Oddly enough, I only do puzzles when I live abroad. So yes, I am back to doing puzzles – something I haven’t done since living in Ecuador in the early ’90’s. I have already completed one and am working on my second one.
I remembered how much I loved puzzles when I visited my friend Pat, here in Mazatlan. Her 1000 piece puzzle is nowhere near finished despite weeks of work on it. Part of the problem is that she hasn’t got the edges put together properly – one of the secrets to easy puzzle solving. You always put the border together first and then you can work inwards.
It’s really just like your business- get the parameters down and fill in the blanks. I watch people stress about details that are totally irrelevant until they get there. Avoid expending energy on nonsensical details that probably won’t matter. Get the big picture down first.
Vision boards have become popular, especially since the movie The
Secret. Really, a vision board is very similar to a cover of the puzzle. Working from the puzzle cover, you can figure out the puzzle pieces. Imagine doing a puzzle without having a picture to refer to – now that would be a challenge, don’t you think? So have you got your vision board or puzzle cover for your business? What you want your business to really look like for you?
Just as it is far more difficult, much more time-consuming and frustrating to do a puzzle without the picture of what you are creating, it is more frustrating, difficult and time-consuming to go through life without any idea of where you are headed. Yet people do it all the time.
Secret Number One: Get clear on the big picture and if you find that challenging to do, work with a coach or business colleague to help with your vision. Otherwise, you will have a lot of false starts and missing pieces.
Do you have days when you doubt your business or your ability to be an
entrepreneur? You may feel like there are lots of pieces missing in your
business that don’t show up when you thought they should. What have I found is that the so-called “missing pieces” for my business show up sometimes when I least expect them. Likewise, I’ve sworn that my puzzle must be missing a piece when I just can’t find the one that fits. I become convinced that my puzzle is defective! Yet incredibly enough, the piece always shows up. Hasn’t that happened in your business also?
Secret Number Two: Get rid of the doubts that you can’t succeed in your business.
It seems that when I just can’t find another piece in my puzzle and some time has passed, I get up from the table and do something else. This is where my
patience comes in. I do walk away from it rather than struggle. Amazingly, when I come back to it hours or days later, four or five pieces will immediately go into place. Fresh eyes do miracles!
Sometimes, I watch clients diligently battle with a problem or situation in their business. They just won’t let up for anything. They’re exhausted, crabby and hating life but they are tenacious! They seem to think that taking a break, walking away for a bit, leaving a project for a while is giving up, giving in and a sign of weakness. Not necessarily. Sometimes it is good to hang in there and just get it done. But sometimes it is pure stubbornness, arrogance and pride that makes us stick with something that we should walk away from. Sometimes it is badge of honor or victimhood that we wear like a wounded war veteran.
Secret Number Three: Know when to take a break and get away from your business for a day or a vacation.
One of my clients asks her audiences, “How old are your stories?” According to her, if they’re more than a year old, get new ones. Not bad advice! Perhaps if you are still struggling with a problem after a year, telling the same old story of failure and hardship, it’s time to find another puzzle cover to work with. You don’t earn money, bring joy to yourself and the world and accomplish much when you spin your wheels going nowhere.
Secret Number Four: Have the sense to know when to say “enough” and make the necessary changes in your business, even drastic ones.
So get your business clearly in your head and then down on paper. Next, identify and let go of your nagging doubts. You know the doubts about whether or not you’re “really an expert”, “good enough” or “have what it takes to be an entrepreneur”. Thirdly, take regular breaks from your business. If you are working 7 days a week, you are working way too much and you will never have the “fresh eyes” you need to look at your business. And lastly, know when to throw in the towel and start afresh. Most successful entrepreneurs have done more than one business and they weren’t successful at them all.
This puzzle is an ambitious project just like being an entrepreneur is an ambitious project. I’m sure I’ll be frustrated, doubtful and confused more than once or twice over the next few months of working on it. But every time I find a piece and see the puzzle cover coming into reality on my tabletop, I get a deep sense of satisfaction.
I wish you the same in your business. Remember the four secrets and see how your business comes together even more beautifully.
Blessings,
P.S. If you haven’t check out the updated Resource Page at
www.spiritualentrepreneurinfo.com you may want to and if you wish to be included in a Business Opportunity or a Resource for the website, please email me a jan@janjanzen.com and let’s discuss what you have to offer. I would love to hear from you!
P.P.S. I am very involved in an organization called the Joint Venture Forum. For me to go to any networking meeting or spend my time with any particular organization is very, very, very rare. However, I do spend my time with this one for very good reason. I encourage you to check it out at www.letsjointventure.com
Popularity: unranked [?]
Be The First To Comment
Related Post
Please Leave Your Comments Below