My previous article, “Keepin’ It 100,” really hit a nerve with my readers. I had an outpouring of responses from folks who have been, or who are currently, in that exact situation. Some worked through it. Some trudged on. Some quit.
In this article, I’m going to reveal some of the things I worked on to turn myself around and embark on the journey to become the leader my employees and my business deserve. My goal is to help those who are struggling so that you don’t quit but, rather, thrive.
You might remember me telling you how I had experienced burnout. I had lost my “why.” I was spending all my time trying to manage the results of my business, and I had quit spending time thinking about why I was even in the business.
When a coach asked me why I was involved in MI, I couldn’t even remember. It took me a few minutes to recall why I had gotten into this in the first place. Then, it all started to come back to me, like a flood! I had gotten into it because I loved the gear and I loved the people. Playing music has given me my life, my family, my hobbies, my business and my friends. The coach asked how I could get back to that place…how I could lead my business using my refound motivation. I told him I had no idea. He said that was my first task.
For some of you, that might be easy; for me, however, it was hard. I was concerned that, if I spent my time focused on this ooey-gooey, touchy-feely stuff, the bottom line might suffer. And that could cause lasting damage to the business. Plus, it just felt phony. Doesn’t every business ultimately exist just to make money? It was such a struggle for me to come up with a way to be authentic to my passion, yet still grow the bottom line. I didn’t want to walk around belching rainbows only to turn into a monster as soon as cash got tight.