Tribeology

“Do what you can

With what you have

Where you are”

• Theodore Roosevelt

Last week I saw Jillian Michaels speak at #Icon17.  Fantastic presentation.  She said one thing in particular that resonated with me.  It was something like, “you can have everything, just not all at once.” And I think we all need to start accepting this.

Technology has sped up everything.  I remember as a child having to wait 45 minutes for a TV dinner, prepared in an aluminum pan, to bake in the oven.  Now, four minutes and thirty seconds seems like an eternity.

In this particular scenario what have we done with the extra 40 minutes and 30 seconds?  Regularly I’ve said, I need more time, I bet you’ve said the same thing.  And yet, the microwave has shaved 40 minutes off of cooking time.

When Jillian Michaels said the line about having everything but not all at once she further explained that we have phases of life.  You may have the phase of family, business, money, caring for aging parents, health, and fitness.  It just doesn’t happen that you can have it all at one time.  Quit thinking you can.

Reality TV and online mini-series portray “stars” as having careers, product lines, children, and beautiful hair.  What they forget to show is the entire team behind the scenes that they can afford to pay to run their product line, style their hair, and take care of their children.  Sure they make decisions on the label for their wine, but are they sitting for 5 hours putting the label on the bottle?  No.  They might send out the press release with a photo of them walking the street with their baby on their hip, but did they wake up at 3am to feed the child? No.  It’s not real life.   We need to recognize the difference and adjust our expectations.

Small businesses are a huge commitment.  But even more is the trend toward hobby businesses.  The hobby business is one where you make a few extra dollars (or several) online creating, crafting, and selling something. And the game is, sell low to beat out other people for orders.  But if you cannot afford to pay someone else to create the product, it is not a business, it is a hobby.  If you cannot take an evening off or go on vacation and have the business continue profitability without you there because you do not have systems in place, you have a hobby.

Include the time/money ratio in your business model.  You must add on your time to the cost of the product, this is the labor cost.  What you’d pay someone else, needs to be factored in for your payment.

This quote is a great reminder because it’s like trying to be a salmon fisherman in Florida.  It cannot happen.  You might love Northern Minnesota, but having a pop-up ice cream stand in February won’t happen.  You must do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

If you want an expensive car, expensive house, but the hobby business causes you to work and you don’t enjoy the car.  You are not utilizing the “what you have” portion of the quote.  Look at scaling back, determining what you want, and understanding what Jillian Michasels truly means when you “can have it all, just not at one time”… and then realize she “has people”!

Remember, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”  Develop realistic expectations and role models for success… otherwise you will drive yourself crazy!

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Action Step
1- Answer the following questions, “Am I doing what I can, with what I have, where I’m at… in life or location?”
2-Adjust.
3-Find a realistic mentor or role model – someone that your business goals and values aligns with.  Use this person as your guide.

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Listen to Episode #62 of the Two Minute Commute