Making Tomorrow a Better Today
How do we define success for your small business? And, more importantly, what does it take to achieve it? It will differ from person to person, and from business to business, but I want to give you one key to what it takes that applies across the board:
“The secret to my success is determined by my daily agenda – by the daily decisions I make, and the daily disciplines I practice.”– Dr John C. Maxwell
I heard that statement a few years ago, and it is something that has always stuck with me, because I fundamentally believe that it is true. Another way of saying it is that, if what and where I am today is a direct result of my previous actions, what I am tomorrow depends on what I do today. The problem is, most people underestimate what they can do today, and over estimate what they can do tomorrow.
Now, if you think about this for a minute, you will see how true it is. You constantly hear “I’ll do it tomorrow.” I know I say that, and then, when it doesn’t happen tomorrow, it becomes “the next day,” then the next, then the next, until either we hit a crisis and do it at the expense of something else, or we just never quite get around to it.
Let’s take an entrepreneur building a coaching business as an example: how can you get new clients if people don’t know who you are? And how can people know who you are if you’re not publishing informative articles on your area of expertise, and attending networking events to expand your circle of contacts? So how many articles are you posting on the internet this week? What networking are you doing today? But maybe you’ve got writer’s block, so you put the article off to tomorrow, and traffic is really bad tonight, so that networking event can wait. You get the picture.
The same is true in your finances. If I am struggling with debt, what can I do to get out from under it? Can I call the credit card companies and beg for a break? Can I tear up my bills, move, and hope they won’t find me? You certainly could, but it wouldn’t be recommended. Instead, wouldn’t it be better to look for ways to generate multiple streams of income, shave some money off your expenses, learn how to pay a little less in taxes, put a solid debt plan in place, and move forward freely, rather than constantly worrying about how you are going to handle those student loans?
What expenses can I track today that can be used as tax deductions? How can I work a bit more today to earn the money I need to cover those expenses? What financial seminar can I take or what book can I read today to build the money management skills I need to take control of my finances? How can I alter my spending habits today so that I have to worry less tomorrow?
Oscar Wilde said “every action of the common day makes or unmakes character,” and, beyond that, everything you do today affects where you will be tomorrow.
All of this is a process. No one expects you to flick a switch and suddenly have amazing organizational skills, perfect credit and financial savvy. But there are two kinds of pain in this arena: the pain of discipline, and the pain of regret. Now, especially when it comes to ensuring a strong financial foundation, we can play now and pay later, or we can pay now and play later. The problem is, payment compounds, and increases with time and missed opportunities. So if you suffer the pain of paying now – of discipline, of doing the things you need to do long after the mood in which you said them in has gone, of paying attention to your actions today – tomorrow’s rewards will come far sooner than you imagine.
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