Normal
0

false
false
false

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

These are very interesting times.  The world seems to be polarized -
truly feast or famine.  Businesses are going under and the cries of “the
economic crisis” ripple through the planet like waves ripple out when you drop
a rock in the water.  Fear, failure and the world’s obsession with
dramatic events blanket the airwaves.  It’s almost impossible to ignore.

But there’s something else going on - something nobody’s talking
about. 

On the other side of the fear and failure are people and organizations that
are experiencing massive success.  Reality television shows make instant
celebrities.  Business owners with “hot” ideas are growing faster than
they ever have before.  One in 8 couples are now meeting online. 

And they are getting crushed under the pressure of sudden success.

While most people think they want fame, fortune or something bigger, they
are wholly unprepared for the emotional, mental and physical skills they will
need to manage newfound success.  Celebrities deal with this all the
time.  The late Michael Jackson, undeniably the King of Pop (whether you
like him or not) lived a life of emotional trauma, lost youth and low
self-esteem.  Shia
LaBeouf: “I don’t handle fame well,” LaBeouf says. “Most actors on most days
don’t think they’re worthy. I have no idea where this insecurity comes from,
but it’s a God-sized hole. If I knew, I’d fill it, and I’d be on my
way.”  

Now you don’t have to be
a celebrity to experience the demands of sudden success.  Take the
business owner who suddenly finds himself or herself leading an organization
for which they are ill-equipped to run.  They lack the people skills, the
leadership skills and emotional intelligence to make things work
smoothly.  Working hours increase.  Productivity decreases.  Frustration
and overwhelm take over.  Anxiety becomes normal.  Then personal
criticism starts, which begins a never ending cycle of self-doubt and lowered
self-confidence.

It doesn’t have to be
that way.   Here are 5 things you must know if you are
experiencing sudden success in any area of your life.

1.  Sudden Success Brings out the Weirdos. 
When you become more visible in your company, publicly or even in your family,
weird things can happen.  It’s like the old story of the crabs in the pot
- whenever one crab almost reaches the top of the pot and newfound freedom, the
other crabs pull him back in to die.  Expect opportunities to arise,
communications to increase and watch out for people who want to use you or
ride your coattails.  You will need some trusted advisors to put together
a system to discern your good opportunities and weed out the dream
stealers. 

2.  You will need to learn emotional intelligence.  When
success demands more of you, it will demand more of your emotional energy as
well.  You will have days where you wonder if it’s all worth it, and begin
the cycle of self-defeat.  Don’t go there.  Likewise, you will need
to learn to manage your emotional state in every situation to be able to think
clearly and react appropriately to things coming at you fast.  People will
begin to judge you, have opinions about you, and that can make you feel bad if
they are negative.  With a high level of emotional intelligence, you will
understand that people’s opinions of you have nothing to do with you, and
everything to do with whatever they are experiencing at the time (if you don’t
understand this now, you will.  I’ll explain in another post about
perception).

3.  People skills become VERY important. 
Most people aren’t trained in understanding others’ personal style, filters, values
and perspective.  Therefore, communication breakdown occurs more often as
teams grow and you need more people around you to handle daily
activities.  It is imperative that you become a student of people and
behavior to be able to hire the right staff, understand their needs and get
people to their most productive level.  Once of the biggest mistakes
people make when hiring people to work for them is the “warm body”
approach.  They take a person with a certain skillset and try to make them
do a job they aren’t good at, and then wonder why it isn’t working. 
Proactive understanding of people matching to skillsets is a must.

4.  You MUST become a better leader. 
When more demands are placed on you as you grow, the general tendency is to be
like a rat in a cage, trying to run faster and faster on the wheel. Worry that
things won’t get done, anxiety over whether people are actually doing the work,
when will it get done cause many sleepless nights for fast-growing business
owners. 

Recently, I was hired by
a small business owner to help with this exact issue.  She was working
almost 20 hour days, losing sleep over details and she had people she wanted to
work with to build a team but didn’t know how.  We restructured her time,
I taught her communication and people skills, but most of all, I taught her how
to let go without losing control.  As a result, we engaged a team of 5
amazing people to help her.  She reclaimed 47 hours per month.
Doing things right, she hit ALL of her revenue goals within 30
days. 

I tell you this because
as a small business owner, you don’t always get to see what the big companies
do to develop their people.  Big companies spend millions on leadership
training, communication training and the like just to help people get along and
be more productive and have better performance overall.  Small business
owners struggle, not knowing that a different way is so close.

5.  You will learn to say “No”. 
Decision-making skills are imperative in helping you deal with success. 
Information, requests, communication will all increase, and your ability to say
no to time-wasters, distraction, guilt, frustration and overwhelm will become a
skill you’ll wish you had a long time ago.  Your goals will become more
clear, and so your ability to weed out potentially unproductive opportunities
will be heightened as you truly go to that next level.

While there are many
other things that go along with sudden success, these are some of the most
important.  When your focus turns inward to making yourself a better
leader, communicator, influencer and visionary, your entire world will
change.  Your success will be sweet, exciting and manageable.

To get started, download
the free audio program called The 13 Vital Traits of Super Effective People.  It
will open your eyes to getting started on the calm road of success.