The Business Igniter: Personal Success Precedes Business Success
I was talking to a prospective coaching client the other day. As I was explaining the emphasis we place on balance and personal success in our coaching programs he interjected and made an interesting comment.
He said to me, “Kip, I know I have some things I need to improve on personally, but for right now I really need to just focus on improving my business.”
What a revelation! In one sentence he revealed a paradigm that more than anything else was holding him back from being as successful as he could be. There is one principle, one natural law, one fundamental truth that he was not recognizing and applying, and that is this:
No Success, including Business Success, can precede Personal Success.
You see this is the deal, the crux of it all really. The fastest car in the world doesn’t win the race without a highly skilled driver; the finest paint and brushes have no meaningful impact on the canvas without the hand of a talented artist; and successful, highly effective businesses are run by people who are successful and highly effective as human beings. It is a prerequisite. Being an effective, successful person does not come after first building a successful business or career. It comes first!
If Business Success is the chicken, and Personal Success is the egg, then the answer to the age-old question is most definitely and emphatically “The Egg!”, and if you will take the time to nurture the egg (your personal effectiveness) you will find it results in a more robust and healthy chicken (in other words, a great business/career).
Deep down you know this is true, we all do. Yet so many would try to convince themselves they can take the shortcut that no one else has been able to take, that somehow they can have the business success they desire without doing the work on themselves first. Why do so many try it? Why do they skip the part where they work on themselves and work on other things first? The answer is fear.
Think of it this way, if I try my hand at creating a successful business and fail I can reason that it was due to any number of reasons and circumstances outside my control. However, if I work on being an effective person and fail… well, you can see how this pill might prove a little harder to swallow if we let such fears get the best of us. As a result, most of us focus our efforts in either the wrong place, or in the right place but prematurely (in other words, without working on personal effectiveness first).
My Challenge to You:
- Focus your efforts on becoming a highly effective person, one who makes and keeps commitments to yourself and has a high degree of personal integrity and follow through, even when no one else knows of your commitment.
- Be an excellent manager of your time. It’s not about scheduling every minute of your time, but rather doing the right thing at the right time.
- Establish habits that will serve you throughout the rest of your life, habits that will lead you to succeed regardless of your chosen business or career endeavors.
If you will do these things I am confident you will enjoy tremendous success in all aspects of your life, including business and career.
To Your Success!
-Kip Kint, Success Coach & President, Mission Ignition
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Comments
Cary:
Great question! Personal Success is measured in two ways - Tangible Measurement and Intangible Measurement. Tangible Measurement is simple, though not necessarily easy. One must define in writing what their personal goals are, including the standards by which success will be measured, then you have either accomplished said goal, or not. Accomplish enough of your personal goals and one could argue they are personally successful. With those kind of measurements in place it would be hard to dispute.
The second way - Intangible Measurement - has to do with the amount of peace and satisfaction one feels overall in their personal life. You could use a 1-10 Scale and simply self assess, “How much satisfaction and inner peace do I feel in my personal life right now?” If you would give yourself an 8 or higher, then you are enjoying a reasonable degree of personal success.
This is good stuff, Kip! And all too true. Yet, I find it interesting how often people fail to connect their personal success and their business success. To me, that seems intuitive. Thanks for letting me know about the article. Keep it coming!
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Good tip, Kip. But how do I measure ‘personal success’?