If you've been winging it for years, you're obviously very good at it

Most successful business owners have a secret they'll rarely admit.  Despite building successful businesses, they still question whether they're actually any good at what they do.

Last week, a client summed it up perfectly.  "I feel like I've been winging it for 20 years."

I smiled.

"If you've been winging it for 20 years, you're obviously very good at it."

We both laughed, but the conversation stayed with me because I hear versions of it surprisingly often.

The strange thing about success is that it rarely feels like success when you're the one responsible for creating it.

Business owners rarely stop to admire the mountain they've climbed because they're already looking at the next one. The business they once dreamed of owning becomes the business they spend their time picking holes in.
They never recognise the journey they have taken because they are too focussed on the next destination.

I've never met a business owner who struggles to remember their mistakes. They can usually tell you about the employee they should never have recruited, the customer they lost or the investment that didn't work.

Ask them about the hundreds of good decisions that built the business and the answer is often, "I was lucky," or "Anyone could have done that."

Really?

If it were that easy, there would be far more successful businesses than there are (currently 95% fail).

One of the biggest values a business mentor brings isn't another strategy. It's perspective.

Yes, I'll challenge decisions, hold business owners accountable and help them think differently.

But I'll also challenge the story they're telling themselves. The negative words they use. The glass half empty when it’s actually half full.

I don't tell clients that they're successful.  I help them recognise that they already are.

I encourage them to judge themselves on the evidence rather than the emotion. The evidence is the business they've built, the people they've employed, the customers they've retained and the challenges they've overcome. 

The emotion is often that nagging voice telling them they should be doing better.

Here's a challenge for you.

Write down the ten biggest achievements in your business over the last three years.

Now imagine that list belonged to another business owner.  Would you honestly tell them they were just winging it?

If the answer is no, perhaps you're judging yourself through the wrong lens.

Sometimes the greatest value of a business mentor isn't helping you become more successful.  It's helping you recognise the success you've already created and giving you the confidence to build on it so you can help yourself.