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Category: Chamber Corner Chamber Corner
Published: 27 January 2021 27 January 2021

Have you thought about your personal truth? When you consider this concept for your personal life and your business life are they one and the same? According to the popular blog, Huffington Post, “the exploration of personal truth helps to form the foundation of your life.” Understanding your personal truth helps you to understand what you stand for, what you value and where your personal boundaries lie. A couple of weeks ago we spoke about your core values and what is at the essence of your performance. Both of these notions are clarifying concepts on you and, essentially, how you run your business and your life.

Your personal truth helps to fuel the passion that drives you to operate your business daily. Passion for a particular business or concept is usually the main driver when someone “jumps off the cliff” into business ownership! This is often seen as the “WHY” when somebody goes into business for themselves. Do you remember what was ignited deep in your soul when you decided to start your business?

I remember the early years of my career, when I was a B2B Account Executive and I was working with small business owners in my territory. I really admired the determination that those entrepreneurs possessed and how they were focused on the success of their business while also focusing on the quality of life of their teams and the communities who supported them. Personally, I was driven to help them in any way that I possibly could. I wanted to help them run their businesses as efficiently as possible.

This is what drove me to start my own business coaching practice in 2004 and what ultimately led me to my job as the Executive Officer of the Silver City Grant County Chamber of Commerce today. Since 2004 I’ve been helping small business owners run more efficiently by improving efficiencies within their businesses. We help create the understanding that it takes a large amount of energy to reinvent the wheel and ram your head into the, proverbial, brick wall. Our job at the chamber is to help you stop focusing on the brick wall by introducing you to another path around it. Together we refocus that energy into your core strengths and abilities.

In business it’s all about remembering “why” you got into business in the first place and then focusing on your strengths every day. When you maintain focus on your why then it’s easier to stay mission driven. Remember, there are people who are experts at the things you hate to do. Let them do what they do best and focus your time on the things that you love to do.

It’s easy to get distracted by things that are determined to derail you or your business and 2020 was the most significant distraction that tried to drive us away from our truth. The key was not to let ourselves get too far off track. Huffington Post further states, “When we limit our responsiveness to our Truth, we compromise our ability to achieve our potential. We become distracted from genuine encounters with Truth and favor alternatives that do not lead to a successful outcome.” Remembering our “why” and staying on target takes practice but it can be done.

Our community is the benefactor when we stay true to our why. If your truth is quality education for all you should spend your time making sure that education opportunities are plentiful in Grant County. If you are driven to make sure that all children are clothed, fed or have quality health care, then you must spend your time shoring up the resources necessary to make that happen. If you are driven to work with the homeless or veterans, or the elderly, or youth in our community then you have plenty of opportunities.

Spend some time contemplating your truth and defining your “why” this week. Then give me a call at the chamber and I’ll help you find your “who!”