An exceptional business consultant, advisor, mentor or partner provides clear, concise guidance that is easy to understand and employ in a business operation. Whether it be a calculator, a manual, or a consultant, the best business tool is one that is easy to understand and effective when it’s put to work. The first question a consultant asks is always, what’s the problem? They may ask, “what’s the issue,” or, “what’s the problem,” or “how can we help?” Whatever way it’s worded, they are attempting to identify the thing that needs to be repaired, improved or perfected. This is true regardless of whether the client is an individual, a company, corporation or a charitable organization. If you want to solve a problem, you need to understand the problem.
I submit, the most prevalent problem in life and business is fear. We are all afraid. We are afraid we are going to offend somebody. We are afraid we are going to lose a customer or a deal. We are afraid our ideas will not succeed. We are afraid that something we say will be misunderstood or that if we say what we are thinking, we will be rejected. We are afraid that if we take a risk and lose, it will be too costly or we will be declared “a failure.” We are afraid that if we try something new, outside the norm, we will be ridiculed if it doesn’t work. All fear, in one way or another, is rooted in the fear that we are going to fail.
Fear stymies all of us at one time or another. No kidding. We hesitate, doubt, question or just freeze up when we are afraid, because nobody likes to fail. Although, there are individuals who fail so often, and so repeatedly, one wonders if it is intentional. It might be. We as humans reconcile our reality with our subconscious perception of ourselves, of who we are. If we truly believe we are successful, we succeed. If deep down, we think we are losers, we lose. If we love ourselves, people love us. If we hate ourselves, well, as they say, “we don’t feel the love.” Whether it be to reconcile our reality with a subconscious belief that we are winners or the alternative, losers, we work hard to accomplish reconciliation. I know people who expend immense amounts of time and energy to fail and I know people who expend immense amounts of time and energy to succeed. I am not of the opinion that succeeding requires more work than failing. Just talk to a failure. I’ve never heard anybody say, “I failed but it was easy.” On the other hand, when describing their success, I’ve heard a lot of successful people say, “it was fun,” or “it was easy,” or “I loved it.” usually followed with, “looking back,” or, “actually,” or (with a big shit-eating grin) “I’m not sure how it happened. It just happened.”
A side note. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. Walt Disney and Ray Kroc had the same amount of time in their days as everybody else in the world. They were not granted one second more than anybody else. They were fabulously successful even though they were subject to the exact same time constraints as the rest of the inhabitants in the world.
Back to fear. Take a moment to consider what it would be like to operate your life without fear? Now, mind you, fear comes in many forms and degrees. You might be fearful or avoiding working out because of how you look or the pain you are going to endure if you hit the YMCA. You might be fearful of how your boss is going to react if you ask for a raise. You might be fearful of how an employee who is disappointing you will react if you tell them of your disappointment, or that they are fired. You might be fearful of taking a business risk or a new job because you might fail or might not be cut out for the new job. Now, imagine a life without fear. Imagine a life where all of your choices and decisions are made objectively without a fear of failure, rejection or disappointment. Imagine a life where, without any significant hesitation, you speak to all people honestly and without fear, telling them what is sometimes referred to as the hard truth and being able to so without being nervous, hesitant or fearful. Now, imagine if you had a team of consultants who could offer you the opportunity to manage your life and enterprise without fear.
The Holy Trinity is this team of consultants. It is said, at least thirty-three times, in the Bible. Here are some of them:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” ~ Joshua 1:9
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” ~ Deuteronomy 31:6
“The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper.” ~ Psalm 118:6-7
“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.” ~ 1 Peter 3:14
“’For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” ~ Isaiah 41:13-14
And the stand-by that we all know, or should know, the 23rd Psalm.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” ~ Psalm 23:4
Now, you can write this off as silly Bible banging non-sense. You would be incorrect. You can assert that all Christians are not successes. On this one, you would be correct. I’m a Christian and I’ve personally considered myself far from a success (a failure) on more than one occasion, actually, thousands of occasions if I were to make an honest estimate. But success in the classic sense isn’t really the point of all this. And what is success anyway? I have a friend who rubs elbows with a disproportionate number of wealthy people. He claims he has never met a more miserable collection of characters. Money doesn’t buy happiness is an accurate cliché. Barack Obama, two months older than me and from Chicago, like me, made it to the White House. Every year of his administration I spent at least forty-five days skiing, fishing or hunting with my children, probably more. In terms of quality of life, I’m going to say I beat him, but that’s not the point of the comparison. I was making it to demonstrate that success isn’t measured exclusively by titles, job descriptions and bank accounts. Everybody should find their own definition of success and be without regret or apology for reveling in it. It’s a lot easier to do if you’re operating without anxiety, fear and worry. And, if you have faith, if you believe in the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (I like Holy Ghost), then the ability to do so is just sitting there for the taking. It is being offered to all of us. Again, it is there for the taking.
So, my Reetzality for today is to listen to God and shed your fear. Take some time to ask yourself, if I had a magic wand, who, where and what would I be? Write it down. Then, pick up a Bible or just read the passages above and start becoming who you want to be. It may not be easy. It may not be quick. It might not even happen, but, without fear, you will be able to enjoy the challenge of the journey a lot more. You will have a lot more peace in your heart.
Thomas Watson, Jr., the second president of IBM said, “if you want to increase your rate of success, double your failure rate.” To me, that sounds like a man without fear. Try it out for yourself. Have faith and go succeed, having the courage to define it as you chose. I need to share a few more verses for inspiration. I’ll be succinct.
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26
“And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me, Says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14
We are the children of God. That’s the point of the verses. Next point. God wants us to triumph.
The God who loves me will help me; God will enable me to triumph over my enemies. Psalm 59:10
The wrap up point. We are God’s children and he wants us to triumph. Of course, he does. Is there any better joy than watching your children succeed and triumph? I haven’t found one. So, one more time, shed your fear and go out and triumph. You’ve got the best business consultants and life coaches in the universes offering their services for free if you accept them. I’m serious about this. Trust me and give it a try.
That’s my Reetzality for the Day. Thanks for the read.
Brett Reetz
One Response
Thanks. I needed that.