On your way to becoming a success magnet, it is important to know what your strengths are and to use them. At the same time, it is just as important to know what your weaknesses are. Once you can recognize and accept your more undeveloped aspects, you can work on them, get help for them and/or have others compensate for you.
One way to look at your weaknesses (and strengths) is by examining your character traits. Possibly you are known to be kind and compassionate but maybe not assertive enough. This is the case of a business owner I am working with who is ready to expand his business and let others do some of the work he has been doing. However, when a customer complains, he immediately acquiesces and does the “grunt work” himself. This is a block to getting his business up to the next level. He needs to learn that very important 2 letter word-NO! Or possibly you are very goal oriented but impatient. Impatience can be detrimental because many successful ventures take time and need lots of tending. A person with not enough patience could sabotage the potential of certain projects or dreams. He could also alienate others and sabotage himself by damaging relationships. Other character traits (or the lack of) to examine are courage, persistence, confidence, self-acceptance, flexibility, integrity, honesty, sociability and calmness.
Another way of conceptualizing your weaknesses and strengths specifically as a business owner is explained in the book, “The E-Myth Revisited,” by Michael E. Gerber. He says that in order for a business to be successful, the business owner needs to be the Technician, Entrepreneur AND Manager. The Technician, which most entrepreneurs start out as, is the part of the person that does the job. For example, as a business coach, I spend time with people coaching them. The Entrepreneur deals with the future, the possibilities and the vision of how he wants his business and life to be. Writing a business plan, writing this article, and networking with others are ways I express my “internal entrepreneur.” The Manager is pragmatic. He is the organizer, the planner, handles past accounts and writes reports. What is your weakest link of the three? Mine is definitely the manager. Being aware of that, I need to set aside time to do those things, otherwise, I will probably conveniently “forget about it.” Also, I may need to surround myself with people that have a strong managerial personality to make up for my relatively weaker managerial personality.
Accepting and working on your weakest links is a powerful key to attracting success. You can count on and flaunt your strengths to get you noticed and be competitive. However, avoiding working on your weaknesses would eventually limit your ability to share those gifts and strengths with prospective customers. Focus on strengthening your weak areas and watch how effortlessly and naturally your strengths will lead you to increased success.
We are all defined in a sense by our fears. Our fear is our stopping point which I like to call our edge. We need to embrace our edge, that place where we are afraid to go further. We all have fears and should not pretend that we don’t. For example, I am a psychotherapist who has expanded into being a business consultant and speaker as well. At one point, the idea of going into businesses to help them with team building, employee motivation, etc. immediately put me on my edge. It brought up fear and self doubt. Next, I had to lean beyond my edge and develop the materials and make the contacts to make that happen. Another edge was raising my speaking fees (even though a part of me was gulping and fearing that I raised myself right out of an opportunity!) When on your edge, you are more visible; with more potential for success and failure. There is the feeling of being on an adventure and it is a time of welcoming the unknown.
Our relationships provide many opportunities for developing a breakthrough lifestyle. I challenged a client of mine, who was always the “good child” and never made waves, to enter a family party “high-fiving” everybody in attendance. Most of the family members enjoyed her grand entrance and the few that became concerned by this change in behavior was reassured by my client that she was “just fine.” I challenge my couples to spend time looking into each other’s eyes and a myriad of other behaviors that tear down walls and put the relationship on its edge. Intimate relationships are adventures that are truly not meant for the feint of heart. Successful relating at work also involves a degree of risk and experimenting with new behaviors and perceptions.
Challenge yourself to find and lean over your edge every day. Ask yourself, what am I afraid to reveal about myself or express or do? Find appropriate ways to take that leap. The more you do it, the more success, joy and fulfillment you will have.
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