This episode of The Digital Entrepreneur's Podcast is dedicated to my dad. He was my first business advisor and would've made a hell of an entrepreneur in his own right. I'm grateful for his business insights; however, I have to share a story that I still find quite funny but he...well...didn't.
On a trip to New York in May, I was reminded of this story when I entered the John Golden Theater to see Stereophonic. It's one of those quintessential New York buildings that feels borderline claustrophobic. If you've ever been inside this Broadway house, you know how memorable it is primarily because it has no lobby.
So when we entered, I turned to my husband and said "I'm pretty sure this is where I saw Avenue Q." He pulled out his Playbill and went to the theater's history page and, sure enough, it was.
Which brought to mind a story in which, one cold November night, my dad made a series of not-so-wise decisions.
Here are the takeaways that his experience holds for us...
1. Plan well for your journey.
Dad was not dressed for walking blocks upon blocks up windy avenues on a crisp fall evening.
How many of us are guilty in doing this in our businesses?
We favor motion over strategic action. We leap, then figure it all out in a panic as we try to juggle too much and end up dropping balls.
Take a step back and take the long view of the next year, quarter, month, and week.
What's coming up in your calendar? What will give your future self more ease or peace of mind? What systems can you put in place or safety nets can you set up now to alleviate future stress?
2. Get the support you need.
No man is an island. Olympic gold medalists have coaches. High performing executives have mentors.
Are you thinking you're supposed to just do it all yourself based on instinct? Reinvent the wheel much?
One of my favorite quotes from Mr. Rogers reads “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
While this is true in crises (and thank goodness for those people - Helpers with a capital H!), there are more everyday helpers that we tend to overlook.
Books can mentor us. Podcasts can guide us. Attending entrepreneurial conferences can introduce us to our next online business coach or virtual mastermind group.
There is so. much. support.
Find folks you trust and let them help you. Just like an MTA worker can open up a much warmer way to navigate Manhattan, these helpers who hold knowledge you don't yet have can provide less harrowing journey to your goals.
3. Maintain margin for when things go sideways.
Things rarely go to plan. If you insist on continually skidding to the finish line with zero wiggle room in your deadline and your gas tank empty light on, you're living life in the Danger Zone friend.
And that kind of stress is a distraction, not an asset.
So give yourself more space to genuinely enjoy your work and pad your deadlines and temper your expectations a bit. Not overly so, but enough so that, when you inevitably find you've taken a wrong turn, your blood pressure doesn't spike to hazardous levels.
If you were the captain of your own ship - and you are - you wouldn't pack your vessel with provisions for a course you charted counting on only the very best conditions with the bare minimum of food, water, and crew for that trip.
Chart your business adventures with equal care.
And if you want to talk through any challenges you're currently facing, I'm here to help! You can sign up for your first mastermind session for just $25 by heading to laurengaggioli.com/mastermind and using the discount code FRIEND at checkout.
Hope to connect with you there soon!