Two Business Lessons Learned From Traveling Alone

When I was a young adult I packed a bag, got in the car, and left home. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I had to go. Inside was a yearning to explore, to experience new things and say goodbye to the old.

I did not have a destination in mind when I started, I just wanted out of California. I know, most people travel to California for new experiences, but since I grew up here my dreams were always about leaving. My ideal places were Vermont and Montana.

Here’s the thing about youth, you are naive, you are idealistic, and you don’t see things as they are, but how you imagine them to be. The dangers of traveling alone did not really cross my mind (for the most part). At night I slept in my car at rest stops usually next to big rigs.

I washed up in restaurant restrooms and meals included whole wheat bread, peanut butter, and lots of water.

During my travels, I learned two things. Dreams are sometimes better left as dreams and wherever you go, you are there.

Lesson 1: Dreams Are Sometimes Better Left As Dreams

While traveling on the long barren roads of Montana, realities were forced upon my imaginations.

• Certain parts of Montana are ugly
• Things that happen in California happen in Montana
• Entertainment is NOT reality (A River Runs Through It)

In business, you start with a dream. You imagine things to go a certain way, but sometimes they go counter what you envision. You are faced with the choice of quitting, ignoring it, or altering your dream.

Which do you choose?

You can face the difficulty, abandon your dream, and close your business.

You can ignore the difficulty, continue on and be forced to close your business through bankruptcy.

Finally, you can alter your business (dream) and trek a new path.

I chose to abandon my dream. When I reached the state line I was extremely happy never to enter the state of my ‘dreams’ again.

Lesson 2: Wherever You Go, You Are There

I spent nearly 10-years chasing after this elusive something that I thought would finally make the vision in my head a reality. It didn’t happen. Do you know why? ME.

No matter my location, no matter who I was with, I and the way I dealt with life was there. During those years, I blamed many things:

• location
• people
• finances
• weight
• God
• looks
• timing

The only thing that changed permanently was my reactions to the circumstances in my life. “I” was the key ingredient. “I” needed to change before my reality changed.

How does all this relate to Business?

Entrepreneurs can be divided into two subgroups. The first group is successful and the second is unsuccessful.

The successful entrepreneur is one who can repeat the process over and over again, making a profit. The unsuccessful entrepreneur is a repeat starter and chronic quitter.

What makes one business successful and the other unsuccessful?

Technically many things, but for this example, I’m going to suggest it is the person. No matter what type of product or service is sold, if the chronic quitter is in charge, that business will not be profitable. This is because no matter what he tries, he (and his habits) are there.

So, what’s the solution?

Change the habits, get out of business, or have someone else run your business.

It’s been said that a successful business is run by systems NOT people. This means that no matter who is in the actual position of CEO doesn’t really matter. Can the systems you use in your business be repeated by others successfully? Maybe a better way to word this is, if you were to get injured and couldn’t work for 3-months, could your business still run? It could if you have systems in place.

Neil Patel of QuickSprout says of Systems:

If you’ve got a good procedure for what you offer, you don’t have to hire the best talent. You only have to hire competent and passionate people

P.S. If you want someone to handle the everyday tasks so you can close more deals click here.