I could literally imagine myself dying!
Those are the words by Lungile Qwabe when she attended a seminar presented by Herman Bezuidenhout of BeztForex on the topic of sales strategy at the 2019 KZN Franchise Expo, organised by FASA and in partnership with Ithala.
This was Lungile’s takeaway: “If you are not growing, you are dying.”
As Herman said these words Lungile imagined herself dying! For the last few years she had felt she was too busy being busy, and had actually allowed herself to stagnate – she was definitely not growing! And as of that moment, she was no longer going to accept the concept of dying.
Lungile has a deep desire to grow as an aspiring franchisee and a business woman.
When life is hard and challenging, it can be difficult to stay focused and to keep going and to keep on growing. It is easy to do what was done before. It is easier just to follow the norm rather than risk doing things differently. And if you are feeling down and out, it is sometimes easier to wallow in depression and stew on things that are not happening in your life.
How does one keep growing and avoid remaining stagnant in life?
The first step is to ask yourself, “Am I growing as a person? Am I growing in my job? Am I growing in my business? What am I learning?”
Education: keep learning
One of the biggest reasons people do not get jobs, cannot start a business, or even have an interesting conversation, is because they stop learning. Learning does not stop at school, college or varsity. No matter how old you are there is value in learning. Keeping yourself up to date with new skills and new ways of doing things is vital. The world is constantly changing and so should you.
Are you expanding your knowledge?
Are you making sure you remain relevant in the market so that you can get the job you want or the business you wish to start or invest in? Today, there is no excuse. Unlike 20 years ago, today you have the internet at your fingertips with a wealth of online courses you can attend, and a mountain of information you can research.
Trending: attend expo’s and seminars
In order to bring about growth and change one has to step out. When you are feeling down is often considered the best time to push yourself to attend events where you may benefit from the opportunity to learn and be inspired. This is exactly what happened to Lungile. She was not feeling very motivated. She felt stuck, as though she was going around in circles. Lungile decided to attend the franchise expo to see if there was anything that could possibly inspire her to do and think differently. And as she said, that one sentence changed her life!
There is always something to learn at events like these – something you may not have considered before. Something you’ve not seen before that might inspire you. And who knows? Maybe you are at the right place at the right time, and will land yourself an opportunity that can change your life!
Tenacity: inspiration is easy, tenacity is hard
Getting fired up by a motivational speaker is great – it can give you lots energy and vision and inspiration to act, but the takeaway is always that you will have to make that motivation a reality. You will have to literally change your mindset to keep that initial jump start going in your head. You will also have to take all those home truths mentioned by the speaker and apply them to the everyday, the mundane, the routine of life – because that’s how the real motivation will work, when it drives through every aspect of your life. Change yourself to change your life.
Franchising is an industry that will expect nothing less from you. You will not only be running your own business, you will be joining a team of people who all have made the change, who have toughened and applied themselves with grit in a challenging and exhilarating industry. You can do this too! Most people understand, after some self-examination, that they know exactly where to start – with themselves.
Forget your fears, throw off that feeling of lethargy. Take charge of the controls – and fly with the team!
[su_note note_color=”#ffffff” text_color=”#a09c9c”]The views and opinions in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Association.[/su_note]
Romany Thresher is a strategic thinker and natural connector with a talent for identifying opportunities for your business or venture.
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