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At a recent breakfast hosted by the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), former Wallaby captain John Eales explained the reason behind his new book, ‘Learning from Legends’, a collection of interviews with sporting greats who share their powerful stories of persistence through adversity, the ability to deal with pressure and maintain a balanced life.

500 corporate managers and business owners attended the breakfast for one simple reason – inspiration.

Through my consulting business I often work with clients in two very different stages of their business; ‘starting out and raring to go’ and ‘tried everything and losing steam’. It’s the latter who sat in the audience seeking motivation that morning.

Many small business owners I meet feel the initial excitement that inspired them to start their own business is waning. The business that was going to let them follow their passion, escape the rat race and take control of their lives ends up controlling them.

So what do you do when your business enthusiasm is fading? Seek inspiration from those who know what it’s like to work through the challenges and come out the other end on-top.
Business gurus and sporting inspirations alike offer three consistent pieces of advice that will help re-ignite the spark in you and your business and remind you why you started working for yourself in the first place.


Believe in yourself

Self-doubt is a crippling success factor. If you don’t believe in yourself then why should your customers, investors or even those supporting you in your business such as family and friends believe in you either?

Many clients say they start with a strong belief in their abilities and ideas but little by little their confidence erodes as things don’t go the way they planned.

Australian Netball Captain Liz Ellis says, “You’ve got to have a huge amount of belief in yourself to stand up when something goes wrong and make it right the next time you get an opportunity.”

Believing in yourself builds perseverance in times of adversity because you know in your heart of heart that you’re on the right track. You may fumble from time to time, but on the whole, you believe in the reason why you started your business in the first place and are willing to work through any challenges because you know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

If failure is causing your self-confidence to fade then the next piece of advice allows you to see ‘failure’ in a whole new light.


Understand that failure = success

If you think failure is a ‘bad’ thing, think again. Master of business reinvention and management guru Tom Peters believes failure = success and even encourages his large corporate clients to reward unsuccessful business attempts, “In the current Disruptive Age, we will – by definition – be screwing up far more frequently and far more embarrassingly than ever before. Enterprises that tolerate or even celebrate failure…that encourages the bold bid for greatness that fizzles or goes down in flames…will succeed.”

By no means is Peters suggesting you go down with the ship, instead he’s encouraging you to be bold, follow your passion and believe that what you’re doing is right for your business. If it’s not, you can always change the situation with another choice and learn from your mistake. The key, don’t wallow, as that will affect your confidence and the ability to make your next brave move.

Everybody is afraid of failing, so much so, that some would rather take no action at all in case they don’t succeed. But the fear itself is a barrier to your success. If you’re not happy with the way your business is going then you have to do something courageous. Remember, they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result – you need to take different steps to achieve a different result to the one you’re unhappy with.

One of my favourite quotes from Eales at the breakfast was, “It’s how you prepare when nothing matters which determines how well you’re prepared when everything matters.” And failure, learning from your mistakes, persistence and remembering why you started your business in the first place are all part of that preparation.


Be passionate and positive about your business and avoid ‘success strippers’

Passion is one of the primary reasons why people start their own business. It may be passion for an idea, money or achieving a more balanced life, there is always a motivator to why people create their own opportunity.

Passion is an excellent driver and necessary ingredient for success as it keeps you going when things get challenging. Do you think champion swimmers are passionate about getting up at 4am in the middle of winter to go training? Absolutely not, but it’s part of the process in achieving what they’re really passionate about – winning a gold medal, breaking a world record or improving on their personal best.

Being passionate and positive are two key ingredients to business success. Not only is it important to watch our thoughts to ensure they have a positive intent but we must also be mindful to avoid ‘success strippers’ who also inhibit success. I’m sure you know them, they’re the, “You can’t do that.” or “Why don’t you just get a ‘real’ job?” bunch.

Australian Cricket Coach John Buchanan acknowledged that in order for him to succeed he had to have the right attitude and the right people around him, “To actually get near my potential, I needed some other support around me, I needed people that properly understood me and helped me to understand myself better than what I did.” Would he have gained the success he did with ‘success strippers’ as his support network?

Author of number one ‘New York Times’ and ‘Wall Street Journal’ business book, ‘What Got You Here Won't Get You There’ Marshall Goldsmith states ‘Negativity, or “Let me explain why that won’t work” characteristics are major achievement inhibitors because people don’t want to be around negative people and that includes customers. He suggests monitoring your statements and thoughts as well as the attitudes of those around you to make sure you stay clear of “negatron” views and people who push you down instead of pull you up.

Remember, there is always light at the end of the tunnel and if you can’t see it, look to others for inspiration.