Butt Kicked? Business is brutal. Especially for newbies who aren’t experienced in running their own operations. Face the facts you are going to get your butt kicked. Your marketing campaigns will go bust. Money will be lost (learning experiences). Clients will jump ship. Some products won’t sell. Oh, and at the beginning of learning a new skill set, you will suck.
That is the reality. You are going to get a beat down by someone or something. It could be multiple times. Habitual beatdowns! How would you like that? Knowing this upfront will give you your fighting instincts. Furthermore, there should not be any illusions that this will be a walk in the park. You will come up against obstacles, roadblocks, and considerations.
Kobe Bryant Gets His Butt Kicked
There is great value in learning from a good butt-kicking. Do you remember in 1997 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Utah Jazz an 18-year-old rookie Kobe Bryant shot 4 air balls in the final minutes of game 5. One of the greatest clutch players in NBA history shot 4 air balls, on national TV, in front of millions of viewers, and on the road where he was laughed at. Google it.
What did Kobe Bryant do after that huge embarrassment? After the trip home he went to Palisades High School and found someone to open up the gym and he shot jump shots all night. Six months later the first game of the season Kobe came off the bench to score 23 points against the Jazz. What else has Kobe done since the 4 infamous airballs:
5 NBA Championships
1 NBA Most Valuable Player
2 Time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
18 All-Star Appearances
Worth about $200 million dollars
Did he get his butt kicked for shooting 4 airballs? Heck yeah! Furthermore, he had to hear about it until he won a championship. The ironic part is Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his final game. Guess what team he scored the 60 points against?
Losing Leads to Winning
I play Daily Fantasy Sports. It’s fun and I win money. Excellent income stream. I only cash about 17% of my entries (break-even) of what is called the Guaranteed Prize Pool. That’s the large tournaments that pay the big dollars. I only place in the Top 10 about 3% of the time. I can have losing streaks of 5 days or more. My longest losing streak was about two weeks. How many people would keep going if they were losing money for 14 days?
These percentages may seem horrible. But my payoff is huge. When I win the prize is a lot more than what I have lost. It’s the nature of the game. I learn from every loss and it improves my research of the game and have the tools to test my strategies and I can see where I can improve my profitability. I get killed most of the time in these big tournaments. It doesn’t bother me because if I stay in the game I will eventually cash in big.
What Are You Willing to Suffer?
When it comes to my marketing business I have to invest in data to see what sells. You will have to invest in marketing. Whether it is time or money. You have to put most of your energy into generating leads and conversions. This is where you can get your butt kicked. Too many people focus too much on the product and company and then they get slaughtered and their businesses die.
You have to make sales. That is the bottom line. I am surprised how many people want to start a business but don’t want to sell. It starts with marketing. I encourage everyone to learn a marketing skill or higher someone who is an expert. Sales must be made. Products must be sold it’s that simple. The lack of sales kicks most entrepreneurs’ butt.
How about asking people to buy? Are you willing to suffer rejection? Are you willing to find out who has your money? Because it’s money from the stuff you sell that will determine if you succeed or not.
What Will You Sacrifice?
In order to get to the next level what are you willing to sacrifice? Is it time, money, or relationships? You will have to sacrifice to build a booming business and you can’t keep doing what you have always done.
You are competing against people who have more money, experience, clients, and skills. There are kids in their rooms who make money. Teenagers are killing it online. 20 and 30-year-olds are building million-dollar companies. People over 40 are discovering new ways to generate income with the Internet.
Are you willing to spend your savings to learn a new skill? Will you invest in a coaching program? Will you work overtime on your day job to fund your business (I did that often)? What gets cut out of your life? Who gets your attention? How many times will you get back up after your competitors outmaneuver you? I will tell you now without sacrifice you will get your butt kicked.
The Awesome News
Today anyone can excel in the business they choose. Oh, it’s tough it is almost impossible without the tenacity to keep going. Be prepared it is brutal. I want you to go outside and look at the prosperity around you. Look at the trees planted, the cement laid, the lights on the street, and the businesses around you. Somebody is making money and they have to be tough.
read the related post: celebrate your positive past
People quit every day because they couldn’t take the butt-kicking delivered to them by the real world. The awesome news is the more that people quit the better it is for you. To the victor goes the spoils. You will get hit. Rarely does a fighter leave a match unscathed. Strengthen up your tenacity muscles and go for it. Take the hits and keep on winning.
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