This month’s articles have been about how you get going after a major setback. Life changing events can rock you back on your heels but you can get through them.
So far we have looked at the need to Keep Trying…not always easy when your life has crashed down around you. However, there are new paths for you to follow and you may need to try a few before you settle on the right one. I tried my hand at a few enterprises post Paddington, until I finally settled on being a professional speaker. The importance of planning your future is the next element and it does sometimes feel a bit like a military campaign with tactics and strategies. The next part of this recovery strategy is assessment; understanding how to truly measure your progress in a logical unemotional manner. It can be all too easy to go full steam ahead without assessing the efficiency of your path.
Once you are off and running with the routes described above the key to success then comes down to tenacity. Persistence and perseverance were key concepts for me as I relaunched myself as a public speaker…I was having to show people I was so much more than “The Lady in the Mask.”
You must keep going. Arrange the meetings, make the phone calls, post the updates & articles, attend the workshops, network…. This requires a certain dogged persistence and if this not your style, then here’s some tips to help you.
How to be persistent
- Set up a workable calendar – block off the tasks for the coming week. Start with your fixed commitments such as weekly meetings, medical appointments; school runs etc. Don’t write your tasks as a To Do List- they rarely work well. Schedule your tasks directly into your calendar- mark follow up calls; letters; emails; meetings; article writing etc.
- Set a schedule for following up. Nine times out of ten people fail to clinch a deal, get something agreed, change a person’s mind, because they don’t follow up!
- Come at it from several angles. If one direct approach doesn’t work think more laterally. Is there another way to achieve the result you want?
You may get no response to start with. If you do just step back and make sure you are happy you are following the right pitch and then get stuck in again. Its fine to get advice from others if you want to tweak your approach but beware getting dissuaded or distracted. In any industry, you need to be unique, stand out from the crowd, you need to shine and you can only do this with your own genuine well thought out ideas, not someone else’s. Stick with what your gut tells you is right to get to where you want to be and then, like a Jack Russell, clamp your teeth in and refuse to let go. Eventually the responses will start to come in.
How to avoid, avoiding…and persevere when you just don’t feel like it.
Persistence can be tiring. Pursuing a dream may become less than shiny and inspiring when you seem to be getting nowhere. If you find yourself distracted by answering emails, clearing out old cupboards, even cleaning the house rather than write that letter, stop and take a breath. Avoidance techniques are showing you that you are either scared to push forward, or bored by the whole process. If it is the former- go back and rethink why you are doing this? Tap back into the keep trying mentality that got you going in the first place. If it is boredom, then is this the right path? Yes, there are always part of any venture that can be tedious and you just must do those parts. However, if the whole direction you are now going in is boring- rethink the direction.
If as you move through this process you are continually assessing, you should have a clearer idea of whether this is going to work or not. There are many stories of people quitting just before they could have succeeded. An old one of these is the gold prospector–
The lesson from this that I take away is that success came to the man who had the right tools for the job and a big dose of persistence. Arm yourself with the tools for success- plan- assess- systemize and keep going.
One small caveat – stay realistic. If your dream or goal hasn’t happened after a goodly length of time and effort, then maybe it isn’t meant to be. In which case start again – come up with a new idea and begin the above process all over again. Don’t give up!