Last weekend we went camping with the kids, and their favourite part of the trip was a visit to the amusement park and our time spent on a roller coaster there.
That got me thinking:
Business is a lot like a roller coaster. Especially the coaching business!
I’m not the first to make the comparison (Darren Hardy wrote a great book around the theme called The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster), but it bears repeating.
When the idea of riding The Cyclone was first brought up, I was hesitant. I used to go on a lot of rides when I was younger, but in recent years it’s been limited to the Tilt-a-Whirl and lesser rides.
I was going to decline the kids’ invitation and be a spectator – the guy with the iPhone recording the action from the ground.
But as I watched others enjoying the ride, I started to get the itch. And I didn’t want to get back home and regret “wimping out”.
So I told the kids that I would take them on, and we ended up going several times.
The lessons learned:
-> If you don’t take chances, you’ll regret it (especially when you see others benefiting from those same chances)
-> Things get easier the more you do them. I was a little nervous the first time I hit a big drop on the coaster – but after a few times, I wanted to keep going.
-> There will be ups and downs in business. People will jerk you around, clients will leave, and you’ll have days when you feel like quitting. Best to accept that and carry on with what you have to do.
-> If others can do it, you can too. The thing that pushed me over the edge and on the coaster was seeing some kids who were 7 or 8 years old on it. I thought “If they can do it, I can too”. Take a look around and see the entrepreneurs who are succeeding … they’re nothing special and they’re proof that you can do it too.
-> It’s more fun if you bring others along for the ride. Riding it with our two youngsters was a lot of fun, since I could feel their excitement. The same goes for business – it would be pretty boring if you’re just doing it by yourself.
Right now you might be looking up at the coaching roller coaster, thinking “I can’t do this”.
You can. Just get in line and join the ride.
If you want to be with others who are riding “The Coaching Roller Coaster”, check out my 10 Clients In 90 Days group program. The next one starts the week of August 7th, and we have an opening at the moment:
