If you are a high achiever, it is highly likely that you fall into the trap of doing too much at once when embarking on a new venture. This will often lead to overwhelm or even burnout and leave you demotivated and ready to throw in the towel. The suggestion that you don’t run before you can walk advocates the merits of starting small and building a strong foundation before jumping too far ahead.
I have fallen foul to this myself. When I started my physical therapy business in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, I was struggling to secure new clients. I had so much to offer and was marketing far and wide. I was posting on social media, vlogging and speaking at live events all over the country. I even did a TEDx Talk to grow my international audience. Despite my best efforts it wasn’t having the desired effect.
It was at a particularly low point that my partner made a suggestion. He calmly said, “Instead of trying to save the world, why don’t you start with Bromsgrove?”. It was so simple and yet so incredibly profound that it would change the course of my business forever. The minute I focused on building local awareness, I began getting new clients who were quick to refer family and friends.
By starting small (geographically) my client base grew from those just a few miles away to people regularly travelling up to an hour to come for treatments. I even have clients from as far as Australia. I was guilty of trying to run before I could walk and the minute I focused on where I was, as opposed to where I wanted to be, I achieved more than I ever could have imagined.
When you begin anything, it's so very important to do things in the correct order. You wouldn't attempt to put a roof on a house without building the walls first and you wouldn't begin building the walls until you had strong foundations in place. If you want to be productive and achieve what you want, then you have to focus on the job in hand. Doing one thing at a time and completing tasks in turn, makes progress.
All any of us have is now; the present. The future is completely unpredictable and can result in a great deal of stress trying to guess how things will turn out. Focusing too much on the end goal can be overwhelming and ultimately unproductive. You need a clear path to follow. It’s important to have vision but those who insist on running before they can walk are more likely to trip and fall than those who choose to start small. Remember, “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow”.
Comments