Last year I acquired another business and have spent alot of time with the management team getting the product, the service levels, the processes and the facilities in the right place. We continued to do what we perceived to be ‘the right things’.
Having not seen profit by year end and another loss in January, I was aware of fear and doubt accumulating like rain clouds in the distant sky. I turned my coaching on myself in time before this loom gathered intensity. And envisioned a management team meeting where we were discussing the previous month’s profit. The present moment reality pulled at this thought, poured scorn and more doubt, but on I went.
In February, we indeed created a profit, just £6, but still a profit. I realised that more work was need on my expectations, to think bigger and have the guts to be more specific about the amount.
I talked this through with Sally (my wife) and together we talked about what it would be like to have that meeting discussing profit, as vividly as possible.
We get what we think about, whether we want it or not.
And yesterday we had that meeting, discussing the profit, very close to the figure we envisioned.
But this isn’t the most important point I want to make in this article. It’s what happened after achieving this result (through doing the work in the first place and allowing the idea of reaching that profit figure to germinate in our thinking).
When you invest in the expectation you really want your attitude shifts, you notice differnet things, you take more inspired actions and you take clear steps to making the expectation a reality. This remains true even when you are not conciously aware of your expectation.
I had succesfully created an expectation, well done Simon. Then the limitation kicks in, i.e. what could possibly be achieved now?
Reality said a few percent more, maybe half as much again. It would be ridiculious to think further than that, surely.
Just how good was I going to allow things to be? I was experiencing my success limiter.
My challenge to you is to find the point of your current reality, the point beyond which seems ridiculous. Feel that doubt and push past it. Be the exception, so much more is possible for you and your endeavours.
ST