Get out of your comfort zone – 100 storeys up.
What’s the parallel between hanging off a skyscraper 1,100 feet in the air and running a business? It’s something I thought about while dangling over the Las Vegas strip recently off the edge of the tallest freestanding observation tower in the US – The Stratosphere.
So, what made me do it?
I wasn’t suspended in mid-air 100 storeys up because I thought it was a good idea – it’s not really my kind of thing. Despite the fact that being so high up is a pretty scary thing for me, I decided to go on the X-Scream ride, which shoots you over the edge at high speed and then dangles you there.
For me it was all about getting out of my comfort zone and seeing what happened, and if I could overcome my fear.
As a business owner, how often do you do that? And what are you missing out on if you don’t?
It’s natural to want to be comfortable, to do the things we know how to do. But what happens when the market place leaves you behind and doing what you’ve always done is no longer good enough?
It’s not just about the ‘comfort zone’…
Some people talk about a comfort zone and a wider stretch zone – I’ve also heard it called a growth zone and that’s how I prefer to think about it.
When you’re not comfortable you’re in your growth zone and are inevitably striving for more, challenging yourself and your thinking.
Your growth zone is where personal development happens – and that’s what makes great business leaders and delivers strong results.
Market leaders don’t get to that position or, critically, stay there because they play it safe. They get there because they continually strive for more and to do it better than everybody else. Yet too many small businesses are drifting, banking on continuing to be successful by just repeating what they’ve always done. This is why 50% fail within four years.
As a business owner, pushing yourself into your growth zone could mean you keeping on top of the latest technology, learning a new skill, getting rid of the saboteurs in your business (more on that in a future blog) or calling up that potential client who you’ve not heard from.
How does this impact your business?
What have you done this week that made you uncomfortable? Was it really so bad? And what did you gain as a result?
Discomfort is good, because the more you do whatever it is that makes you uncomfortable, the more comfortable you get with that task or skill. Eventually you add that skill to your now-expanded comfort zone and you can then reach further, being even more ambitious and achieving more than you ever thought possible.
Take away message…
Pushing yourself into your growth zone is the corner-stone of personal development and something practised by successful business leaders around the world. One of my favourite quotes that rings true every day is:
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.”
I’m not suggesting you hang yourself 1,000 feet off the edge of a skyscraper, but what are you going to do this week that you’re afraid of?
For many business owners, one of the key things they’re afraid of is letting go. This often means being a control freak and not outsourcing the elements of their business that they shouldn’t be doing, are not good at and would prefer not to be doing.
Making the decision to stop being a control freak and outsourcing these to an expert is often the first step in building a dream team that frees you up to do more of what you love in line with your purpose.
Developing a dream team is one of the essential building blocks to running a successful business. If you are working too many hours or are frustrated about any element of your team, it’s time to take action.
Access our tool here to get started: www.tendo-uk.com/dreamteam
