Many people talk about success from many different points of view. You hear the word ‘success’ bounced around in nearly every spectrum of society, but very few actually experience the success that they truly desire.
So we have to ask a deeper question, “What does it take to be successful in every area of our lives?”
After reading a litany of business success stories, listening to podcasts like Tim Ferris, or reading autobiographies of people like Frederick Douglas and President Abraham Lincoln. We have come to realize that success is never instant.
Success is prepared for in advance, ahead of time.
Every one of our new clients is asked an informal list of questions before we agree to work with them. 60% of the questions are about the history of what they have done before coming to us. And how long they have been working on a particular project before it reaches our hands. Why do we need to know that?
Because we understand with great certainty that people who have to reach the point that they have put all they have into something, but realize they need help to move further toward a successful outcome are the clients that we want.
Are You Ready To Concede Yet?
After many years, we have learned that even for us, we had to reach the point where we wanted to give up. That moment of wanting to give in actually becomes your starting point for preparation. It is in that moment that you don’t give up that makes the preparation process produce the most for your business moving forward.
In our case, for example, we started looking at what we really wanted and needed to do to streamline the process. Most of our clients are referrals, so we didn’t need a two-hour online survey before accepting a project. Instead, we meet the project stakeholders to discuss what they have done and then move right into what they would like to accomplish.
Preparation Starts At The Point of Concession
In each of the previously mentioned stories, there is always a point where they wanted to concede their success. But they didn’t. They always went back to the drawing board, strategizing, preparing to carve out a new path for the same goal. This is the purpose for preparation.
Preparation walks you through to the path of success so that you know what you should see when you arrive there.
It will even prepare your wardrobe choices if you let it.
A year ago, we had a client come to us with an idea for a beauty product. (It hasn’t been patented or trademarked yet, so we won’t mention the product in detail.) But she had been working on the prototype, but she admittedly needed help with business management and marketing.
We sat down to create a simplified business and marketing plan for her. One of the things that we were able to conclude was that there was a key conference that she would need to attend in a few months. So our representative asked her, “What will you be wearing to the conference meet and greet networking event?”
She looked startled by the question.
Later, she revealed that asking that question was what got us the long term contract with her. Because in preparing for success at that conference, she never thought about preparing her wardrobe choices ahead of time.
Since that time we have referred her to another company who has more experience in her prototype market. But we believe that helping her prepare for instant success although not instant, has her traveling comfortably on the path to her destination.
Prepared Is Power A Position
You know that success is not instant. But instead, it is doing the work beforehand to set you and your business towards your desired outcome with confidence. The more prepared that you are, the more powerful you feel.
Our team loves the USA Network television show, Suits. We are unashamed to say that we have even created office parties around the show. The power posture of the show is so motivating in some regards. And one of the consensuses in our office is that we love the wardrobe choices for the show.
When Micheal Ross, Patrick J. Adams character walks into a room, he is not the most impeccably dressed. But he walks into negotiations and boardrooms with a distinct scent of power all of his own. If you are a fan of the show, one might think that it’s because of his protege relationship with Harvey Specter, Gabriel Macht’s character. It’s not.
The scenes leading up to what Michael Ross does is what makes the difference in any situation he finds himself in. He prepares. Whether it’s in a file room, research of a nemesis, or developing a back story. He walks with confidence, because many times, he walks in a room with information that no one else has. He prepared to go further to get more and that is where his power lies. And in most situations, his preparation pays off for him…big!
The same is true for anyone in business. Preparation is crucial for every power player. It is your supercharge button to all that you want to achieve in life and in business. Success means different things to different people at different times. But preparation is the language that every successful person speaks well.