Have you ever thought about your high school days, and wondered what kinds of lessons you may have left on the table? High school is such a formative time in everyone\u2019s life, and sometimes the underlying messages that we are taught doesn\u2019t stick with us into adult life … at least not until we sit back to reflect on them.<\/p>\n
I have been thinking about my high school days lately, and realizing that there are many lessons that I learned in high school that are very relevant to my business now, if I just look at them from a different perspective.<\/p>\n
Think about it \u2013 the lyrics to all the songs you used to listen to in high school just seem to \u2018come back\u2019 to you when you hear them on the radio – that\u2019s proof that the knowledge you gained is still in there. It\u2019s just a matter of applying it.<\/p>\n
Here are a few of my favourites:<\/p>\n
1. Be yourself.<\/strong> In high school, everyone is encouraged to be independent and to just be themselves. The same is true in your business persona. I have always found that to be the same person to everyone is to be the most genuine person you can be in your whole life; not only that, it\u2019s the easiest person to be, because you just have to be you, anywhere you are. I know that my family, my friends, my colleagues and my clients (and my potential clients) all know the same \u2018version\u2019 of me, because that\u2019s how I have always presented myself in any situation. Be yourself, whoever that is! Being comfortable in your own skin will make you a better businessperson too, because you will authentically connect with everyone around you, and they will notice that. I like me. It\u2019s easy to be me.<\/p>\n 2. Done is better than perfect. <\/strong>Looming project deadlines and exams were the things that would keep us up at night in high school. Maybe the same things keep us up at night as adults! But the real idea here is to put the commitment in to finishing what you start. I know many VAs and small business owners who get caught up in the planning stage, and may never get things off the ground as a result. Certainly they don\u2019t realize the success they could have, because they are too busy trying to be perfect, instead of just completing the task at hand. Everything in life is a \u2018work in progress\u2019, and as a business person it\u2019s important to complete each step and move on, just like finishing a high school exam. Once you finish what you have planned, then you assess it and fix what needs to be fixed as you continue moving forward.<\/p>\n 3. Where you begin is not as important as where you end up. <\/strong>This is the same principle as trying to achieve perfection. Where you begin is not as important as where you end up. In high school, we all started at the bottom (ugh!) and had that scary path ahead as we marvelled over the seniors who were so cool and smart and so much larger than life. But we knew the path \u2013 we knew the class we had to take, and which wing of the school we got to be in, as we worked our way through those years, and we also knew what we expected to have achieved by the time we finished. In your business, you must do the same thing. Plan your path that will take you towards those who are far ahead of you … know where you are going, and know how you are going to get there. It doesn\u2019t matter where you begin, but the important thing is to get started. And if you end up in a place that you didn\u2019t expect, then change lanes, and keep moving towards that success.<\/p>\n 4. Kindness counts: give it back and pay it forward. <\/strong>Growing up, we were always taught to be kind. In high school this may have been a difficult concept for some people, as hormones raged and independent personalities formed, but certainly the idea was promoted by school faculty and parents alike. Above all, be nice. Everyone is walking their own path and you can\u2019t possibly know where they have come from, or where they are going, but kindness helps in everyone\u2019s path. It\u2019s an excellent quality to nurture in yourself. If someone shows you kindness in your life or in your business, give it back to them. Don\u2019t forget also to pay it forward to those who are coming up behind you or beside you. Sharing ideas and success stories is very big in the VA business, and everyone gets ahead faster if we all lend a hand to others on the more difficult parts of the path.<\/p>\n 5. Every day is a new beginning. <\/strong>Every day begins anew. You remember the commencement speech at graduation \u2013 opportunities abound, and all that good stuff. When we came to the end of high school, it was the beginning of a new path, just like every small success we had experienced through our years in high school. It doesn\u2019t matter what happened yesterday \u2013 what matters is what you will make happen tomorrow. We are all in business for our own reasons, and even if we have a bad day, or week, or some kind of challenge, we need to brush ourselves off, and begin again. Life in business is not easy all the time, but we can always move forward if we just keep our eyes focused ahead and if we realize that there will always be a tomorrow where we can begin again.<\/p>\n 6. Success is 1% talent, 99% hard work. <\/strong>Who doesn\u2019t remember pulling an all-night study session for that Chemistry test, and coming up with a C+ and totally rejoicing? Just me? What? Oh well! J It is true that talent gets you so far, and hard work can actually take you farther. All the talent in the world won\u2019t make your business succeed if you are not willing to put in the time and effort to implement your structures, your goals and your day to day work to succeed. Some days it feels like drama class and other days it\u2019s like chemistry! Be sure that you are putting in the hard work it takes to make your business successful, and take advantage of that talent if you have it!<\/p>\n