The Power of Persistence

Andrew Ford, Social Star, e-ttraction presentation ANZ bank.jpg

If you are running your own business you will know that there are good times and hard times. People see the good times as you post them on your social media, we all love a good but humble brag! But the hard times, well we generally keep those to ourselves. (I hear you nodding those that have experienced some quiet challenges last year...)

Most people heading into new businesses this year are so full of inspiration and positivity they are not prepared for the depth of challenge, personally and professionally, that a new business can throw up.

I always say that entrepreneurship is a battle of the mind, more than the market.

Sometimes the hard times make you want to give up and revert back to paid employment or forget that new project or just play it small and keep doing what you have always done. I see this all the time with clients I work with and friends around me. I do it myself at times!

We start the year all full of piss and vinegar but forget about how f*^king hard it is to do it.

So if you are struggling to maintain focus on your 2020 goals, this is my number one tip on how to persist from someone too stubborn (or stupid some would say) to give up. For I guarantee there is gold on the other side of persistence.

Love thy pain

My key tip is you have to lean into the discomfort. I have a Yin Yang tattoo on my left wrist to remind me that there is balance in all things. In all good things, there are challenges and all challenging things rewards. In equal measure, I might add.

Therefore, if you want a huge amount of reward, expect an equally huge amount of challenge! I have never seen this not play out in real life. If you can find an example where someone achieved amazing things without giving up something else I would love to hear about it!

Celebrities give up privacy, rich people give up perspective, hard-working people give up health, lifestyle people give up security etc What you give up is different for all people but there is always something equally as large.

So when setting out to do a big goal, plan for the success and write down what you are prepared to give up to achieve the goal. Is it time, money, uncertainty, ego, friends approval, comfort, security or something else? If you know ahead of time, and you still want to pursue the goal, you are more likely to achieve it with a balanced perspective.

As long as what you are working towards is higher on your hierarchy of values than that which you give up, you will feel fulfilled. If you chase things you don't really want, you will end up dissatisfied once you achieve it.

Example

In my thirties, I was all about success and career. I worked in a corporate job, flew around the world and was having a great time, earning big bucks and generally loving life. After a decade of this, owning my house, having lots of assets, I realised I was empty. I just wasn't living to my true values. I had what others would call success, it was societies values I was adopted as my own, and those things didn't fulfil me.

So I changed. But the change was painful and difficult. I lost assets, status, friends and more.

But I gained freedom, perspective, balance and most importantly time with my family and kids.

I wrote a book, started a business and basically turned it all around. Some call it a midlife crisis. I call it an awakening of what's really important and meaningful in life.

The Gold

It's been a decade since that change and a lot has happened. There have been ups and downs in the business, but every day when I wake up and can choose where I spend my time, how I manage my children and which people I want to work with. It's nice to have that level of control over my life and I am now comfortable with the uncertainty which is the balance of course.

Each year I still set impossibly high goals! Can't help it haha But I know that there will be lots of challenges along the way.

Now here is the secret to it all...

The gold isn't the income or the ego. It's not even in the result. The real goal is overcoming the challenges. Without the challenge, there is no satisfaction. It's not just in the way of the goal - it is the goal.

Like the man that cheats to get where he is, there is no satisfaction unless you know what you have done to get where you are. Only then can you really be joyous with the result.

Andrew

Andrew Ford
Marketing expert Andrew Ford, the founder of Social Star, has discovered the secret of ‘Powerful Branding’. With a fire for unleashing people’s inner brand and developing business models to generate profit from an individual’s passions, Andrew leverages ground-breaking digital and social media marketing techniques to create digital strategies for clients to attract maximum opportunities. Having established a strong name for himself in the field, Andrew blends traditional business techniques with now-necessary tools for entrepreneurs to achieve scale, quality, and influence in their niche. Andrew’s comprehensive business background and qualifications consist of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) (RMIT 2003), a Graduate Certificate in Management (MBA Executive Program, University of Sydney 2005), and a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Swinburne University 2011). Continually on the cutting edge of his own education, Andrew has tested his marketing theories in forums such as the BCG Business Strategy Competition, which he won in 2005 against all Victorian MBA schools, and the Venture Cup Business Plan Competition (Swinburne University 2003), which he won in the Masters category. With experience working at Hewlett-Packard, Sensis (Telstra) and IBM, Andrew also has mentored dozens of junior staffs to help them achieve their professional goals. Meeting and influencing high-profile public figures helped Andrew to realise just how many professionals require more understanding and control of their public brands or appearance, and need help with the skills to use the many amazing free tools at their disposal to generate success. At Social Star, Andrew consults with clients to uncover their personal brand – both where it is today and where it can be tomorrow – and refine and define how that should be displayed in social media in order to attract their perfect target audience. Andrew mentors his clients to rapidly grow their business’ audiences, resulting in larger potential client bases and higher revenue. Applying formulas that integrate over twenty years of Andrew’s business experience and fifteen years of formal business education, Social Star specialises in building clarity and velocity for clients’ brands using the ‘Understand, Build and Leverage’ methodology. ‘Having a Personal Business enables people to have an authentic, congruent connection with their valued clients and partners, using their brand as the bridge,’ says Andrew. ‘I’m highly driven to work with the new breed of entrepreneurs and small business owners – people who have a passion for making the world a better place. Traditional business models are stepping aside as people follow their innermost dreams and my role is to see them operate within their values while creating wealth. Some people think you have to sacrifice what you love to be successful in your business, yet it is actually the opposite. Follow your passion and success will come.’ Lecturing at Swinburne University from 2009 to 2011 on brand dynamics and digital marketing, presenting at numerous conferences, and consulting to hundreds of clients, Andrew has seen his philosophy work that if you follow your unique path, based on your skills, experience, values and goals, you will automatically attract the opportunities you desire and achieve the success you deserve. Living his mantra, Andrew has created a successful business and attracts high-profile clients including musicians, athletes, authors, models, entrepreneurs, professionals and small business owners, helping them find their ‘why’ in their business and fulfilment in their lives. Business for Andrew is more than work, it’s personal. Running a personal business means that he is able to fulfil all of his values rather than separating his life from work. It supports his two boys while providing social opportunities, educational development, fitness opportunities, spiritual fulfilment and many valuable friendships. Social Star has now become the vehicle for Andrew to crystallise his mission in the world, to help people love what they do, supporting his ‘why’, that if more people loved what they did, the world would be a better place.
http://www.andrewford.com.au/
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