The Sting of ‘NO’…

We get our hopes up for successful conclusions that make all the sense in the world to us. We really try and ‘manage’ our expectations and not get too far ahead of ourselves, but the conversations are going so well we think. The indications of interest are spot on. So we get lost in managing expectations, trying not to get ahead in the what ifs of a successful conclusion. Then, unexpectedly, we hear NO. Huh? Whaaat? Can’t you see how well all of the puzzle pieces fit together? We sure can!.

This is the life of an entrepreneur. When you feel passionately about your venture, you THINK you know how all of the pieces fit together, how your business will be the one to succeed beyond everyone’s wildest expectations, it’s hard to get a NO, particularly when it comes in raising capital to sustain and grow your business. So, how do you handle NO? Particularly when you know it’s right? Well here’s what I do:

1) lean hard on my faith. While to some of you this may sound cliche-ish, it works for me. Every core of my body believes that God has an amazing plan AHEAD of each of us, so whatever ends that NO means that with that door closed a new one opens.

2) allow yourself to grieve a bit. One thing I’ve learned in my entrepreneurial journey is that when you’re ‘all in’ in your passionate belief in your business, it’s disappointing (sometimes bitterly so) to hear NO. In many ways, it really defies logic. So go ahead, be bummed…I’ll give you overnight.

3) reassess why you got the NO. This self reflection needs to be open, honest and transparent with yourself, your business partners and, most importantly, your loved ones. Learn from this, incorporate your lessons in order to chart your course from this point on. Maybe that means minor changes, maybe major, or, sadly, means the endpoint for this dream. Hey, reality really sucks sometimes.

4) maybe this should be number two (after your faith), DO NOT REACT, RESPOND, LASH OUT OR MAKE ANY IMPORTANT DECISION immediately after NO. Emotional decisions are dumb, typically cause even more problems, and are completely counterproductive. Worse yet, they can even be downright hurtful or devastating.

So, while you’re grieving, keep your thoughts to yourself overnight until your emotions dissipate. Then you’ll be able to really hear God’s small voice guiding you, encouraging you to press forward. My biggest inspirational thought when I go through this comes from the amazing actor, John Wayne in the the movie the Longest Day about the invasion of France in WWII (great movie, all star cast!), the Duke broke his ankle as a paratrooper when dropped behind enemy lines. When the medic informed him that his ankle was broken he said, “well, just have to lace up my boot a little tighter…” and off he strode into battle!

So, if you’re licking some NO wounds, better lace up your ole boot a little tighter…you’ve got a passion to follow!

Good Luck!

Sustaining Passion

In my continuing series on Preparing for the Harvest to Come…, I wanted to continue my discussion on passion that I started last blog. When I think of passion, thoughts evoke of great dates with the SHB, which were great times but relatively fleeting in their duration. Yet passion that drives change in your heart, behaviors and dedications need to be sustained in order to create lasting, momentous outcomes. How does a Steve Jobs sustain his passionate fervor for what started out to be more or less a laughing stock sideshow to IBM? How did Columbus have the stones to sail off the edge of the known world to pursue his passion?

Think of Noah, who had to build an Ark for decades in order to preserve part of God’s creation. How did he, a man just like you and me, have the gumption to remain steadfast in the face of being the laughing stock to those around him? To me, what really illustrates my point is looking at Old Testament Abraham. Here’s a guy that was well beyond geezer status, never having been able to produce a child. He and Sarah just figured that God chose to pass them by on the kid allocations, yet there they were, older than dirt and God blessed them with a Son, Issac. Close your eyes and just imagine how you’d finally feel becoming a father at a bazillion years old? Tell me that kid wasn’t spoiled.

So when Issac had grown into a young man, God called Abraham to go to a special place and prepare to make a sacrifice at that altar. “Sounds great, done that a ton of times” I’m sure Abraham thought, yet this time was different, because God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac! Whaaat? God makes Abraham wait forever to have a son and watch him grow up to be a man, then he’s supposed to sacrifice him? Well, you probably know the rest of the story, where just before Abraham is about to kill Issac, God intervenes as he wanted to see if Abraham was obedient to the end in carrying out God’s command, which clearly he was. Well, after intervening, God gave Abraham the greatest of rewards (blessing) by proclaiming that Abraham would be the father of all nations through his offspring. Wow, talk about passionately believing in his mission! Could I be like Abraham? Could you? Probably not. However, I think this illustrates perfectly the point I want you to think about when I talk about sustaining passion.

In business as an entrepreneur, the whole starting thesis to your dream is an overriding passion about something. Whether its a new mouse trap, breakthrough widget, or quest to cure an un curable disease, something has triggered a drive deep in every core and fiber of your being. You just know that your ‘this’ really is IT. This passionate fervor allows you to deal with all the NOs you’ll hear, the doubting Thomases who’ll give you every reason why you won’t make it. It fuels your drive, your team’s identity in what you’re doing will in fact be for the better good. And, perhaps most importantly, relegate any lucrative financial gain you may glean from the eventual success of your business to a distant back seat to the core belief you have in the viability and efficacy of what your business is all about. So, when you discover something this passionate, embrace it, nurture it, and allow it to engulf you. In so doing, you will in fact develop a sustaining, deep passion. Be careful though, because it can be CONTAGIOUS!

Good Luck!