Running a small to medium sized fitness or wellbeing business can often feel overwhelming, especially if it feels like you are doing it alone. The pressure to make big changes and to make progress can be immense. Many business owners think they need to accomplish everything at once to be successful. However, Robert Collier’s quote, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out,” highlights a crucial principle: incremental progress leads to long term success.
Understanding that success is built through consistent small efforts can transform how you approach your business. I remember when I was running my fitness business, I wanted everything to happen now and my patience was not great, in fact it was non-existent when it came to the success I wanted. I worked so hard for long hours but all that did was make me ill and on the verge of burnout. A colleague, at the time, gave me the book “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olsen and I remember reading it and thinking it was a game changer. In there Jeff Olsen talks about the power of repetition of small steps one at a time to create change and develop a new habit. At the time a part of me was very resistant to changing my behaviour; loyal and familiar stories about working hard to deserve success kept me in this holding pattern of exhaustion. It wasn’t until I started having mindset coaching that I was able to embrace the idea of small steps and small efforts and that their repetition was actually the magic answer I had been looking for.
Being able to maintain your momentum and the forward motion in business is what all business owners desire – moving towards their goals and their version of success. However, sometimes a aprt of us sets us up so we keep repeating the same old patterns. My pattern was to work hard, get exhausted and ill so I had to take a break, get better, go back to working hard, get exhausted and ill so I had to take a break and so on. Yes, I had a consistent pattern but it wasn’t serving my higher self and it wasn’t helping me to get the success I wanted or to fulfill my purpose.
Today I invite you to be curious about your patterns of behaviour – remember it will be serving a part of you while at the same time not serving another part of you. Do you have a pattern you would like to change that would change your business momentum for the better? Does this include you taking small steps/effort rather than big steps/effort?
Remember:
- Success doesn’t come from grand, sweeping changes made overnight. It’s the result of consistent, daily actions that compound over time. By focusing on what you can do today, you set yourself and your business up for long term success and momentum you can maintain.
- Waiting for everything to be perfect before taking action can paralyse progress. Small, imperfect actions are better than no action at all. Each step you take moves you closer to your goals.
- Habits are the building blocks of success. By establishing positive, consistent habits, you create a foundation that supports ongoing, sustainable progress and momentum in your business.
- Acknowledging and celebrating your progress, no matter how small, reinforces positive behaviour and keeps you motivated. Each small win is a step closer to your ultimate goal.
In Conclusion…
Sometimes the behaviour pattern that has got us so far in business won’t get us to the next level and/or won’t maintain the momentum we have started. You are at the heart of your business and it is important that you look after yourself – small steps and small efforts accumulated over time still get the rewards at the end but the best bit about doing it this way is when you get to that success you aren’t too exhausted to enjoy your rewards.
Until next time,
Best wishes
Philippa x