Tradeoffs

Our choices of who we want to be would mean we make choices of who we don’t want to be. This is applicable both in business and life. Successful businesses choose to serve specific customers and their needs which means they say no to others. e.g. Walmart stores do not serve people in Manhattan in NY. Even in life, people have to make tradeoffs to be who they want to be. Trying to be everything to everyone causes misery in life and strategic loss in business.

“The opportunity to build an enduring product far outweighs the cost of alienating a few users along the way.” – Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder LinkedIn

Offering help

A few days ago, someone narrated to me their past difficult times. He had struggled to get help from people whom he trusted could help him. Today, as a successful business leader, he offers to help anyone (known/stranger) who needs it. What stood out in his narrative were three things
(1) People always remember how they get treated during difficult times
(2) Our willingness to help someone gives confidence for them to help themselves
(3) helping not only enhances our self perception but also makes others view us as impactful

“Our prime purpose in life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” – Dalai Lama

Gaining confidence from failures

It is not that we gain confidence only from successful events. The way we handle our failures and setbacks gives us confidence. Our confidence stems from
(1) How we accept the situation and stay away from the blame game
(2) How we plan and execute the next set of actions
(3) How we do our self-talk on who we are in the event of a setback

“The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” – Barack Obama