Do you Have To, or do you Get To?

Your attitude can define you. Your attitude can be the deciding factor in whether a friend goes out of their way to say hello to you, or whether a customer chooses to spend their money with you.

A while ago we were meeting with a small business owner who was working many long hours and felt unfocused and frazzled. Before our meeting, we observed him talking with a few of his customers, and even employees. He was so busy, he sighed. He had to order some new products, then he had to meet with his bank, and then go spend more time with another local business to buy more products, and then he had to train a new employee… he sighed again. He was very busy.

The response, every time, was something to the effect of “Well, that sucks… okay, talk to you later.”

Is that someone you want to continue a conversation with? Is that a business you want to hear more about?

..The difference between saying, and even thinking to yourself, “I have to do this” vs “I get to do this”.

We all have our bad days, our down and tired moments – but as an entrepreneur, when representing your brand, you must remember to be your own biggest ambassador. In our Creative Coaching meetings, we helped show the difference between saying, and even thinking to yourself, “I have to do this” vs “I get to do this”.

You’re doing all of the many hard, challenging and very often exhausting tasks of being an entrepreneur because it is part of your dream. You get to do it because you’ve been brave and strong enough to take those steps, and you’re taking another step towards achieving your goals. Imagine the difference in those initial conversations if they’d been worded as “I’m so excited today! First, I get to order some really cool new products, then I’m crushing a meeting with my bank, and then picking up some awesome product from a local supplier. Oh, and this evening, we’re bringing on another new person to our team – they’re going to be great!”

Suddenly, this person sounds a lot happier and much more passionate about what they are doing. They’re a person you want to talk to, that you’ll choose to spend your time and energy around. Their employees are going to recognize that change in energy and respect the direction their leadership is bringing them.

A while later, we visited that business again. A customer was paying his bill and asked the owner how things were going. We’d been there earlier in the day and overheard a few difficult moments that could have brought him down. He smiled, said things were going great and that next week a new promotion was starting that was going to be really exciting. The customer returned the smile and said he would have to come back to check it out.

It may seem hard at first, but as they say – sometimes you have to fake it ’til you make it. Take the time every morning to remind yourself why you’re doing this. Visualize your goals. You knew it would be hard work – but it’s hard work you’re doing for you. You get to do this. How lucky are you?

 – Jason
Founder at Ambition

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