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When you own a business, you have no choice but to put yourself into situations that you find uncomfortable – personal growth is part of the territory.
Owning a business means you have to face a lot of things that might make you uncomfortable.
Depending on your personality and background that can include things like:
- Networking events (not my personal favorite)
- Presenting (my personal favorite)
- Writing (blogs, proposals, reports)
- Selling
If you work in a big company, you can avoid networking or selling or any number of uncomfortable things for years if you choose to – especially if your day to day job doesn’t rely on that particular ability.
Of course I can hear some folks say – “But Dan, I have to network with my peers at work…” or “Dan, I do have to convince (or sell) my boss that I have a good idea if I want it to get funded…”
These comments may be true.
But it’s unlikely that your company held back your paycheck at month end because you didn’t network with your peers – or that time you failed to develop a convincing presentation for your boss.
It can be too easy to stay comfortable.
Owning a business is different
No business owner starts out having it all together – you’re always a work in progress.
When you own a business – and particularly when you have a vision or purpose for what you do – you make frequent and conscious decisions to get uncomfortable.
Selling, networking, writing, public speaking…whatever it happens to be.
But the cool part is this.
Through repeated exposure, persistence – and yes, some failure – you get more comfortable. And the personal growth is amazing.
People that know me well, know I’m shy in social situations.
But workshop participants – especially in large scale auditoriums or halls – tell me I’m fun to watch on stage.
Speaking for large audiences was a very specific ‘discomfort’ zone that I decided to work through.
And now, large scale presentations are one of my favorite things to do.
Come on in – make yourself uncomfortable
If you work at a big bank (or big telecom or big insurance company or in the civil service), you should ask yourself a simple question –
How often do I actively put myself into the zone of being uncomfortable?
If the answer is rarely or never, that’s most definitely not an indicator of a life well-lived or a meaningful career pinnacle reached.
It’s a sign that your personal growth has stagnated – and that you’ve allowed it to stagnate (it’s not your Employer’s fault – don’t even go there).
I found the video below interesting and I hope you do too.
Thanks for reading!
Daniel
[email protected] / www.omnitouchinternational.com
