Have you ever considered the similarities between raising a child and being an entrepreneur?
Here’s four factors to consider in your entrepreneurial life and its similarities between raising a family and embracing a new leadership that can transform your challenges:
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Responsibility
When we bring a new child into this world, we don’t always realize at the outset, the magnitude of our decision.
We have stepped into a life-long commitment of being totally responsible for nurturing this new soul and creating a solid value based foundation for this child to learn from. We simultaneously, have to teach our child how to move from dependence to independence, by helping them to see their capabilities and showing them how to trust themselves.
This is a tricky balance, since at the outset this same child could not have survived without us, and one day he/she must! We have to make it safe for them to learn from their mistakes, and model self-forgiveness as we evolve and move along our life journey.
Similarly, in business our enterprise requires the same diligence and care. 24/7 care, whilst it is nurtured into being strong enough to run automatically, initially it is totally dependent on us, and our precise care and 100% commitment.
Our customers thrive in their experience with us, only if the service we provide is based on a solid foundation of values that consistently show they can:
- Trust us
- Receive outstanding delivery of service to fulfill their needs
- Be treated as a “first” priority on our agenda
- Have communication/connection that is always authentic and transparent
Our entrepreneurial venture asks us to be as responsible to it unconditionally, just as we would be naturally inclined to offer unconditionally to our offspring.
Maintaining functional family dynamics takes skill, and incorporates mutual trust for one another, transparent and authentic communication, just as is seen in the list that constitutes a great customer experience.
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Fear
Each new decision in our venture brings up doubt and fear.
What is the next step? Is it a risk too big or one that cannot be avoided? What if this doesn’t work out? What if we make a mistake? What if we don’t try, then what is at stake? How can we get past this roadblock? How can we expand? How can we optimize our finances?
The future is one big road of unknown realities, a road not traveled before. It brings both great days, tough days, and days of respite.
You see, just like when a child takes its first step, first school visit, first adventure alone, we are filled with doubts, worry, fears of the unknown. The doubts are the same. We might try to control the circumstances to minimize our uncertainties but the more we control, the greater we stifle creativity, freedom and a flowing relationship with our children.
Similarly, we cannot control anything in our entrepreneurial life either.
We can only experiment, and through trying, and living through the experience, we learn, adjust and fine-tune our way into success.If we tried to cap our initiatives, we would not have the thrill and joy that comes from creating new ideas, and if we force products to come to market with great attachment, we lose out on the joy that comes from expansion and growth, when we are being guided to take a u-turn.
Facing the unknown as an experience of mystery and wonder, instead of fear and control is key to attaining a competent and effective perspective on our life journey.
Courage is needed in all decisions, as risk taking comes with the territory of facing the unknown, but this courage needs to come with a dose of excitement to await what is around the corner and about to be revealed by the unknown!
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Motivation
Some days we are energized, some we are sick. Throughout we cannot simply check out and decide that we are taking a day off from raising our child! Even if we need desperate rest, we always need someone else to step in to babysit if our offspring are small.
The same is true of our entrepreneurial venture…it has to be baby-sat. If we need to take a break, we can feel challenged to know how to safely “switch off” at the necessary times.
We have to be self- motivated to keep our vision alive whilst it slowly manifests into reality! Whatever the challenges, we have to show up with enthusiasm.
Self-motivation is key to success in business and at home. In each, deadlines truly help to keep our juices focused.
For example, a new customer pitch requires much effort to prepare for in a professional manner. This is much the same as your child preparing and practicing to try out for a new school team sport. The child knows without motivation, participation and performance might be curtailed. In our business, without consistently high self-motivation to keep the reasons behind our vision in the forefront of our mind, the venture simply cannot thrive.
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New Leadership
As events arise that are outside our daily control, and surface from the unknown, we are being asked to contemplate on a significant question. How do we lead effectively, so that we might enjoy an entrepreneurial venture and not filled with debilitating stressful doubt and worry about the unknown?
Most of us know that our attempts to control are futile, and yet we often struggle to surrender to what is flowing into our life, often confusing this idea with weakness.
We can become emotionally challenged because we instinctively are programmed to attempt to “fix” the problems. We get laden with anxiety, worry and stress in this process, without recognition of the bigger picture.
If more of us had been educated to understand that we are being called to transform these problems instead of fixing them, we would know how to “handle” challenges without internal angst, and a new form of leadership would be born.
Instead of accepting anxiety, stress and worry as a normal way of living, we would immediately recognize that these signs indicate we are on the wrong course!
In much the same way, arguments, anger, tears in the home-place are signs to indicate that something is ready to be addressed, transformed and irrevocably shed. We would know that we are being called to lead in a different way to the old status quo.
This new leadership is an invitation to transform our problems, gives us a chance to understand them without resistance, and helps us to learn from them.
With this type of leadership, we can evolve into greater joy and creativity, and in the process we get to shed all sight of unconscious patterns that have held us back previously.
Our personality also modifies during this type of leadership, into a more emotionally intelligent version that can now support us into greater success and simultaneously only benefit our fellow counterparts in life too!
This type of new leadership is extremely liberating and uplifting, improves relationships into greater unity, but also the “old challenges” simply fall away, as we embrace this new version of ourselves.
Doubt, worry, stress, and fears simply vanish. For this way of being, we first must change the direction of our attention. We have to be willing and keen to change our internal state and recognize that we are responsible for it, and on-one else can be.
If we are worried, anxious, fearful etc, we have “work” to do, so that these traits can be eliminated, and instead we can grow and learn how to embody peace calm and tranquility that radiates joy, and no lack at all times.
This type of leadership is very easily possible using practical tools such as the Self Healing/Empowering Dalian Method.
About the Author, Kindi Gill ACA
Kindi is a former CEO who offers Self-Awareness Executive Coaching, teaches principles of Consciousness and specializes in Change & Mental Health as a Professional Speaker.
Kindi has been a student of the Dalian School for Health and Consciousness and is a Facilitator of the Self Healing Dalian Method, an evolutionary tool for Transformation. Kindi has shared this system with hundreds of people, since founding Spark Expansion Consulting in 2015, and without fail, adults, teenagers and children delight in their changes.
Call Kindi at 778-558-5110 for help in getting your business and personal life back on track to achieve its natural full potential or visit www.www.InwardLeadership.com for her free leadership report.
