Can you relate to the feeling of perceived failure? The sinking in your stomach that makes giving up feel borderline comfortable and safe. But giving up is NEVER comfortable or safe, and failing is not the end of the story – it’s just the beginning.
There’s a story about a man many years ago who got caught up in what they call “gold rush.” He had packed up and moved to the West, determined to dig his way to wealth. He staked a claim, and with high expectations, he went to work with nothing but a pick and shovel in quest of a rich future.
After several weeks of hard labor, he was rewarded with shining gold ore. In order to continue his quest, he needed to buy expensive machinery to help him retrieve the gold.
Thrilled with the discovery, he went home and told all of his friends and family. It was a team effort, but together, they helped him gather the money he needed to purchase the machinery.
They went back to the gold mine and began to dig with new machinery, optimism and hope for their future. The first car of ore was mined and shipped to a smelter who validated their find to be one of the richest he had ever seen.
They started to count their profits and dream for their future.
Just as quick as is arrived, the vein of gold ore was gone. They drilled and drilled didn’t find a thing.
Devastated and broke, they quit and sold the machinery as junk to a man for a few hundred dollars. Defeated, they made their way back home.
The man who bought the machinery as “junk” called in a mining engineer. With a bit of expert help, the junk man went back to the location and recover the gold vein just three feet from where they had stopped.
The junk man generated millions of dollars in profit because he knew enough to seek expert help BEFORE giving up.
This story is a brief version of the full story in Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich.
Hill said, “No man is ever whipped until he quits in his own mind.”
Don’t quit because it’s December.
Don’t quit before you get expert advice.
Every year, over and over again, people say December is NOT the month to sell their programs and services. They say December is for retail, it’s not for those of us who sell online programs, coaching, consulting or professional services.
If you truly believe that, you’re quitting in your own mind.
You’re leaving an entire month of possibility on the table.
Don’t set yourself up to start 2017 with a defeated mindset Click To TweetHere’s what you need to know…
Traditionally, December is the third highest month of the year in sales for my business.
Recently during a group coaching call in Profit Pods, the main focus of the conversation was “what can you do to keep pushing forward in December, when others are buying into their defeated beliefs about December being slow?”
Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Challenge yourself to do two things:
- Finish December strong
This is the month for you to push hard, put in the time, work and commit yourself to ending the year well. Don’t let the misconceptions around selling in December get you down. It’s not over until it’s over.
- Find expert help to make 2017 your best year yet
You don’t have to do this alone. You are an expert in your field of business, but sometimes you need an expert AT business to help guide you.
An expert in their field of business still needs an expert AT #business Click To TweetAre you up for the challenge?
Take some time to think about the story of the junk man and the gold mine, and think about what you really want 2017 to look like for your business.
Leave a comment below and tell me 3 ways to end this year off with a bang. No excuses, just three actionable steps to help you reach your goals.
1 thought on “The Common Cause Of Failure”
Timely. I have had this very conversation with some business friends: whether to run a sale of not because of how difficult it can be for a service-based business to stand out among all the products in December. My advice to them? Yes! Absolutely run that sale. I have run something every December since I have been in business. It may not always have positive results, BUT nothing beats getting in front of folks who will need me when January rolls around. They may not realize it yet, though, but they will think of me when the time is right. I see December for me as a seed-planting time. Consistently getting in front of people in December sets me up to start the following year on top of people’s minds. The value of the relationship building on social media does pay off, but business owners need to stay present and not check out for the month. Thanks for the article, Lisa!