Building a Business – The Ride of Your Life

“Motorcycling is not of itself inherently dangerous. It is, however, extremely unforgiving of inattention, ignorance, incompetence, or stupidity.”
—Anonymous

Building a successful business requires attention, curiosity, competence, and some brains. But as humans, we cannot know every single aspect of it at expert level. It’s a risk. You could lose money. You could make a public mistake. It’s not an endeavor for the faint of heart. And believe it or not, it’s a lot like riding a motorcycle.

Freedom

What does “the freedom of the open road” mean to you? I’m not sure it meant much to me until I took my first long-distance motorcycle trip from Chicago to the Women & Motorcycling Conference in Athens, Georgia in 2006 with my dear friend, Sandra. We were somewhere in Tennessee, riding along on our motorbikes, and I felt so free. I thought to myself, “No one knows (other than Sandra) where I am, and it feels exhilarating. I guess this is what ‘they’ mean when ‘they’ say “ahhhhh, the freedom of the open road’.”

When you own your own business, you are afforded some freedom with how you want to run, grow, and work in your business. As a business owner, you have the option to take the day off, determine your own schedule, or leave early for your kid’s soccer game. Sometimes, anyway. It’s an option that you can decide for yourself. You can decide on your strategy and who you want to do business with. But it is up to you to choose it and work it into your life and business. Of course, it depends on the business itself and the help that you have, but don’t kid yourself, you are in charge.

Focus

When you are operating a motorcycle, you must pay attention. You must focus. If you don’t, you could end up exactly where you don’t want to be. Hello, tree. The same goes for running a business. Okay, maybe you don’t run into a tree, but you could run into financial trouble and headaches by taking your eye off the biz. Being right here, right now is critical to staying on track. When I teach meditation classes, I often talk about engaging in a mind/body practice like yoga or Thai Chi. And I do consider motorcycle a practice as much as a past time. I focus. I feel free. I am in the moment. If you allow yourself, your work in your business can be the same. By staying focused and present, you notice what needs to be done and you are more in touch with your intuition. Yes, intuition is a real thing and it is so valuable and informative.

Flow State

How does it feel for you to be in a flow state? I experience it as being absorbed in the moment. Being at one with whatever I’m doing or who I am with. When we are in our flow state, we are tapped into our intuition. It feels right and we don’t want to be anywhere else. When we love our business and we have a desire to serve a higher purpose, we can reach that flow state in our work. It’s a decision that you must make daily to really experience.

Trust

When you want to turn or ride through a curve in the road on a motorcycle, you have to lean into the turn. If you don’t lean, you won’t make the turn. Hello again, tree. Or ditch. Or pavement. So, you trust the lean of the bike to pull you through. This takes faith, just like any risks we take in our work and business. A helpful question to yourself is “Where I am afraid to take a risk in my business for its growth?” When you have an answer, weigh the pros and cons. If it feels right (and only you know that for yourself), go for it. Lean into it. Trust the lean, hit the throttle, and go. No risk, no reward!

When I was first learning to ride, it felt scary and stressful at times. I was lamenting to a friend that I didn’t think I could do it. The class was too hard. Maybe I wasn’t meant to do it. At the time, I was teaching an intense class with a steep learning curve at a large, international bank. To my worrying, my friend replied “well, now you know how your trainees feel in the class you teach. Don’t they make it through? Doesn’t it eventually click?” And from there, I found my resolve and went back to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginner class. And wouldn’t you know it? Half-way through class, it started to click. The turns weren’t so difficult. I wasn’t killing the engine anymore as I learned the friction zone between the throttle and the clutch. Whew! Sometimes you just have to have faith and perseverance. Hmmm, sounds like being an entrepreneur, huh?

Expansion

There is an expansiveness in motorcycling. After taking multiple motorcycle rides, I now get the idea of thrill-seeking. Pushing ourselves beyond what we think we can do is so affirming. For some, thrill-seeking and taking risks can be riding a motorcycle or bungee jumping. For others, it may be networking at an event or asking someone on a date. It can cause fear, but it can also feel exhilarating if we let it. It can open our hearts and build faith in ourselves and the Universe. Find your flow and find your freedom. What is it you have been holding back from trying for fear of failure? What do you already do to find freedom, flow, and trust?

Fun

Oh yeah. And riding a motorcycle is fun! If you are not having fun in your business, evaluate. Why is it not fun? When do I not look forward to working? Is there a way I can make this more enjoyable? Are there areas where I can delegate. We get this one life. If you are not embracing the gifts, what’s the point? And no, it’s not going to be fun all of the time, but it should be most of the time. Heck, motorcycling can be downright scary at times. But the highs outweigh the lows by far. Enjoy the ride, my friend. Enjoy the ride.

If you would like a guide to help you feal the fear and do it anyway, set up a business coaching or initial free consultation with me today!