We've probably all heard Albert Einstein's famous line: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Most people start a business based on a good idea, but can quickly get lost trying to figure out the right way to do it and ensure success. The business world is a big jungle and can seem overwhelming and scary. Lots of people have a fear of failing or doing something wrong, so they’ll look to those they’ve decided are experts, follow what they’ve seen work for others, or do what someone tells them they should. This may seem the smart and safe road to take, but it can actually trap business owners and business starters into negating their own awareness of what is required and would work for their own unique venture.
Doing what others have done is just one possible choice in an infinite universe of choices. You have to ask yourself, will doing your business like others do truly create the future you would like? Will it truly allow you to have the success you could be having if you chose to be uniquely you in business?
Being a rebel in business
Those who are truly successful are those that find their own way and allow themselves to be the rebellious ones in business. Rebels are those who will lead their own way. They are the courageous ones that don’t give up, even when others along the way may doubt what they are doing. They do not listen to the nay-sayers and critics of the world.
They will make one choice after the other and learn that there is no wrong choice—there is only choice. Every choice you determine as wrong costs you time for new creations and diminishes your creativity by thinking about your “wrong” choice instead of just acknowledging that it simply didn’t work out the way you hoped it would.
The entrepreneurs out there that are most inspiring are the ones creating and innovating for a greater future. They are creating from this broader perspective beyond ideas of right and wrong, instead asking: “What future will this choice create?”
The true rebels and innovators in business ask, “What kind of impact would I like to have on the world?” and make the choices that allow them to create that impact now and into the future.
What you choose will create what shows up
Do you realize that every choice you make determines what shows up in your life? And just as in life, who you are going to be in business is determined by the choices you make.
The ability to choose the possibilities that exist in the world is the gift you came into this life with. But we are not taught to exercise this gift easily. We are trained to judge our choices and agonize over making the right choices and avoiding the wrong ones. As a rebel in business you need to recognize that choice creates – it’s not good or bad. And that you can always choose again. And again. And again.
Most of us constantly assess the pros and cons or advantage or disadvantage of the choices we make in business. Truly successful people know that judging rather than choosing not only limits business, life, and money flows, it will, over a longer period of time, frustrate and bore you!
Rather than judge choices, what if you could choose for the fun and joy of it? From the curiosity of discovering what you and your business are capable of?
Learning to choose freely takes some practice, but with the right tools, you can choose who and what you and your business become in the world with far more ease and success.
Here are 5 essential tools to help you access and engage your choice-making abilities to create what you truly desire in your business:
- Start asking questions
A question is an invitation for new opportunities, new information and new views. A question allows something else to appear while an answer brings you to a dead end. Practice questioning instead of seeking answers and coming to conclusions. If you are fixated on a result, you will focus only on that and no longer perceive other possibilities. Never decide that you have failed. Instead ask:
- What else is possible?
- What is right about this situation?
- What else can I create that I have not considered?
- What information is missing here?
- What do I know about business?
- Make choices that lead to a greater future. There is a different approach for making choices than what we’ve been taught. Rather than use judgments to limit your choices, begin to follow and trust, your energetic and innate instincts. If you have several possibilities to choose from, indulge in the energetic “feeling” of what each choice would create in your life, your business, and the future. Choose the ones that feel most light and expansive. This is living from the energy of your own awareness. Science tells us that everything is energy, but no one tells us how to use this to our advantage or activate our knowing towards it. It is a simple yet powerful navigation system you always have with you to guide you through your day, meetings & decisions.
- Don’t give up: We all have those moments where a plan doesn’t seem to be working out; where we start to think “I’m pathetic” or “I can’t do this”. Often, these moments occur because money isn’t showing up. But, don’t give up—even if the money’s not flowing in right away. Instead, use this as a chance to adjust and recommit. Affirm to yourself: I will do and be whatever is required. Ask yourself:
- Is this plan creating the future I want?
- Is money actually on its way?
- Am I at a point where I need to choose differently?
- Choose every day: The most powerful question in business is: “What else is possible?” Business is not about discovering the thing that you can do for the next 40 years; it’s not about sticking with a plan if it’s not creating what you desire. Understand that choice is a daily exercise. Start each day asking anew: “What else is possible today?” Allow business to become an adventure. Instead of letting each day look the same, spice it up by asking: “What adventure can I make within my business?”
- Never conclude: How many conclusions have you come to about your business—what is right or wrong with it? How right or wrong you are in relation to it? Concluding stops you from choosing. If you don’t conclude you can always choose. When you choose, you get to create! What can you create with the choices you make?
If you really would like to create an expansive business, you have to find out what is fun for you. What would it be like if business was fun for you and you would wake up every day with a wild enthusiasm to create each day? Is this more of who you would like to be in business? It truly is up to you—just choose!
About Doris Schachenhofer
Doris Schachenhofer is a business and communication coach, life mentor and facilitator for several Access Consciousness® special programs. She is a Pioneer for Joy of Business, offering online workshops and consultations that serves clients all over the world. Drawing upon her nine years in social work, Doris seeks to break social paradigms around business, money and wealth creation. Follow Doris here and on Instagram.