The business world at large demands projections, business plans, analysis of data and constant checking of figures - which area of our business should we concentrate on next, which country should we try to conquer next? A full time job in itself if we don't have people to help us out!
All of the above serve to keep us in either the past or the future. The present moment is fleeting and reflects what we have been doing in the past anyway - so why spend so much time analysing it? Surely, by looking at the present moment and where we are - not just in business, but in our lives - we have a pretty accurate yardstick of how we have been creating our lives to date.
Business is a Serious Business
Most businesses are run with the aim of making money - yes, I know - I'm stating the obvious! However, isn't it just this factor that takes the joy out of many businesses? A bit like a person who loves amateur dramatics, but when they decide to transfer over to the professional stage the joy dissipates because now their lifestyle depends on their success. There is a mantle of seriousness which now envelopes them and, except for a fortunate few, it's not fun anymore, but business.
This very seriousness is what ties people up in knots, makes them tense, stressed and out of touch with their intuition and guidance. There is too much fear of failure and thoughts of not having enough money to support themselves, needing to go back into work that they hate doing just to make ends meet and even the fear of people telling them 'I told you so!'
There are many layers to starting our own business. It's about making ourselves vulnerable because we can ultimately be rejected by the world and nobody wants what we have to offer. The ultimate rejection! It takes courage to take that leap of faith.
We have to be Passionate
Loving what we do is really the only way to have any chance of a successful business, and I'm not just talking about money. I'm sure all of us have had dealings with businesses which have been run delightfully - restaurants that serve the most delicious food for example. Then one day we visit our favourite restaurant and the food isn't quite as good, the service isn't quite as personal and, on enquiry, we find that the restaurant has changed hands. The passion and energy of the person/people that started it has gone and, unless the restaurant is taken over by people with equal passion, the customers are going to feel the difference. Is there ever the same level of passion shown for a business which is already a running concern versus one that has been built from scratch with blood, sweat and tears? I don't know, but I doubt it.
It is our energy which runs our business. We can have unlimited funds to throw at it, but unless we have passion for what we do that money is going to go down the drain, as potential customers will sense that we aren't in business for the love of it, but purely as a way of making as much money as we can, in as short a time as possible. We won't show up as people that they can trust!
Getting Things into Perspective
I think that it is imperative to focus on the present moment to stay sane in business. We can easily be forever looking at next month, next year or 5 years hence as to what our business should have achieved by then - along with that is all the pressure of trying to make that imaginary path an actual reality. If we have started a business with borrowed money, we also have the stress of having to report in on our successes or failures to meet financial deadlines. Our stress levels rise exponentially if we are in that situation!
The same as an artist will create a work of art or a piece of music, putting their heart and soul into it, and then tentatively release it into the world in the hope that someone out there will grasp its essence and understand what was in their heart at the time of composition. That is what it is like with our businesses - we put our hearts and souls into them and then hope that somebody, anybody, out there 'gets it' and will join us on our journey.
Ultimately, there are no guarantees that our businesses will be financially successful, but we can guarantee that they are emotionally successful on a day to day basis through following our intuition and doing what we love in each and every moment. Using this method will probably mean that projections fly out the window, as we can be lead down an entirely different path and our business could serve completely another purpose to the one we had originally envisaged. We could also be lead to change to another business, or travel another path - who knows. Life is full of surprises!
My point is that when we focus on the future and the money we feel we need to make (sometimes just for worldly validation), we often distance ourselves from the heart of our business, and the reason why we started it. Fear is what we feel when we imagine that we won't make self-imposed deadlines - again, it's often all about the money! Then our business suddenly becomes this massive thing which takes over all of our life, and we start to see it as the means of our ultimate glory or destruction - we see our whole lives depending on its success. Then the tables are turned - instead of us being the owner of our business, our business becomes the owner of our life!
I know people who don't run their own businesses who are working jobs that they absolutely hate, but they fear leaving or losing those jobs because they have tied their whole existence to them. They don't have enough faith in the Universe to provide for their needs, and transfer the power of the Universe to the company they are working for - making it the be all and end all! If they could just step away from their fears of destitution and homelessness, they would see that the company is merely a tool for the Universe to provide for their needs, and that they can change that and create a much more pleasant and worthwhile experience for themselves.
Similarly, if we can view our business as a tool the Universe has given us to either provide for our material needs and/or our emotional needs, that will help us to lighten up and enjoy the experience. However, if we see our business as our only means of survival, then it's like having a partner that we rely on to supply every aspect of our happiness! It just doesn't happen!
Conclusion
I believe that each of us has a unique path to follow and that we are only shown one step of that path at a time. The journey unfolds as we take the next step, and our mind-set and emotions are the keys to our final destination. If we move forward with joy and anticipation, then we find that in every moment. If we move forward with fear and trepidation, we similarly find that in every moment. We can choose to be a creator or a victim - the choice is ours. The good news is that we can change direction at any time - by living in the present moment and being grateful for what we have at that specific time. The more grateful we are, the more things we receive to make us even more grateful. I'm not saying anything new - a lot of people are talking about this and have been for many years. The thing is - it works!