Six months ago, the new decade started. You probably wanted to start off this year and this decade right. You may be a business owner or an entrepreneur who had ambitious plans for the decade, or you might be a person who decided to improve your existing business.

 When I started off this year, I was in the middle of a six-month project. I was also excited about a new business venture. The pandemic put a wrench in both, and everyone is affected by the pandemic. This is a calling card for you to step up your game.

 I know all about challenges. I have dealt with cerebral palsy, a speech impediment, and a body that gets in the way of life in general. I always had the ability to dream and work around my challenges. In this post I want to show you how you can get your life and business on track.

 My goal is to empower you and show you how to take control of 2020.

1. Adjust your expectations. When I look at other people without a disability, I see who I would be if I didn’t have one. I imagine that I would hustle for business, always be on the go, and perform many more activities. I understand now that I had to build a business with my disability in mind. I work from home and build a team around my disability.  In the short term, you have to consider the pandemic and the way it will change your business.  Also, your short-term and medium-term goals should reflect reality.  I teach that you should have ambitious goals. However, your short- and medium- term goals need to be adjusted. The problem is that we don’t have to think that far back to remember the good ole days.
2. Get out of your own head. I would guess that during the last six months everybody had at least one or two or one hundred little freak out moments. Likewise, most of us had a conversation with that one friend who thinks this is a big hoax or conspiracy.  On the other hand, there are positive conversations that are happening every day, and across every area of your life, to safely reopen and get our lives back. Instead of being hyperbolic or living in your head, be part of the conversation. If you are a local business, find other local business owners that you can start a dialogue with and support each other.  Also, there are industry leaders that are having these very same conversations.  Tap into and contribute to that knowledge.
3. Lean into principles. I teach that principles are crucial for success. The problem is that, when life is not going right, we tend to assume that principles don’t apply because the situation is unique. I have learned that principles of success are that much more important when the situation is unique.  Some of these principles are working with reality, having goals and processes, having positive habits, building and sustaining relationships, dealing with challenges, gratitude, information diet, growing yourself, and emotional discipline. I have learned that no matter your circumstances, everyone can lean into these principles.
4. Readjust the way you serve. A big part of success is how valuable your service is. Right now, other people are needing different services or having different expectations from the businesses that they interact with. A couple of ways that you can serve is making sure that your customers are and feel safe. If you can hit more on these two areas the better you will do. The problem is that many business costs have increased while the revenue has decreased. Hint: this is not good for business. If you are a restaurant owner, you had to reduce capacity while you were simultaneously having to buy masks, hand sanitizer, and hire a service to sterilize your restaurant. However, this is not the time to pass it on to your customers. My buddy went to a high-end steak house for his son’s graduation and the waiter remarked that the previously complimentary bread was on the menu. Don’t sacrifice goodwill for a quick buck. Instead, think of creative ways that you can make more money. For example, if you are a restaurant, sell uncooked premium meat or offer a menu of items that they can reheat for lunch the next day.

One of the goals of mindset is to approach your life from a position of strength rather than a position of weakness or fear. When you need to face this bumpy time in our careers with creativity, we can use the same lessons to excel once we come out of this.

Summary:

This pandemic has thrown everyone for a loop. It’s important to get your life and your business back on track by taking your mindset into consideration.