When Good Enough Is Not Enough - Breaking Old Rules

BY SHANA LYNN YAO

New rules for creating success for entrepreneurs

You have a bold determination to create impact with your work. Your purpose defines you and your business, but over the years, something seems to have shifted. Some days you feel in total alignment but oftentimes, you’re lacking clarity, feeling overwhelm, and what used to work seems to have STOPPED working.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone! The truth is, with the progression of technology, the increasing amount of “noise” and people online, there is now an increased need and almost urgency for purposeful entrepreneurs to begin to make choices on what to focus on, where to allocate time and resources to, and how to actually make the money you want while creating the impact you want with the work that you do.

To overcome the impending mediocrity of doing what everybody else is doing, using old rules and standards to create new success and set new precedences, real CHOICES have to be made. This is not for those who want the easy way or who aren’t willing to go against cultural norms. As Steve Jobs said:

“Taking on the mindset of “good enough is never enough” has inspired a generation of creatives. I was taught to never accept mediocrity, never accept the status quo.
”

Today, we are going to dive into 5 simple things you can START doing to create momentum and impact in your business, get ahead of your competition (who is still liking and commenting on photos - doing what “everyone” is telling them to do), and start seeing almost IMMEDIATE results.

The “New” Rules of Business

If you find yourself working harder than ever, not trusting in your years of experience and intuitive gut feelings, and spending a lot of time learning about HOW to do what you do, listen up. You’re a dedicated student and of course, want to be the best at getting your work out into the world. I mean, sure, your cross eyed trying to “learn it all” half of the time, and/or you’ve invested A LOT of time and money in hiring people, staying on track with the algorithms and latest apps, and while MAYBE you’ve seen a growth in your social media following, but at the cost of the decline of your original passionate pursuits, your belief in your vision, and even your real financial potential..

But if you’re not seeing a return on your investment, this may come as a wake up call, but it’s not working and you know too much.

There you are with your years of education, your years of real experience, and your integrity to do things right. Damn it. Yes, it’s true. Right is sometimes, very WRONG. “Right” leads to a lot of invested time in learning and trying to follow rules - and today - with the new rules in business, we actually need to SHAKE THINGS UP. This is a new world, that requires NEW strategies, KNOWING what you want, and then relentlessly pursuing it until you develop your OWN new rules.

Here are 5 things you can start doing, and start figuring out your own system of success. Are you ready? Here we go!

New Business Rules for Conscious Entrepreneurs (not willing to settle!)

GET UNCOMFORTABLE.
You inherently know your comfort zone is NOT a safe place to sit as an entrepreneur. But what you perceive to be “uncomfortable” is actually still comfortable if it’s not producing the results you want. Getting UNcomfortable is (un)fortunately going to create some things you may not exactly always like.

Getting uncomfortable means:
1. Putting you at risk of judgement from others
2. Doing things even when you don’t want to
3. Risking possible failure
Getting uncomfortable means different things for different people. Taking a hard look at what you’re doing now, what your real ROI is on your time invested, the actions you are currently taking, and your own personal day to day fulfillment and energy levels, will give you a clear indication on what is working and what is not. Getting uncomfortable means that initially, you have the courage to see it, and the consciousness to change it.

What are you saying or NOT saying that you find yourself muttering under your breath everyday? What have you accepted as “normal” when inside you feel like you have compromised your value or values? Getting uncomfortable means listening to your internal gut reactions and using them as your guide. And when in doubt, seeking guidance.
MEET NEW PEOPLE.
With social media, so much emphasis has been placed on gaining new followers and building awareness by getting your message out. And that’s important, but it’s only half of the formula of business success. Otherwise known as networking, this old school business rule has been in place since the beginning of time. Without people, you don’t have a business. And while you may think - “That’s what I’m doing - trying to get followers” - that’s not exactly networking.
Don’t get me wrong. It can be, but in fact, marketing is not only attraction, but it’s a PUSH/PULL activity. PUSH - as in doing your social media, advertising, getting your message out in the world.
But if you are trying to build an audience, MOMENTUM is key. PULLING activities for networking means actively SEEKING new connections. DM (aka direct messaging), going to events, calling old connections. There is a powerful force in human connection and that matters both in life AND business. Don’t spend so much time trying to “build awareness” without also creating connections outside of social media.
CLARIFY YOUR GOALS - PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY
Defining your vision and having clear DAILY goals and actions that embody you long term vision is essential to actually achieving it. Most people have a vision and define it when they start their business, but then over time, their vision gets lost in the shuffle of busyness, new technologies, and personal and professional changes.

Making it a conscious practice to define your vision and goals daily (or even weekly), forces you as the company leader, to always being accountable to your own long term success. Short term gains are never worth the sacrifice if they disconnect you from your own long term goals. Sacrificing your value or values for something mediocre or because it’s “the latest” technology or app, is never a good call for those that seek changing industry standards.

Stay true to your mission and purpose by always being driving by it and driving your team by it. Leadership is making tough calls, overcoming adversity with grace and staying the course to what is in alignment with you.
DEFINE THE OPPORTUNITY COST OF YOUR BUSINESS

Success in business is not just found in how much your business makes, but it’s found in the benefit, profit, or value of any activity or investment you make. Opportunity cost is defining what you have given up to acquire or achieve something else. Since every resource (money, time, personal sacrifice, etc.) can be put to alternative uses, every action, choice, or decision has an associated opportunity cost.

What are you doing, spending time on, investing in that is not giving you the return you want? Positive ROI is just that - not just financial gain, but happiness, satisfaction, minimizing unnecessary energy and resources in things that are not producing positive results - those are all indicators that should be defined and addressed.

Business success, after all, is professional, financial, AND PERSONAL. Don’t let the BUSYness of your activity and pursuit of success, cause the pursuit of happiness and life long success be sacrificed.

5. NEVER SETTLE

This is sometime a hard truth to face. You were a rule breaker in the past, but over time, we all tend to let our unconscious behaviors and those beliefs that were picked up from others, seep into our once boldly determined mind. What results is a feeling of uneasiness inside of you, lack of clarity in your vision, and trying to do a lot of things OUTSIDE of you to produce the goal that you want.

Real success for any entrepreneur and any leader who wants to create impact and live true to your purpose, is an INSIDE job. It’s found in your natural intuitive intelligence. You were born with a vision and dream in your heart for a reason. And while it’s our natural human nature to look for outside confirmation, seek validation, and doubt our own selves, it takes a BOLD DETERMINATION and willingness to see outside of the box, for true change to happen.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

— Henry Ford

You can’t create change or create something that has never existed if you aren’t willing to do things you’ve never done and BELIEVE in something that you can’t see. This means really seeing and admitting what unconscious things you are doing, believing, and giving energy to that don’t align with your truth.

Sometimes even things like unproductive habits creep into your life and you don’t really even notice it - it’s just what you call “life”. That is until you really start to notice the consequences of these habits.

For example, maybe every time you want to do something towards your vision that is a little challenging - like working on the book you wanted to write or planning the next stage of your business - and because it requires extra work you find yourself looking at your social media, or CREATING a “to do” that wasn’t on your list today but you do “need” to do it some time. At first, it’s not a big deal. But over time, you start to feel more and more nervous and stressed about the thing you’re NOT doing and avoiding. You suddenly realize you’ve strayed so far from your original vision that you now lack clarity and even the courage to change course..

If you’re noticing consequences that you don’t like, take a step back and look at what’s behind them.

It’s hard to create change - change in daily habits, change in the people and environment you’re in - but making hard choices initially will allow in greater and more exciting outcomes.

What can you subtract today to make your life begin adding up in a new and exciting ways? The more positive CHOICES you make towards CREATING your vision of your success, will start to open up and ALLOW more space for the positive and more time to enjoy the other things in your life.

So I want to ask you, what new beliefs, actions, and rules do you need to create and act on to create your personal and professional success? And remember, “good enough is NEVER enough”. Don’t sacrifice your dreams for an external reality that feels less than your purpose.

As one wise man said:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

— Steve Jobs