Have you ever created momentum in your business only to lose it? If so, it could be because you’re making a fatal mistake with the momentum you create. Read on for how to maintain momentum in your business.
When Jealousy Rears Its Ugly Head
Have you ever met someone that’s extremely jealous? Perhaps you’ve worked with someone in the past that is jealous or you may have someone in your life that’s extremely jealous. What do those jealous people typically need from you? They typically need a lot of attention.
For example, when you have two kids, if you pay too much attention to one, the other one gets jealous. Why? It’s because you’re not giving them enough attention.
The Most Jealous Spirit in Business
In business, there is a very jealous spirit. If you treat her right, you will be a queen or king in business. But if you don’t, she will gladly leave you for somebody else who will give her the proper attention she deserves. That’s how simple it is.
This jealous spirit in business has a name: “Momentum.”
It’s Not About You
Regardless of the type of business you run, if you’ve experienced momentum, how did it make you feel? Did it not make you feel like you’re something special, unique, or even super human?
In the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell writes,
Even average people can perform far above average in an organization with great momentum.
But a lot of times I’ve noticed — and I made this mistake early on in my career — is that the first time momentum comes, people think she will stick around forever. And boom! Three months later they lose momentum.
I’ll never forget the time it happened to me. I was doing very well. Money was doing well. I had some momentum going on and boom! She left me! And I sat there and I asked, “How is that even possible for this to take place?” It totally took me by surprise.
So the next time momentum was brought back into the business, I made sure she got a lot of attention. I made sure she was taken care of. Momentum was constantly on our minds. We ensured that she got the right attention constantly.
3 Stages of Momentum
It’s important to understand the three stages of momentum.
#1: Create Momentum
The hardest thing to do about momentum is to create it, but this is where it starts.
#2: Maintain Momentum
One you create momentum, you have to maintain it.
#3: Advance Momentum
Once you maintain momentum, you advance momentum. You have to do a lot on the front end to create momentum, and pay attention to momentum to maintain it and advance it. Remember, momentum is very jealous, and if you don’t pay attention to her, she’ll leave you. So give her attention, attention, attention, details, details, details, attention, attention, attention – then boom! It advances momentum to the next level in your business.
You could go into a new territory, new marketplace, new city, new state, new country – whatever it could be. But if you don’t take care of momentum and at any point you start thinking that it’s all because of you and you’re the reason why you’re having so much success, you know what momentum does? Goodbye! Boom! She disappears!
And one day you find yourself sitting in your office saying, “Customers were coming left and right! Everybody was so excited. What happened all of a sudden?” You took momentum for granted, and she left you.
My Challenge to You
Here’s something I do all the time and I challenge you to do it as well.
Get a paper and pen and write down what you did to create momentum. And then do it again. But this time, when momentum comes, do not take it for granted. Maintain momentum. Advance momentum. Give it the right attention it deserves because it will give you things that you could never do by yourself, beyond what you’ve ever fantasized about or imagined.
