I recently read an article by Danielle Laporte: THE secret to success. This is IT. For reals.
It says doing what you say you’re going to do is the secret to success and I couldn’t agree with her more. Not only will you claim your personal power, you will develop relationships built on trust, respect and integrity. More importantly, you will challenge others to step up their game, especially when doing business with you.
It’s a simple concept but one that surprisingly is difficult to implement. It seems in the effort to please, many of us, especially as business owners, agree to take on things we think we should because we are afraid of what might happen if we say no.
We agree to take on things we don’t have time for or just don’t want to take on. And what happens when we do? We never get to it because our to do list is already too long or we simply forget.
What does it say about us as a person when we forget or fail to follow through? It says we don’t care. It says helping you isn’t important enough or that you just don’t matter. And that’s not cool.
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” -Stephen Covey
So what can you do? Well, you can think about the automatic “yes” before it escapes into reality. If you are anything like me, then your days are full. So in order for me to say yes to something, I have to find something else I can say no to. If I can’t find something to say no to or if I just plain don’t want to do it, then you might hear:
“I’m sorry that isn’t going to work with my schedule right now.”
Finding a way to bow out gracefully used to be a challenge until I found that one simple phrase. It’s simple, to the point and it isn’t about the other person, the task or me. It’s about my schedule and everyone understands an over-scheduled life.
Going forward, stop and think before your next automatic yes. Is this something you realistically have time for? Is it something you really want to do? Does it feel right to say yes or does it feel more right to say no? If the answers are yes, then what else will you be saying no to?
Kim Yuhl is the creator of Secrets of Better Business, an online training program with proven and actionable content plus resources, support, guidance and community. Designed specifically for the small business owner, this program addresses both the mindset and the business acumen needed to run a successful small business.
