Start, Run, Grow, Sell

The Official Opening Of A New Business

Walking into my new laboratory for the first time after being officially opened was a thrill of a lifetime.  It's one thing to walk into a new facility and enjoy how it feels, looks, and smells.  It's also a thrill if you had a part in its design and implementation. But I realized that I was in a very small club of people, especially in medicine, that didn't just design the facility. Or oversee it's creation. Or the formulation of the underlying business and company. Or manage the financing. Or create a business plan. Or hire the staff. Or formulate sales and marketing.  Any one of those items can be immensely gratifying, yet at that moment when I walked into my laboratory for the first morning of work...I realized that I had worn, and would continue to wear, all of those hats.  

Doing It All ... Is Gratifying

It wasn't until many years later when I realized the rareness of what I had done when it was pointed out to me by a friend Mick.  While on the phone, discussing some issues that I needed some advice about regarding the sale of that laboratory, he said something that I have never forgotten.  "Steve, you don't realize that you are in a very small club of people who have started, run, grown, and then sold a business.  Not very many people have done that...". 

Those words hit me, and to this day continue to inspire me to continue to do more.  Having done something of that magnitude allows me the confidence to know that I can do more.  To achieve what I commit to and plan for.  It's part of the inspiration for Fall Forward, a program that I have developed for personal development.  

So what is the teaching point of this post?

Simple. 

Before The Success, There Is A Lot Of Work And Headache

What you didn't see what the heartache, headache, and consternation that was necessary to achieve that success.  Some may think it was easy. Some may think that I was "playing business". But the joke is on them.  After all of that work, doubt, sweat, tears, and exhaustion, it was successful.  

The lesson is this:  There are not any overnight successes.  There isn't a knight in shining armor.  There isn't any lucky star.  

What there is are long hours of work. Dedication. Frustration. And emotional drain.  There are days, weeks, months, and years that people spend to get to that one night that is their "overnight" success.  There are countless people to network with, develop relationships with, and to provide reciprocal support to, before that "knight in shining armor" appears.  And as for luck ... I will quote another friend of mine, Frank, who built and sold several successful tech businesses, "Steve, I work VERY HARD at my luck."

How Can YOU Be Successful?

Short story is this:  For every success that you see, there is an enormous effort and countless resources that have been invested in that success.  If you are struggling now, don't worry.  We all have been there.  I would like to say it's your ticket to the show, but I can't.  Working hard might get you that ticket, but there is no guarantee, except this:  If you don't try. If you don't put out the effort. If you don't commit. If you don't plan. If you don't do these things, you simply will never achieve success. 

Oh, and one last thing:  If you don't start...and take the journey to the end, you will never reach your destination.

 What is your destination?  Are you willing to do the work and investment to make it happen? Are you willing to start? If not, are you really committed to that goal? Or are you just wishing?

 Learn more about the FallForward program at FallFoward.io 

Physicians...It's time you learned how to create your future by making your goals and dreams to the reality that you desire.  Join us at FallForward.io