The waves never stop. Minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, and on and on forever and ever.
Although the waves vary in size, they never vary in consistency.
They vary in height and never in consistency.
The waves keep on rolling into shore; on and on they come, always consistent.
“I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and lows.” Drew Barrymore
Many of us get so busy in the doing, working in our business rather than on it, doing all the things that need to be done to keep everything ticking along. Yet we forget the actions that got us to where we are.
We overlook the fact that in order to continue growing and expanding we need to keep being consistent with those action. Otherwise everything we’ve achieved so far risks becoming unsustainable.
What are those in your business? What are the actions that need taken every day in order for your business to be sustainable?
You may have been networking, promoting and making sales consistently until you become so busy serving your clients, creating the products they’ve ordered or delivering their goods that you stopped doing all the things that attracted those clients to you in the first place.
Unless you’re consistently doing the things that have worked in the past you have no certainty that more clients will show up on your doorstep when you’re ready for them.
Consistency avoids the heady highs and the scary lows that can be a state of play for many businesses.
Do you struggle with being consistent? I know I have.
Sure, it’s easy to be consistent with things we enjoy. My daily beach walks happen regardless of anything else. For me they are blissful times for me to be; to be in the moment and enjoy, to reflect and plan, to pause amidst the busyness of life and take time out. At the same time, of course, I’m exercising.
What I also know to be true, is that I don’t function as well throughout the day if ever I miss my early morning walk. That knowledge also keeps me consistent when the weather is crappy or my bed is particularly inviting.
Attending the gym is something many of us struggle with. We purchase the membership and pay our fee regularly. But do you attend consistently? Lots of people find they benefit from also engaging a personal trainer to hold them accountable, to ensure they show up and do the exercise so they can achieve their fitness or health goal.
What about going to the dentist? We know we benefit from going. Yet I wonder if you would visit your dentist regularly unless they reminded you it was time to do so.
“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” Dwayne Johnson
Being consistent requires you, yes you dearest, to show up every day regardless of whether you feel like it and to do the things that you’ve decided you need to be consistent at to get the results you want. As an entrepreneur you get to decide what those things are for you.
Over the years, I’ve realized these are the super-important things you can do to be consistent so that your business keeps growing and flourishing without sacrificing you in the process. Here they are:
Know what you want
That sounds easy, right? Yet for you to be consistent no matter what knowing what you want and being committed to that is vital.
What is it that you’re committed to?
This requires you having certainty of your values, your vision, your mission, your purpose, your goals and your intentions. It requires you creating a firm foundation and reminding yourself of it every single day.
You can do this is a myriad of ways; yes, you get to choose this too! However, it’s essential that this becomes a daily habit.
Know what you’ve got to do
What are your daily must-dos? Those things that you need to do every single day regardless of anything else?
What are the actions you need to take every day to keep you focused on your mission and vision? What must you do every day to achieve your goals?
What I’ve discovered works best is knowing what your personal daily must-dos are, those non-negotiables that happen every day despite everything else. Your list could include exercise, journaling, affirmations, forgiveness, meditation and reading. These become an essential part of life and your self-care. Ideally, they happen whether it’s a work day or not.
Next, you’ll want to know what the daily must-dos in your business are. Here, your list could include connecting with clients present or past, posting on social media, making phone calls, writing emails to your list, creating content for either free or paid offerings, and speaking engagements.
Then, you’ll choose a maximum of three things that you’ll do that particular day. This list could include following up with the potential client you spoke with last week, attending a networking event, preparing a proposal, creating a new product or program, meeting with your team to discuss the project they’re working on, or training your new VA.
These actions done consistently will move the needle forward for you. When you’ve a busy day serving clients or full of meetings my advice is that you schedule your must-dos into your day wherever they fit. When they become non-negotiables that you’re committed to you’ll find you become consistent at them.
Get the support you need to succeed
On top of the above, the #1 secret to being consistent in your business is engaging external support.
Support that is outside of your home, family and business.
Support personally designed for YOU so that you are stronger and more effective.
I’m a firm believer that all of us entrepreneurs and business owners are more successful when we have three different layers of support present in our life. These have become my personal minimum standard to ensure my ongoing success and growth without sacrificing myself in the process.
Here’s my personal minimum standard list:
- Receive regular one-to-one coaching. With private, one-to-one coaching you’ll achieve more consistency, more success, more of everything than you ever would without it.
- Engage external accountability. Not accountability buddies. I mean real, objective accountability. When you engage me as your coach, you automatically are held accountable by me.
- Be in a mastermind. A mastermind is YOUR team – a conscious community of choice that comes together so that each member can achieve more, a small intimate group whose support is unquestioning.
Ensuring you have all three layers of support will transform your life and your business so that you can be consistent, achieve your goals AND have a life you love, without sacrificing you in the process.
Want some help becoming consistent? Let’s hop on a call and I’ll help shine a light on what’s really going on so you can better understand what you need to move forward.
