Top 10 Reasons for Failure - #10 "Thinking You Know Everything"

 

 Here’s a checkup for you to see if this applies to you or not.  Some of you are convinced right in this moment there is no way this is you. That means there is even a higher chance it is!  One of the biggest symptoms is dismissing an idea immediately.  So you should keep reading.

Symptoms of the Know It All:

Arguing

Defensiveness

Doing the same things over and over expecting a different result

Disrespecting other people …..sounds like (is) gossip

Not reading
Not seeking advice/trying to figure it out on your own

Now there are a few items in this list that
are not catastrophic, only because they are faults that can be corrected easily and quickly…but only if you are open minded to looking.  That’s the catch.  

Someone who is in this category won’t be open-minded as a habit.  It will take a little something to start looking and being honest with yourself.  Staystarted.com will address some of the ways you can go about changing this when it is launched.  Stay tuned.

My initial response to a person I might have believed was criticizing me was often not ideal.  I used to argue, was defensive, and...ugh...even gossiped at times.  There was a time in my past, much younger version of myself, that these were automatic behaviors and I didn’t even recognize that I was doing them.  

As I continued to develop myself and grow into the person I wanted to become, it involved taking hard looks at myself.  I began to see some of my responses for what they really were – not cool and certainly stifling to my small business.  The more I practiced this - in the environments that I sought out as ones that I could change and thrive in - the people who I chose as mentors were straight with me.  It wasn’t fun at all.  

I had a rude awakening and didn’t like myself much for the way I spoke to people sometimes and the responses that seemed to be inherent in my personality.  There were suddenly so many things I needed to fix.  The desire to change took a bit of time to get to, but the choice to change directions was then immediate.   


              The desire to change took a bit of time to get to, but the choice to change 
              directions was then immediate.   

I am still not free of the arguing, defensiveness, and disrespect – I’m human.  Are they more seldom?  Yes, by far.  Are they quieter?  Yes, sometimes they only occur to me and don’t come flying out of my mouth like they used to.  I also found that when I do the auto-response thing, I see it so much sooner and can change course on the fly and back track, even letting the person know in the same conversation that I am open to what they have to say. And the bonus is that I'm being honest.

Work on yourself.  I like to be right, and boy do I love the rare occasions when my husband says “You’re right.” But ultimately the undistinguished persistence of close-mindedness will take you down, the business down, and impact everyone around you in a negative way.  I know that's not what you want.

The other three things on the list: reading, seeking advice, and doing the same things over again expecting different results are the curious ones.  I really have never come to understand why these are difficult for people to do.  When I started my business part time in the finance industry, I was in my 20’s and still working for an architect.  I was clear I didnt know what I was doing!  I have seen hundreds of people in a similar circumstance (trained and experienced in one particular field and wanting to change to another) continue to believe they know a better way to go about their new business than others that had already been successful before them!  Ridiculous.

Follow the instructions of your mentors and trainers that are willing to work with you.  Remember to choose ones who are successful and who you want to emulate.  Do this with impeccability.  When a book is recommended – read that book immediately.   Show up earlier and stay later than your competitors and piers.  You won't love all of it.  Just get clear with yourself if you are willing to do what it takes to get what you want.  


       Get clear with yourself if you are willing to do what it takes to get what you want.  


To be quite frank, I was afraid to do anything outside of what they were saying for fear of failure.  So although I have a huge ego (as most) and it showed as I described earlier in this post, deep down I did not want to call the shots.  There was a time in the future that this stopped working, but I have to say it was what really caused me to explode my business in the early years.  

Bottom Line?  Read, read, read……learn, learn, learn.  Get as much as you can get, as often and as fast as you can get it, barring it doesn’t interfere with the actual productivity of your new business.  

Spend an hour a day on self-development.  If this is what is hindering you it is time to turn over a new leaf.  Raise your value to the community in a way that they will need you and your services, at the same time you are improving how you deliver it to them.  Do this always, and you will StayStarted by staying new!   

Let me know what book, class or material made the biggest difference for you in your career or business!