What is your pride costing you these days?
We tend to think of pride as something to overcome, so that we can take in life’s lessons without the interruption of our egos, emotional baggage, and other impediments to our growth.
But I offer you a different perspective herein. One that calls for big doses of PRIDE as you build your business and design your best life.
If I asked you to state your reasons for being a business owner, how would you respond?
Is money your primary motivator?
Lifestyle change?
Freedom from a mediocre life experience?
Whatever the reason, you should know how to articulate it in a concise and highly-motivating way.
Not just for elevator pitches and spontaneous opportunities, either. Knowing why you’re immersed in this work as an entrepreneur is vital to your success. If you don’t stay aligned with the reason behind the work, all sorts of distractions and fears show up, leaving you off track, feeling defeated, and further away from the vision of the life you crave.
I call it a “Faith Statement” because it anchors my thoughts and actions in a knowing that I will succeed, even when the current evidence seems contrary to my success.
Do you have a Faith Statement? I think the lack of a solid Faith Statement leaves us susceptible to fears and distractions.
Do you know how to identify fears and distractions?
Fears and distractions often show up in clever disguises like “rationale”, “practicality”, and “sensible thinking”. Those all sound good, except for the reality that if you learn to trust your process, you can often feel your way through things you cannot see.
“When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.” - Patrick Overton
When an opportunity presents itself——whether in the form of a partnership, a new client, or a chance to try something new, ask yourself whether the opportunity is directly aligned with your professional goals and your personal desires.
Or whether you’re taking it because you are afraid of passing on the opportunity because another one might not come up.
In other words, would giving your attention to this opportunity lead you closer to your vision for your business and your life, or further away from it?
Sometimes the answer isn’t readily available, and sometimes it feels like we’re taking a risk no matter which route we choose.
That’s okay, because you didn’t become an entrepreneur because you were afraid of making mistakes. You chose this path because you didn’t want to spend your life working to fuel someone else’s dream. You wanted to be productive and fulfilled. You wanted to experience a life well-lived.
This path we’ve chosen is not easy, but it doesn’t have to compromise your emotional wellness either.
As you …
take classes,
build relationships,
expand your consciousness,
send out newsletters,
create streams of income
build email lists,
network with influencers,
and build your reputation, remember to:
1. Stay aligned with the unique aspects of what you offer. Even when others are selling their work like crazy, resist the need to copy their formula. You can study successful habits, but you cannot afford to compromise on originality. It may take you some time to wrap your mind (and your business model) around the “How”, but if you keep sight of your “Why”, it will guide you to the “What”, and eventually to the people and resources to make it happen. Copying is a fear-based distraction.
2. Give yourself processing time. I know you’re always looking for ways to work smarter, for opportunities to build relationships with potential clients and industry influencers—that’s all a necessary part of your work. But if you aren’t making time to process all this information, it becomes mental noise, and will only leave you feeling stagnated by lack of a solid choice—a thing they call “Analysis Paralysis”. Stagnation is a self-imposed distraction. Don’t just act for action sake; listen to Self, trust your Source, then act on faith.
Use the PRIDE approach to avoid stagnation rooted in fear and distraction:
Position yourself as an information seeker (be willing to learn more)
Retreat from “Seeker” mode occasionally, so you can process what you found
Invest in yourself by spending quality time with your own ideas and creative processes
Decide on a path, and act on that decision. This part is critical!
Empower yourself with the right to refine your choices until you find what works best.
If you can start with that sense of PRIDE, you decrease your chances of letting fear rule your actions and thoughts.
Prepare your Faith Statement, making it no more than four sentences long, and say it each morning in front of a mirror to remind yourself of your opportunity to choose Faith over fear, and Divine over distraction.
-Akilah S. Richards
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