Why Lie?
I once had a mentor who would say, “The truth is best left untampered.”
Simple, but true.
There have been many times over my time in the business world, where it was easier to lie or dress up the truth, because I didn’t even want to face the truth.
The desire to lie and dress up the truth is prevelant in the world of business and making money. Probably the world as a whole if we are being honest.
Sometimes the truth is not only the hardest pill to swallow, but the hardest thing to serve up.
As a leader one of the hardest things to do, and learn how to do is to just be honest. Say it the way it is, even and especially when the way it is, is not how you want it, or idealistically see it should be.
It’s easy to run from our problems, our fears, and insecurities, but when you do it for too long, you become a dishonest ass who nobody trusts, and as a leader- YOU CAN’T AFFORD FOR PEOPLE NOT TO TRUST YOU.
Hiding, lying, cheating and stealing are common in the world of business- spend any amount of time in competition with anyone on the business battlefield and you will see the darkness of others reveal itself.
It’s interesting to watch, and a ride to experience.
When you are a leader- you will find others dishonestly shocking- but often they are meeting you on the same playing field you met them on. You can’t expect to blow smoke up peoples hind parts and not expect people to return the favor.
When faced with the challenges and realities of business you have a choice to be direct and to the point or to hide, coverup, deceive, spin or lie. It’s easier to lie to yourself and everyone else than it is to be honest.
Honesty, will build bridges, trust and loyalty with your employees, customers and most importantly yourself.
If you struggle to trust others in your world, I think it’s crucial to also look at yourself and what you don’t trust about yourself. Where you were shady, and believe others will be shady as well. It’s an eye opening practice to be sure.
Recently, I was confronted with the nature of lying with a young man, when he told me about a lie he had told his boss, when I asked him why he chose not to tell the truth he said simply, “My story sounded better than the truth.”
Stories are stories, lies are lies, and spin is spin.
When you lead with the truth, no matter how hard it is- you will breed loyalty and trust of those who work for you, and hopefully showing that honesty is a core foundation of how you do life and business, you will also foster an environment of truth tellers, and people who aren’t afraid to face and talk about the hard stuff in the work place.
When you the leader can develop trust with honesty, you will have an unstoppable business at your fingertips.
If you are looking to break free of your prison business and start getting some breathing room and momentum, it’s time for us to talk. Click here to book a call, to discover if I can help you.
The Most Important Person In Your Business
I remember the first time, someone asked me this question. “Who is the most important person in your business?”
It felt like a trick question,, kind of like “would you like a receipt today?”(I am always confused by this question.)
I remember thinking, I should know the answer to this question. Was it my sales team? What about my administrative staff? Surely it had to be my customer service team? All the moving parts and pieces of the business that make it a business. They are all important, and every position ensured the growth of the business, and a quality client experience.
None of them were the right answer though…
I was still confused, and surprised. Who could possibly be the most important person in my business? Who has that kind of power, influence, and responsibility?
The entrepreneur. The business owner. The Founder. The CEO…
YOU
The decision maker, is the most important person in any business. YOU are the most important person in your business.
I remember being stunned. I’ve never really looked at myself as anyone special, or important- just a woman on a mission to make a difference, serve my customers and community and make a living while doing it. Starting and owning a business isn’t something I ever did to fulfill some kind of need of self importance.
Can you relate?
It’s normal to think about yourself last, and and think of everyone and everything else first- I think most people and business owners tend to think of themselves last. We don’t consider our own importance.
Which can actually cost us big time.
When you the business owner and boss don’t consider your own importance, it’s easy to dismiss the power that we have with the decisions that we make. It’s easy to down play ourselves, our actions, and the impact of those actions on the people around us.
Have you ever had the thought, “Who put me in charge?”
Only to be gently reminded that you put yourself in charge. You saw an opportunity, you captured it, and now you are responsible for yourself, your business, your relationships, your employees and your customers.
With great power, comes great responsibility.
This means, you must take the best care of yourself that you possibly can, so that you can be in full control your state, your life, and at your best for the people who are relying to be “on” each and every day. Even the days you messed up, don’t feel like it, or just want to quit.
The pressure is enough to crush the average person, but you are not average so you must fight the urge to crumble or be crushed.
How you take care of yourself truly matters not just for your life and those you love but for the life of your business.
The first several hours of the day should be devoted taking care of #1. You. In case you haven’t grasped it yet, you are #1, So how you take care of yourself matters.
Movement- doesn’t matter how you move, only that you move. A body in motion stays in motion. You will find yourself with a clearer head, brighter mood, and more creativity because you moved your muscles, got some blood pumping, and some good ‘ol oxygen flowing to your brain. The boost from exercise is better than any cup of coffee could ever do.
Not that I am going to tell you stop drinking coffee- that would be silly.
Mindset- the frame of mind you are in can and will affect your daily results, interactions, and actions that you make through out the day. If you don’t protect your mind and serve it good study in the form of reading, journaling or inspirational listening- you are leaving the best of you somewhere between the bedroom and the boardroom. When your mind is straight- life seems to flow the way you want it to, and at the very least you are more capable of handling the hard stuff that will get thrown your way
Nutrition- Nobody likes to hear it, and most will choose to ignore it. How you feed and nourish your body matters. Seriously. When you eat better you feel better. When you consume high energy foods, you have high energy- think about how you feel after you have eaten, fruit, salad, protein and a little fat for lunch. You feel ready to conquer your afternoon meetings. Conversely, when you enjoy a burger, fries and a large drink for lunch you instantly feel like you need a nap.
How you eat also affects your sleep, sex drive, ability to handle stress, and how your clothes do or don’t fit. So take care to nourish your body- especially on work days.
Hydration- you need water, you are made mostly of water. Water will clear out your system, detoxify, hydrate, and help you think more clearly. Again, it’s simple but many neglect drinking water, let alone enough water, because they either forget to hydrate and are bumbling around chronically dehydrated or they opt for tastier options like energy drinks, and soda. I personally aim for 1 gallon day.
If all else fails, your potty breaks will serve as an excellent opportunity to reset your mind and energy.
Motivation- YOU HAVE TO MOTIVATE YOU. You also have to motivate everyone else. You are literally the only person in your business who cannot simply go through the motions. Keep your mind and motivation sharp by reviewing your goals and vision daily.
You may be the CEO but truth be told you are really the CMO- Chief Motivation Officer, but it’s an inside job.
It all seems simple, and it really is. As simple as it is, is also how easy it is to back burner self care and making sure that you are good, everyday. Working is so much more exciting and when you work, it feels like momentum.
Taking care of yourself doesn’t always feel like momentum in the moment, but it creates momentum everyday.
When you take time to take care of yourself, in turn you take time to better take care of business, life and all that it entails.
You aren’t just a goldfish that needs to be kept alive, you are a million dollar race horse. You are a winner.
Winners train themselves for success by ensuring they can be the very best version of themselves day in and day out.
So why, this list?
It’s simple really, because it’s all basic personal care. Just like you want to stick to the basics in business, you want to stick to the basics of caring for a human, a top performing human.
When you choose to not take care of you, you choose to lose.
Keep it simple…
If you are interested in discovering what it takes to take your business to the next level, it could be time to hire a mentor who has done what you want to do. To apply to work with me click here https://themommaboss.as.me/strategy-call