Every business owner to be successful, must do hard things. There is nothing in life that is gained without hard work and doing hard things. Is it hard to do hard things?  Yes.

C.S. Lewis said, "It is hard; but the sort of compromise we're hankering after is harder — in fact, it is impossible.... We are like eggs at present. And we cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." In other words, we must do hard things to break through our shell or go bad from inaction. We encounter various pieces of shells as we work on our businesses and must break through them.

Jennifer Miller wrote on her blog, “We have every labor saving device known to man, and we still complain about having to do laundry or wash dishes (in machines!) We don’t walk, we drive. We don’t play sports, we watch other people play them. We don’t climb mountains, we watch the Discovery Channel. We don’t do hard things.  Instead we like to sit back and critique other people who do hard things.” What a sad state it is for those who even consider doing hard things.

Angela Duckworth, an author and psychologist, has studied what is the predictor of those that make it through hard things without quitting. She has studied West Pointe cadets, spelling bee champions, sales associates, Ivy League graduates and more only to discover that the best predictor of success through hard things is what she calls GRIT or defines as passion and perseverance. She defines passion as “consistency over time” and perseverance as “following through.”

As we do things, even hard things, on purpose, consistently, and follow through on our commitments to our customers, our employees and our families we will grow and be better than where we started.

Steve Young, during his first semester at college and on the football team wanted to quit and come home. His father told him; “You can quit…but you can’t come home because I am not going to live with a quitter.” Steve trusted his father, stayed on, did hard things and has had a great career as a result. He said of his father’s answer – “It was tough but it was loving.” While a father’s tough love started a great career for Steve, we can all learn that we are better off not quitting and seeking smart counsel from trusted partners and advisors when we want to give up. Our own determination and their encouragement can lead us to success.

Business owners, and individuals, must do hard things to grow.

Someone asked me once to make a list of everything that a business owner should know. I made the list and the first thing I put on the list was to know who you are and what you do.
Knowing who you are is more than just a mindset. It is having some self-confidence and esteem for yourself such that you are okay standing in front of a mirror or a customer. Knowing yourself is being honest with what your strengths are and your weaknesses. It is knowing what your values are and living life by them. It includes your interests and temperament, your activities and your life mission.  It is admitting that you don’t know or can’t do. It is wanting to know and wanting to do. It is doing something about not knowing and not being able to do. It helps you be happier, make better decisions, resist social pressure, be more understanding of others, and helps you feel more alive.
Entrepreneurs frequently make the mistake of making themselves the business. While great for the ego, this is a terrible practice. If you die, the business dies. If you want to sell the business, you have to sell yourself. Knowing that you are not your business and acting as such is part of knowing who you are.
Knowing what you do allows you to serve. You know who you can serve and the results that come from your service. You are not everything to everyone but you are something to someone. Sales become easier because you know if what you do can help them or not. It allows you to say “no” when asked to do something you don’t do.
Knowing who you are and what you do sets you up for growth and success.
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