Any given day as an entrepreneur is the best or the worst. It's often both.
The day you win a big award could be the day you're struggling to meet
payroll. The day you lose a big client could be the day you get your
biggest one ever. These days can be confusing, and they happen all too
often.
What separates successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones is not
the challenges. We all have them.
A critical trait that separates successful entrepreneurs is the
ability to take setback and after setback without any loss of
motivation.
Rather than being some innate thing we're born with, this is a skill
that can be developed.
I interviewed emotionally resilient, successful entrepreneurs to get
their perspective...
1. Avoid hitting bottom by reflecting on death daily.
Cameron Herold, author of Double Double, CEO coach, and globally
renowned speaker
In January of 2000, I noticed a metallic taste in my throat. Soon
after, I collapsed in an elevator and had a near-nervous breakdown.
That experience taught me to take stress seriously and take business
less seriously. About 95% of what we think is SO SO stressful, really
isn't. We make up that story for ourselves.
So I developed habits that continuously help me keep my life in perspective:
Habit No. 1: Pondering Death. For me, the key is to remember that when
I'm dead, none of this work matters. It's all just a game. It's what I
do to make money so I can enjoy life. Dozens of studies have found
that death awareness can lead to decreased aggression, better health
decisions, increased altruism, and reduced divorce rates.
Habit No. 2: Taking Time Throughout The Day To Do What's Important. I
remind myself of the things that are important outside of business
(things like time with friends, time with family, quiet time alone,
time to pursue hobbies, and exercise). Throughout the day, I remember
to take stock in how healthy my immediate family is. I breathe. I go
to the gym. I went for a 5 mile run this morning. I make time in the
middle of the day to chat with my wife.
2. Give yourself compelling reasons not to quit.
Doug Conant, former CEO of Fortune 500 company Campbell Soup Company
and founder and CEO of Conant Leadership
In the stormy seas of decision making, I refer to my personal mission
statement often. It should include a clear and thoughtfully crafted
intention that guides all your actions and specific bullet points that
define how you will fulfill that mission. Research shows that without
a good reason to keep pushing through tough times, we quit.
I have mine prominently placed near my desk so I can refer to it in
moments of adversity. I share it with those closest to me so I am
accountable to them as well as to myself. When thorny issues present
themselves I can refer to the promise I've made myself and then
compare my actions to the behaviors I've explicitly outlined.
After over 35 years in the corporate arena (most recently as a Fortune
500 CEO), and as a husband and father, I can't emphasize enough the
power of a personal mission statement.
The Franklin Covey Mission State Builder is a great resource for
building and refining your statement.
3. Trigger a mindset reset with a little help from YouTube.
Benji Rabhan, founder of AppointmentCore
I personally like watching 5-6 short YouTube comedy videos that get me
laughing out loud. I've found that this is enough time to take my mind
off bad news and regain my positivity.
I call these my dopamine breaks. In a related and fascinating study, a
Stanford research team found that funny cartoons activated a cluster
of areas in the brain deeply involved in the regulation of dopamine,
which positively impacts motivation and mood.
In order to find videos, I recommend going to YouTube's most popular
videos page, which shows newly trending videos. It has many categories
so you can view based on your mood. If you like funny, there is funny.
If you like music videos, they have that. It also serves to keep you
in the loop of the current events from a video perspective.
4. Plan out your motivation so it's there when you need it.
Sevetri Wilson, CEO of Solid Ground Innovations
I'm single. I don't have any kids. Both of my parents are deceased,
and I'm the CEO of a company I started. So having a source of daily
inspiration that affirms my journey is critical.
I create 30-90 day inspirational themes that I rely on a daily basis.
I find it's less taxing when I know where my inspiration will come
from so it becomes a fixed part of my day rather than something that's
ad hoc. Different examples of themes I've taken on are:
Reading daily affirmations for 10 minutes before I start my day.
Reading a few pages out of motivational books. I have a 50-day
motivational journey book, Strength for Every Moment by T. D. Jake.
Each day it reveals a question.
Following inspirational social media. I like Beats Reloaded,
@drtiffanybrown, and @joelosteen.
Participating in community projects. In January, my base church went
through a time where the entire congregation fasted and prayed 3 times
a day for 30 straight days.
5. Smile to boost your energy. It's easy.
Jason Duff, founder and CEO of COMSTOR Outdoor
In the last year, there were a lot of reasons I didn't want to smile.
I lost a key mentor in my life. I've been dealing with health issues
with family members. Still, I think the easiest and, therefore, first
thing that anyone should do when life gets challenging is to smile.
It transforms both the person smiling and people who see that smile.
In fact, smiles can even predict longevity.
Smiles also serve as an indicator of how things are going in company
and in my life. It's a red flag if I notice that people in my
organization aren't smiling at each other or I'm not smiling at other
people. That's when I know it's time to do a gut check and find ways
to light that internal fire again.
One of the first books I read when I first became an entrepreneur is
Don't Sweat The Small Stuff, and its principles have stuck with me. If
I can't smile, I know that I'm probably taking life and business a
little too seriously.
6. Smile at the beginning of meetings.
Aaron Steed, CEO of Meathead Movers
Similar to Jason, I believe in the power of smiling. Smiling is the
simplest, easiest and fastest way to deal with stress. So why isn't
everyone doing it all the time? Remembering or wanting to smile is
unnatural if you're feeling stressed. That's why I do the following
three actions to make sure I'm smiling:
Have Accountability For Smiling. It may sound silly, but I've asked my
employees to hold me accountable on smiling. I've told them, "If you
don't see me smiling, call me out on it!" This has worked on multiple
levels. It has turned into a fun little game around the office. I
smile more, and my employees smile more. A research study analyzing
real-life behavior of over 1,000 males and females shows that more
than half of people smile back at a smile.
Smile At The Beginning Of Meetings. I smile when I start new
conversations. If I'm smiling, I project a friendly presence and
demeanor, which inspires the other person to reciprocate, which then
loops back to me. All of a sudden, we're in a positive feedback cycle.
So, 10 seconds of smiling can have a huge impact on a meeting. Given
that the average person has 5.6 hours of meetings per week, you can
begin to see how this small change could have huge consequences.
7. Do multiple 1-Minute meditations daily.
Ryan Simonetti, co-founder of Convene
The benefit of meditation is widely known.
What's hard for most people is consistently doing it.
What's helped me is doing 1-minute sessions throughout the day and on
commutes rather than one long session. Research by Stanford Professor,
BJ Fogg, shows that when hard activities are broken into smaller ones
that are easier, people are more likely to take action.
Here's the process I go through:
Visualize myself standing alone at the summit of a tall mountain. See
the clear blue sky and feel the sun beaming down on me.
Focus on feeling only the bottoms of my feet grounded to the floor.
Take 5 deep breaths. 3 seconds in--3 seconds out.
A great app to use if you're just getting started is Headspace.
Headspace helps you consistently meditate through guided programs and
exercises.
8. Use The WOOP Framework To Visualize
Rohit Anabheri, founder of Circa Ventures
I do 10-minute "Guided Imagery" sessions every two hours throughout
the day and have been doing so for years. I visualize using the WOOP
framework, which is backed by 15 years of academic research:
1. Wish. I imagine the future state of the business' success.
2. Outcome. I visualize the biggest benefit of that future state.
3. Obstacle. I identify the main obstacle to achieving my wish.
4. Plan. I think through a key action I can take right away to
overcome the obstacle.
This approach recharges me and moves me toward my vision of success. I
can then share that positivity across my team. I specifically like the
WOOP framework because it grounds my vision in reality and immediate
action.
Contrary to popular opinion, positive thinking about the future, by
itself (i.e. positive fantasies), leads to poor performance and
success. This finding is based on 100 studies performed by NYU
psychologist, Gabriele Oettingen.
On Gabriele's site, you can listen to a 5-minute audio that walks you
through the process.
9. Visualize What You're Grateful For Now And In The Future
Brian Scudamore, founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, You Move Me, and
Wow 1 Day Painting
I visualize two things in vivid detail:
1. Now. What I'm most grateful for, such as my family doing fun things together.
2. Future. Our company's Painted Picture, which is a brilliantly
detailed snapshot of what the business will be like in three years. It
includes what the company will look, feel and act like in every
aspect, from revenue down to the way the company trucks will look.
Creating a painted picture is purely a visionary process that does not
focus on the how.
It's a simple, quick exercise that always reminds me of what is most
important and keeps my perspective in the positive realm, no matter
how challenging the day might be.
Taking the time to visualize what you're grateful for with all of your
senses has a much larger impact than simply listing what you're
grateful for. In one incredible study, it was found that simply
visualizing yourself doing exercise had a measurable impact on muscle
strength!
10. Take Very Deep Breaths
Kay Koplovitz, founder, USA Network and Syfy
I close the door to my office, lean back and take deep breaths for
several minutes. It's very calming, and puts things in perspective.
Breathing is our body's built-in stress reliever. It can profoundly
impact our physiology, and several studies have shown that it affects
the heart, brain, digestion, and the immune system.
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