Attitude and Success Part I: The Seasoned Business Owner

You wouldn’t be where you are right now without tenacity. No matter how many times you’ve been kicked in the teeth, you’ve always been willing to get up and dust yourself off. You’ve probably even done so with a big, defiant smile on your face. It’s true that business owners are a special breed. However, even the strongest reach a point of weakness somewhere in their career. The most cavalier often have the deepest, darkest valleys. Despite this, there’s something about the mindset of a seasoned business owner that pushes them through every failure and insecurity until they find success. Join me as I take a look at attitude and success.

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TOPIC INDEX:

• – Attitude = Success: The Seasoned Owner
• – How Do You Define Success
• – Is Money Success?
• – Pride Poisons Success

The Relationship Between Attitude and Success

I am often a guest on various podcasts around the country. Not long ago, I was recording one of these guest appearances when I was asked a question that left me hemming and hawing around the answer. The surprising thing about this is that I knew the question was coming. Likewise, I knew what my answer was. But I couldn’t seem to articulate the answer. What was the question, you ask? What is success? How do you define success?

According to Webster’s dictionary, success is defined as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame,” or “the correct or desired result of an attempt.” What’s interesting to me is that these definitions have very different attitudes. Chances are, you began your business as a means to make a living. That’s how most of us start out. However, business owners can often become so entangled in the pursuit of worldly success that they can forget what’s truly important. Faith, family, and friends are the priorities of life you forsake to achieve the notoriety, respect, and wealth that your business could offer you. If you don’t agree, let me add some perspective.

There will come a point in your life when you leave this earth. When you do, who’s going to be surrounding your bed? You’ll have your faith. This is true regardless of whether you’re an atheist, agnostic, or believer. Each of those worldviews requires some level of faith. Apart from the faith, you’ll cling to in those final moments, I hope you’re surrounded by family and friends. On the other hand, you could be surrounded by wealth and notoriety. Although you might die in a nicer bed, the latter option seems pretty lonely to me. So, what’s your attitude to success?

Which Side of Success Do You Seek?

Are you pursuing wealth, respect, and fame to the detriment of other, more important, variables in your life? Fame and fortune aren’t inherently bad. I am not here to judge if those are the things you seek. Instead, I’m trying to get you to take an honest look at yourself. You see, if these are your litmus test for success, they could leave you feeling unfulfilled, empty, and bitter.

On the other hand, if you’re view of success is more impact-based, it could lead to a life of happiness, contentment, and accomplishment. If you measure success by the number of lives you’ve impacted, you can easily identify markers within your life. You find success in the way you’ve loved your team, allowed your faith to determine your values, and the amount of time spent with your family. So, you can clearly see two sides of attitude and success. Either you view success from a worldly perspective, that emphasizes wealth and fame, or you see it as something more impactful, valuing relationships and people.

Is Money Success?

I’ve been in the financial industry a long time. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down with a client to hear them tell me, “Well, I’d like to retire early with (this much money), and then I’ll be happy.” But if I’m being honest, money isn’t where happiness comes from. Sure. It can provide a sense of security which could alleviate some of your worries. But money is no more than a magnifier of who we are.

I’ve encountered people who receive incredible financial windfalls but are broke within a year. On the other hand, I’ve seen people take a small amount of money and turn it into a legacy that impacts the lives of generations to come. So, if money is an indicator of success, how do we explain what is often seen in the realm of professional athletes? They have more money than they know what to do with but their lives are in shambles. So, once again, we have attitude and success as it applies to money. Is money success? No. It can be a by-product of success. But in and of itself, money is not success.

Pride Poisons Success

In The Paradox of Success, Allie Taylor states, “Research has demonstrated that as an entrepreneur’s self-efficacy rises their risk-taking propensity rises and they increasingly rely on their own abilities eschewing the wisdom of external voices such as advisors or their own management team.” What she’s suggesting is that the more success you experience, the more likely you are to become dependent on your own abilities. Ultimately, you become blind to your weaknesses and refuse to listen to others who can see your blind spots. This opens you and your business up to fail. Therefore, the attitude of pride often poisons success.

A great example of this can be found in a college football game that was played on November 14, 1998. The Arkansas Razorbacks faced an unbeaten #1 ranked Tennessee Volunteers football team. Now, the Razorbacks had completely outplayed Tennessee. They had the lead and the ball with just 1:47 remaining in the game. Conventional wisdom says you run out the clock in this situation. Had Arkansas done so, they might have left Neyland Stadium with one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

However, that’s not what happened. Instead, Arkansas opted for a play-action pass and Clint Stoerner fumbled the ball, allowing UT to recover and win the game. Now, they might have still lost the game, had they run the ball. But there also would have been another Razorbacks’ player in the backfield to try to recover the fumble. Like former Arkansas head coach, Houston Nutt, business owners can go against better judgment when they experience too much historical success. Recognize when you should take the win and run out the clock.

Wrapping Up…

So, how is your attitude? Is it leaning toward true success? I hope this has helped you see the correlation between attitude and success a little more clearly. Although there’s nothing wrong with wealth, respect, or fame, the true measure of success is the impact you have on the people you’ve encountered. Perhaps you’re in a position to use your wealth and fame to positively impact the lives of generations to come. If so, that’s fantastic. If not, maybe it’s time to reassess your attitude.

Friends, life is hard. But life is good. Chasing worldly success is frustrating. It can leave you exhausted and unfulfilled. But if you spend your time pursuing the things that truly matter, you can make success at least financially simple. Hey, let’s go out and make it a great day!

Are you interested in learning how you could use your position and resources to affect positive change for your loved ones? Contact us. Our team would be happy to discuss ways you can live an impactful life and find true success.