Today I want to talk to you about how to handle the highs and lows of business. Over the years some things frustrated me so much that I finally had to figure out a way to create a formula to keep from driving myself nuts.
You see, business is rarely ever all good or all bad. Business is usually filled with a lot of highs and lows. It rarely stays in the equilibrium of everything being good and dandy.
There are a lot of things that happen in business. One day you could land a big client, and you’re so excited, and the next day the big client could make unrealistic demands, or perhaps even fire you. One day you could hire a dream team member, and the next day, that same person could turns into a nightmare. And the thing that you thought was a sure deal today could end up evaporating tomorrow. It goes both ways. The big thing you were worried about turned out to be nothing, and you found a solution to the problem that seemed impossible.
These types of highs and lows are just business. Business is rarely in the middle.
A Formula for Madness
After studying a lot of different people over the years, I've noticed the formula for madness is very simple. What I've noticed is that a lot of times people stay in their highs too long. For instance, someone starts a business, has a big grand opening party, and then they keep partying for two months. Two months later, their party stops because they go out of business. They were too excited about the fact that they opened a business and stayed on that high for too long.
Or they land a big contract, and instead of working on the next thing, they celebrate for four months.
The other side is that when something goes wrong, entrepreneurs go into a depression and stay in the depression for too long. They think things like:
I'm not a good person.
I'll never make it as an entrepreneur.
I'm a loser.
I'm not smart.
I may as well quit.
They mourn the loss for way too long, and that becomes a trend in their business.
Do you know what this does? It drives people nuts.
Business is Like a Heartbeat
What I've learned over the years is that business is like a heartbeat. It goes boom boom, boom boom, boom boom. right? It doesn't beat once, and then stop. There is one beat right after another. Because what happens if it stops beating? You die, right?
The image above is an illustration of what it means to be sane. When you have a victory, you go up quick, but you quickly come back to equilibrium.You have another quick victory, and come back to normal. Another small victory, and you come back to normal. A crisis in your business happens, and you come back to normal.
No matter what happens, whether it's highs and lows of business, if you stay at the highs too long, or if you stay at the lows too long, you are going to drive yourself nuts.
The key is to go up, celebrate your victory quickly, and then come back to normal again. Because you still don't walk on water. And the key is to when you have terrible times, quickly come back up. Because everything is going to be okay.
In order for you as an entrepreneur who is going to do something big with your life, if you want to stay sane for the rest of your life, you have to learn how to manage the highs and lows of business. It's never a good idea to spend too much time focused on either the highs or lows of business.
And by the way, if you're experience a low right now, be sure to check out the article and video, How to Make a Comeback as an Entrepreneur.
