I’ve been spending a lot of time on the highway lately, having driven to Charleston, New Orleans, and Atlanta in a four week span. A common occurrence is seeing cars on the side of the road and pieces of rubber strewn about.
Lesson: All tires will not endure the journey.
Now, let’s take that lesson and personalize it a bit, shall we? Let’s direct the journey to your dreams. We’ll say that you are the car and your diligence toward your dreams will be the tires. There are four types of tires:
- The flat tire: This car ain’t going nowhere! It has more excuses than a lil’ bit. I have kids, I can’t afford it, I don’t have time, I’m not as healthy as I used to be, I’m too old now, I’m too young, etc.
- The tire that needs air: This car is riding, but something just doesn’t feel right.
- The tire that has too much air: This tire is also riding, but the problem here is that everything feels right. You’re smooth-sailing. You got everything figured out. (Or so you think.) You failed to take the time to read, do your research, ask questions. You opted to take a shortcut instead of doing the ground work. You have no traction! You’ll soon encounter a slick road and run right into the ditch.
- The harmonized tire: This one keeps up with maintenance, gets them rotated regularly, checked the tires before they got on the road, read the instructions, and put just the right amount of air into all four tires. This car is good to go.
Now, which are you?
If you’re either flat or in need of air, then you probably want to know why. My first question is probably one that you might ask your kids. “You doing something you ain’t got no business doing?” Make sure that whatever you’re doing, or trying to do, that it’s in alignment with who you are.
Are you playing the game fair? Do you owe someone money and have yet to pay them back? Note: This includes banks/businesses. Are you copying/pasting someone else’s strategy? Are you jealous of another sister’s success? Pay ’em back or at least call them and work something out. Instead of “borrowing” someone else’s method, open your mouth and ask questions.
If you have too much air, then you need to backtrack. Take it back to the drawing board and do it the right way. Do your research. Who are your customers? What do they want? What’s your mission? Why should the customer come to you instead of your competitor? Map out a financial plan. Invest in yourself.
If you’re that harmonized wheel, then…you go girl!