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Head Down, Nose to the Grind: (Business) Dreams Are Made Of This

Never forget that business dreams are made of these practical business lessons.

It comes easier for some … more so than others, but nevertheless it is necessary. I’m referring to the tactics behind every big dream. Head down-focus, nose to the grind-execution, this is what business dreams are truly made of. So while you’re plotting world domination remember: the abstract must be made plain. Your vision must have wheels. Your dreams will require you to plan, execute, rework, rinse and repeat.

Along the way, don’t forget that business dreams are made of these practical business lessons:

 

1. Preparation is never time wasted.

Much of the behind-the-scenes work that molds entrepreneurs is lost on spectators that gaze in awe of finished projects. But we recognize that no great idea is feasible without relentless execution – step-by-step resolute actions that take your highly abstract ideas from lofty visions to tangible results. Your highlight reel (i.e. public wins and results) is not feasible without behind-the-scenes production. And production, my friend, requires patience.

Case in point, take a page from a filmmaker’s playbook and consider that “Once a screenplay has been ‘green-lit’ for production, a prep schedule is planned that can be between 6 weeks for low budget and up to 30 weeks for a large studio event movie,” according to screenwriter Simon Barry. They say, Rome wasn’t built in a day and by and large your business won’t be either — so cut yourself some slack and embrace the process of preparation. This brings me to my next point …

 

2. Commit to the process.

Why are some of us afraid of commitment? Entrepreneurship is a process – it is not an event. By its very definition a process is a series of actions or operations conducing to an end. This suggests that in order to act incrementally in business you’ll have to resolve yourself to commit to the process.

Yes! Entrepreneurship is freedom, but as novelist Paulo Coelho suggests, “Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose – and commit myself to – what is best for me.”

“Overnight success” make take months or several years. But remember, what you earn — you keep.

 

3. Dreams won’t work unless you do.

Leadership expert John Maxwell, has been credited with saying, “Dreams won’t work unless you do.” What he means is that your creative insights require plans and action. Entrepreneurship is work. Your passion will test your resolve. And behind every effortless and seamless display of ingenuity is a committed individual that has put in the work.

We glamorize entrepreneurship – and rightly so, because it is insanely awesome, but we’d do ourselves (and would-be entrepreneurs) a huge disservice to ignore the panoramic view of business ownership. The view is breath-taking from the top, but it is not without work: the work of enduring through valleys, besting failure, wielding tough decisions and embracing challenges.

Nevertheless, it is the culmination of all these things that makes entrepreneurship so sweet. Because we know that, “Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them” (Winston Churchill).

 

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