We all see hundreds of memes and instagram posts daily, and many of them contain some sort of business advice (some good, some bad). Before the days of memes I learned a lot of what I now know about business from books or just word of mouth advice passed down from important people in my life. These are the three pieces of advice (the first one goes back all the way to high school) that have REALLY stuck with me and dramatically formed who I am as a human and as a business owner today.
Funny enough, two out of three of these came from my parents. When I was young both of my parents ran their own business, so from a very young age the freedom and sense of purpose that came with being an entrepreneur just felt natural to me. In SO MANY WAYS this has helped shape who I am today.
Even if you’re moving in the right direction you have to keep moving forward or you’ll get run over by the train.
I think my dad told me this one…and I think it was pieced together from a few different quotes, but that’s part of what makes it so endearing. This piece of advice has always stuck with me. You have to know where you want to go, and you don’t have to know how to get there, but you have to keep moving forward. This has stuck with me though business troubles, relationship difficulties, and just life in general.
People will start taking you seriously when you start taking yourself seriously.
When I look back at old facebook memories, I realize I spent a lot of time complaining. Complaining that I wasn’t getting clients, complaining that I didn’t have any money, complaining that people owed me money. You get the idea. One day I realized that all of those complaints compounded over time weren’t doing me ANY favors – all anyone saw was a broke girl struggling to make ends meet…..and failing. It certainly wasn’t an overnight change but over time I learned that how I perceive myself and how others perceive me go hand in hand.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
This one is pretty self explanatory. Good things take time. Sometimes you’ll put the wheels in motion and won’t see results for years. But you have to begin. When we put things off we tend to put them off for a reason, and that avoidance only grows over time. You have to begin. The time will pass either way.
PS – if you’re interested in a good read, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson is entirely about how to put this practice into action in your every day life. The book talks about how small daily actions, compounded over time yield lasting, dramatic results. I highly recommend for any business owner or anyone interested in personal development!
One thing I’m trying to be more mindful of in my life is gratitude. Gratitude for how far I’ve come, and gratitude for all of the people that helped me get there. And writing this post just gave me ALL of the good feels. Let’s make this a regular thing, people!
