Pressure.  It can form beauty from the havoc in its surroundings.

We all face various forms of pressure in our lives.  Work, traffic, family, it comes at us from all sides and, at times,  seems never ending.  We endure aspects of our lives that generate more pressure in the hopes of eventually finding an escape, a safe haven, from which we regain control.

Becuase of this, it only seems logical that when we create a business, we work to avoid the pressures that assail us.  We are building from our passions, an ideal we love, to create something more than what we have.  No matter what the driving force is that pushes you forward, we all seek a common goal to some degree.  To live in an environment we enjoy and control.  Why then, would you invite pressure into that?

In nature, forces beyond what we can imagine influence our surroundings.  Immense pressure from expanding gases pushed the molten rock to the surface to form exotic islands and majestic mountains.  It is from these pressures that the beauty we seek to escape to comes.

But what about us?  Our business?  Do we not want to avoid those pressures we see as a hindrance in life?

I was reading an article written by Benjamin P. Hardy, a postgraduate student studying Organizational Psychology, on Medium today when this excerpt caught my attention:

Your results aren’t a reflection of your talent. Lots of people have talent. Few people, however, are required to rise to a difficult challenge.

Most people never put themselves in demanding situations — situations that humble and scare you.

You need to put yourself into positions that create immense pressure. The kind of pressure that will either make or break you. This is how you purge out your weakness and small-mindedness. It won’t be pretty. But it will change you. And eventually, you’ll rise up. New. Changed. Better.

You need to be taking on challenges that require you to become so much more than you currently are. You need to put your back against the wall so you have no other choice but to produce.

This is how you evolve.

Exploding Heads – It can get messy!

As mere mortals, when exposed to pressures we perceive at first to be insurmountable, we have two basic instincts that influence our actions – fight, or flight.

For a lot of people, when they see something that they are uncomfortable with confronting, the brain reacts by trying to push it away.  We want our ‘comfortable space’ back again.  When we over react, our mind goes into panic mode, and our head explodes.  It makes a terrible mess as we make irrational choices to remove ourselves from the pressures being placed on us.  And it doesn’t end there!

In business, we are seen as the leaders of what we create.  What do you think happens when others see your head explode?  You got it, theirs does too!  Now you have a group of people all standing around reacting to the choices you made, and the mess compounds.

There are two main groups you encounter at this point.  The first run away!

When they see your reactions, they take flight!  They are out of there faster than a cop on a donut run!  Or, they may stay, but you no longer have any real influence over their actions.  You have shown them that you are not the leader they need.  In either case, all the work/effort you have put in with them so far is . . . gone.  Never to see any returns.

The second group?  They are the ‘rah-rah’ crowd.

The ones that rush to tell you how they understand how hard it is, and that you made the ‘right’ choice too, basically, run away – back to that comfortable spot – again.  This, in many ways, is the most insidious group.  They prop up your decisions to not move beyond the problems and pressures, and remain where you are . . . forever.

But wait!  There is a third (albeit much smaller) group lurking in the background.

These are the ones waiting to see if you suck it up – and overcome the obstacles – or, muck it up.  Should you decide to stay and fight, they will be the ones that help you move forward.  Achieve more.  And become your best asset over time.

Opportunities

No one ever moved forward by staying where they are.  Not in business, not in life.

If you truly want to excel, move forward on your journey, then you must face the obstacles in your path head on.  Forget flight, stand up and fight!

Sure, it may require you to take a step back, evaluate your options.  Yes, it might even require you to admit you need help (it’s not the end of the world, honest)!  And although you must fight your battles alone, you have that ‘third group’ in your corner.

Opportunities are there.  Everyone gets them.  But I have yet to see a single one worth doing walk up and say “Here I am, I want to work on YOUR terms”.

You have to do the work, prepare, take action, and drag that sucker back in screaming and kicking the entire time.  No, it is NOT easy.  Pressures like you can’t even imagine now are probably in your future.

It’s difficult, but not impossible.  You can do this.

Put your back against that proverbial wall, roll up your sleeves, and make things happen!

The choice, as always, is yours.  Face the pressures, use them to build your mountain, and move forward.  Or not, and find solace in telling the world how it was just ‘too much’ to undertake, and remain where you are.

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With Sincere Thanks

Richard Taylor

“The only limits we have are those you impose upon yourself. Remove the limits!”

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