Business Opinions: Start right, finish strong!

“Starting strong is good, finishing strong is epic” – Robin Sharma

Theory: people will remember your personal and business brand if you do a good job. Fact: you can have 99 extraordinary successes, profitable and with great impact, but if you screw up on your 100^th, that one will be the only thing people will remember about you. It is ok to make mistakes from time to time, you will learn from them. It is ok to lose a battle or two here and there. And there is nothing wrong in hitting rock bottom at some moment in your life. No one will hold that against you, they might even respect you for the struggles you overcome, as long as you finish strong and get back up no matter what life throws at you.

When I was playing basketball we had our fair share of losses. Sometimes it was clear the game was lost long before the final whistle. What kept us as a team was the fact that we always found the inner strength to finish strong. To try and turn that loss into a good experience, make people remember us as the team that didn’t give up and left that court with our heads held up high. And that feeling was also a motivation factor to start better and win the next one. Sometimes you have to set new goals and make the best out of a bad situation just to be ready for the next challenge you will face.

No matter how good you plan your business and even your life, there will be a moment that can make you give up. The plans you make, even if well thought and carefully documented, can easily take you to a road block. There are situations that we initially don’t really consider perilous but will change our whole universe. Accidents, business failures, depression each and every one of those can make you want to give up. Those are the moments when strong business organizations stand up from the crowd and overcome all challenges, finish strong and give others inspiration. Are you going to be one of those organizations and professionals, are you going to finish strong?

In one of my moments of feeling down, thinking that the universe started to work against me, I had the opportunity to discover the story of a man called Nick Vujicic. Nick was born without limbs and transformed his life without limbs into a life without limits. I understood that moment that all of my problems where so small in comparison and that I had no reason to quit. I had to find the power inside me and finish strong. I was the only one responsible for giving up or not rising up to the challenge at hand. He saw his handicap as an opportunity, he inspires people all over the world and he helps all see that we only need to adjust the angle of view. And that the choice is ours, because if we decide to give up and stay down, no one will come and help us, unless we make the first move. When you see the force with which this man fought with all the troubles in his life to get to where he is you understand the importance of never giving up. Of finishing strong.

We know that the right answer is to find the strength to finish strong, but sometimes it is harder than it appears. We have to reach deeper inside than ever before, and maybe sometimes the effort is not worth it, or this is how we think. My opinion is that we owe it to ourselves to do it. We are forced by all that brought us to that moment to use that energy deep down and finish strong. And we also owe it to all those people around us that had faith in us!

“I encourage you to accept that you may not be able to see a path right now, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there” – Nick Vujicic. All marathon runners admit that there is one moment during the race when they will rather quit, they feel like not being able to finish the race. This is where mental training intervenes; this is where you decide you can do it and break the limits you knew about yourself, and your business is your marathon.

2014 was announced as a year of changes, a year of significant improvement and major decisions. I have a feeling that I am not the only one left wanting. I know I could have done more, the market could have been better, partners should have been chosen wisely and projects planed better. In the end we are in September, we have four more months to help this year redeem itself, and we still have the chance to finish strong. What is your business going to look like next year? Are you going to finish strong and ignore the missed opportunities of months passed and focus on what is next? Whatever your choice will be, finish strong or wait for a new opportunity, a new year, a better moment, trust me when I tell you this: the moment you are waiting for, that better opportunity depends a lot on how you are going to finish!