of owning a business that makes a passive income? Too many, unfortunately. Yet, there is no such thing. Sometimes it might come close, like putting your money into investments and stocks, but it’s still something that needs to be monitored from time to time. What if that business goes bust? What if a pandemic kicks the financial stool out from under you? A passive income might seem hands-free, but it’s still going to be something that should be regularly on your mind because you never know when it could disappear. 

Yet in fitness, we know that there’s no such thing as ‘zero’ exercise. We know that that fat really can’t be burned off with a pill. We know there’s going to be sweat required. That there are roads to be run.  That there’s discomfort we have to put ourselves through. And if we really want to turn the fat tide, there’s nothing that’s going to carry us over the finish line and do all the work for us. 

Having A Goal Makes A Big Difference

Why do you do the thing you do? Why do you even want a business? Is it for the money, the fame, or the legacy? Or do you just show up every day without any aim hoping that success is going to find you today? 

While I’m not a huge fan of goal setting long term, having a daily goal of what you’d like to achieve is a must. Because if you don’t know a good day from a bad day, or don’t know what direction you should be walking in, then any direction is a good one and was today productive one?

Yet in fitness, we understand that we need to lose 40 pounds if we’re going to keep diabetes at bay.  That we’re not going to fit into that wedding dress if things don’t change.  So we picture that moment of handing back the medication to the doctor, or wowing our family with our transformation.  That’s what we’re aiming for and nobody is going to stop us. 

You Know You Won’t Do It Alone

Getting from where you are to where you want to be is going to require other people. Be that support, knowledge, or knowing that you need people as customers, you can’t do this alone. But how many of us show up sporadically because we don’t have to answer someone, don’t use other people’s mistakes and advice to help ourselves, and hide behind a shopping cart afraid to talk to our customers? – And we wonder why we are where we are.

Yet in fitness, we look for a training buddy or a group, we study videos and buy books to get better at the thing we do, and maybe we might need a coach to educate us on what we need to do. Each of those guarantees that we show up, we take the right actions, and that that goal of ours suddenly seems a lot more achievable. 

On the surface, a business mightn’t seem to have a lot in common with fitness and yet it does. Getting in shape and growing a business is as Gary says, going to require dedication.  It’s going to take doing less of the dumb stuff – the reason that we have the bugling waistline, and doing more of the things we don’t want to do, but knowing that that’s what needs to be done to get us to where we want to be. 

And finally, it’s understanding that message from the great Bob Proctor. ‘For things to change, things need to change.’  Because nothing does if nothing changes. 

Now get out there and start pounding those pavements. : ) 

The post Have You Got A Bulging Business Belly? first appeared on WriteCome.com.