You may have read some of my other posts that talk about the important of making progress, and how without it, it’s easy to fall into a slump. What I’ve noticed over the years and multiple projects, is that it’s easy to start making progress on something new, but what happens when the excitement fades?
We’ve probably all felt the excitement of starting a new company, or project, or Youtube channel, or Facebook group, etc.
It’s a lot of fun, you’re ramped up to get going… and then after a few weeks, maybe that excitement fades. Or maybe you don’t see the results you were looking for.
Here are a few things I’ve done to keep energy high and on track:
– Set weekly metrics, and measure to see if you’re hitting them. This will also bring out your inner competitor
– Bring someone on board with you for the project/business. Having another person will keep you both accountable, excited and you’ll have another person to talk about it with
– Keep your end goal/vision in mind. There was likely a reason you started this thing, don’t lose sight of it in the grind!
And if you want a book that may help keep you motivated, I wanted to talk about the best book I read in 2019: Shoe Dog.
It’s a memoir written by the founder of Nike, Phil Knight, and I can’t remember the last time I was so excited to get back to reading a book each day (but that didn’t last long because I think I read it in 3 days).
Anyway, wanted to give you my 3 biggest takeaways, although I highly recommend grabbing it if you haven’t already:
1) There is no business textbook: yes you can (and should) continue to read and learn and listen, but at the end of the day, every solopreneur/entrepreneurs journey is a little different. You’ll have different challenges and different decisions to make. What’s more important is that you have enough info and confidence to decide what you think is the “most right” at that time – there’s rarely a perfect answer
2) People are extremely important: one of the patterns that emerged, especially in the early stages of Nike, is that Phil didn’t often post jobs and hire in the traditional sense. Instead, when he got to know very smart/motivated people (no matter what industry), he offered them jobs.
For example, he hired his lawyer after how well the lawyer handled one of his cases. He hired a former classmate who suffered a gruelling injury that left him in a wheelchair because he knew how much passion and excitement he had for Phil’s line of work. And he hired his future wife while she was one of his students because of how quickly she picked up on almost anything and her skills with numbers.
This really stood out to me, especially in a world full of over-stated job or experience requirements.
3) Business is a frickin’ grind: Phil went through ups and downs like you can’t believe, and I think it’s fair to say that most entrepreneurs who have or will get to his level will as well. There’s no denying it – if you want to reach that level of success, be ready to make some sacrifices.
Have you read the book? If so, would love to hear your thoughts.
And if you haven’t, again, do yourself a favour. And/or join my email list so you never miss another blog post or book review!
