“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing on one's own sunshine. “ ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. I was talking the other day to a group of ladies who were kvetching about the economy and the problems they were having with their businesses. Times are tough, but, I left that meeting thinking about how many ways these ladies and even I get in the way of success. I was in a Beth Moore bible study last night and she was talking about spiritual learning disabilities and it made me think metaphorically about success disabilities. Do you have one or more of these success disabilities?
Success Attention Deficit Disorder- This applies to the person who can focus on a business model or marketing strategy. They get easily distracted by shiny things and don’t follow through with a strategy long enough for it to work. Can any Guru hoppers relate?
Success Hyperactivity Disorder- This is the over busy bee that is running and running and never stopping to measure if what they are doing is returning on the time and money investment. Get off that hamster wheel and be still. Read my Power of the Pause blog post. Quiet can be incredibly clarifying!
Success Dyslexia- These people get things turned around. They think that their business is about them and not about their customers. If you aren’t communicating value from your customer’s point of view, you may be suffering from this one.
Success Vision Impairment- Are you near sighted in your business? Are you only able to see things close up? You may be missing opportunities that are just beyond your driveway. Can you be serving in another city or to another type of population? Or how about far cited? Are there opportunities under your nose that you aren’t able to see? Ask others to be your glasses and give you some perspective.
Success Hearing Impairment- Are you customers trying to tell you something and you just aren’t listening? What about your industry? Are there trends that you may be missing? Ask for feedback and listen to what people have to say. Don’t be stubborn like my Aunt and not wear your hearing aid. People can tell when you aren’t listening.
I don’t know about you, but I know that I can be guilty of a few of these success disabilities. The first step in overcoming any disability is to admit that you have one. Then, take steps to overcome it. What can you do to overcome the one that is getting in your way? Don’t stand in your own sunshine!
Patty Sadallah has 29 years experience as an organization development consultant and executive coach. She is a Dream Partner Catalyst and coaches and consults nonprofits and women owned small business owners around issues of focus and planning, moving them toward her dreams. Find out more about her coaching and consulting at http://www.PattySadallah.com/sq.
She is also the President/Founder of the Redwood Sisterhood, an international women's support community that offers personal and professional development learning opportunities, community bartering through time banking and fun networking events. Here, she brings together the talents and the needs of women and allows these connections to strengthen and uplift the membership. Learn more at (http://www.RedwoodSisterhood.com)
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