There are so many awesome things about living in today’s fast-paced world. You can get a delicious meal delivered to your doorstep in less than an hour, Google will answer any question under the sun in seconds, and you can literally be on the other side of the world in less than 24 hours if you choose to. (Well, in non-pandemic times, at least!)
And growing a business? Scroll through social media, and you would think it’s simple to blow up and be hugely successful in less time than it takes for your online grocery order to arrive!
But here’s the thing. While instant noodles and Instagram are real, instant success is a bunch of shit.
Good things take time, so if you are giving yourself a hard time for not blowing up yet, here’s why you need to stop!
Behind Business Success: Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day, Neither Was Your Biz
Overnight Success Is A Myth
You have probably seen the targeted ads that pop up on Facebook or Instagram. You know, the ones where someone claims to have made it big overnight and can help you do the same in a week or a month.
Don’t buy it, sister – figuratively or literally!
These people are trying to cash in on your desire to be successful without working your ass off for it. They may get rich, but it will be by selling genuine people like you fake dreams, not by using some fast-tracked magical business model.
Okay, there may be the odd case where someone struck it lucky and made it big with minimal effort, but they are a statistical anomaly. In reality, you have got more chance of winning the lottery.
The Real World
I dare you to Google someone who you think was an overnight success and read their backstory. More likely than not, they rose from obscurity to fame in a rocket-like fashion. But before that, there were likely years or even decades of hard work, patience, commitment, consistency, and yes – even failure!
How many times did JK Rowling hear the word no before Harry Potter got a yes? How many songs did Gaga write for other people before she became the Lady? And you think Beyonce is famous just because she’s gorgeous with a great voice? No, she’s one of the hardest working women in the industry, and she fought for every last piece of success that she got.
The take-home message is this:
Don’t believe everything you see or read on social media. Every shiny success story has a far less exciting prequel!
Is Your Impatience Holding You Back?
Everyone loves a good life-hack – how to make your hair shinier, how to make your avocados last longer, how to be more productive…
So, here’s my fail-safe hack to grow your biz.
Work your ass off, show up every day.
Giving up is the quickest and easiest way to fail. So many of us give up before our creations have even had a chance to come into their own, simply because success didn’t happen fast enough.
If you get too wrapped up in the dream of becoming an overnight success, you are going to miss out on all the juicy, authentic parts of actually building a profitable business.
Why Showing Up Is The Key
Think of the metaphor of an enormous tree.
The part you can see – the trunks, branches and leaves – is impressive. But there’s no way that tree could have become so tall, so broad, and so beautiful without the parts you can’t see – the roots.
Before that tree can flourish above ground, it needs a complex and stable root system to support it.
That’s your biz, babe. Keep showing up every day, water that seed, talk to it, fertilise it, protect it from the sun, and don’t get frustrated when it takes a while to burst through – those roots are just getting ready to support the fruits that are yet to come.
Real overnight success comes from thousands of nights, so don’t fall in love with the false dream. Fall in love with the long game and keep showing up, even when it’s hard.
And, if you need some support in your business journey, I would love to help you water and nurture your biz. Rome wasn’t built in a day and it certainly wasn’t built by one person. So, let’s build an empire together! Book a discovery call with me today to see how we could build your business together.
