The Secret of Turning Disappointment Into Opportunity for Small Business Owners

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Let’s say that your long-awaited trip to the beach comes, and you spend it looking outside from your room as rain pours down every day. Or, that your new blog’s launch date has been set for months, but the day comes and goes while your web person works through unanticipated glitches.  Let’s say that you launch a brand new program you’ve worked on for two full months, and the response you get is completely underwhelming. Like the classic old Monkees song says, you’re feeling like “disappointment haunted all my dreams.”

This is how it is for business owners. You plan for something, sometimes investing a lot of time and brain power and effort, but things change around you faster than you realize, and you just don’t get what you expected. Hard disappointment sets in. And in that very moment of your worst disappointment, opportunity lies.

Here’s the true thing. Great business owners note the disappointment, adapt, and move on. Not-so-great business owners note the disappointment and then spend precious time whining rather than adjusting. In the meanwhile, their opportunity to change course and profit has gone down the drain.

If you can adapt to these three truths, you can take them to the bank.

1. Environment changes constantly 
2. There is always opportunity in change 
3. Staying stuck on how disappointed you are leads you away from opportunity 

Need some help turning disappointment into opportunity? Here’s a script to say to yourself after a big disappointment.

“I worked so hard and planned so carefully to do _______________ in my business this month. Now I see there are changes that are in the way of that success. I’m really disappointed, but I learned from my efforts, and that experience will come in useful at some point. Upon careful observation, I see that I could now change and be profitable from creating ____________________. I absolutely do what is necessary for my business to thrive. Here’s my list for today’s work.”

The road to success in business and happiness in life can be curvey and full of rocks sometimes. But if you are willing to open your heart and mind when the path seems all uphill, you’ll build up your flexibility and adaptability. You’ll show others your consistent commitment. And from all that, you’ll snatch opportunity right out of disappointment’s jaws.

If you want additional help in turning a big disappointment into an opportunity, contact me about a “One and Done” hour.  Just click here to check it out.