Thinking negatively can often bring on negative consequences. When economic times get tough, think creatively. Adapt. You’ll be surprised what can be achieved.
I was sitting waiting for a friend in a hairdresser the other day when I overheard the stylist telling a customer she was closing the salon due to the credit crunch. They both mused over how quickly the bottom had fallen out of the economy and how haircuts were the first thing to go. I would almost have believed them had it not been for the fact I had just left my friend’s salon where he was asking my advice on coaching his staff and which customer management platform he should install as he had never been busier.
Hmm I thought, how interesting. Now I have heard it said too that the economy is faring very differently in different parts of the country. Very true, but the salons in question are less than a quarter of a mile apart. The difference is the way they are thinking.
In my humble opinion it’s also the cause of the current economic slowdown. I’m going to be controversial here and say the current slowdown is of our collective own making. The only thing that has actually happened is that people have lost confidence. The banks have made bad lending decisions and so have lost confidence in each other. Then the media has jumped on the bandwagon and propagated the fear further, and so it goes on.
The facts are that most people still have the same income and mortgages have only become slightly more expensive. It’s just that fewer people are able to get mortgages and so the market falls. The actual monthly figures haven’t changed much but what has changed is confidence, the confidence that house prices will keep rising and the financial cushion will continue to get fluffier and fluffier. Nothing much has actually changed except the way people are thinking and it’s particularly true of my friend’s hairdresser. While one tells themselves that haircuts are the first thing to go when times are hard so they should pack up and go home, the other said “people will always have hair” and changed his marketing, increased his volume and is now running a much busier and more profitable business. He may go back to his old business model one day but has been flexible enough to adapt, and that’s the key to your continued success.
When times get tough don’t tighten your belt, let it out a notch, feel the free space and then get creative, adapt and get on with getting hungry for success. Get creative and come up with ways of making more money. Anyone can steer a ship on a flat sea, it takes talent to navigate the ups and downs of life. So here’s the tip: stop for a minute or two and allow yourself to get creative and think how you can do things differently. Answer the following question: if tomorrow was my first day in this business what would I do? Don’t make the mistake of believing in other people’s fears.
Ali Campbell is a life coach and NLP master
I was sitting waiting for a friend in a hairdresser the other day when I overheard the stylist telling a customer she was closing the salon due to the credit crunch. They both mused over how quickly the bottom had fallen out of the economy and how haircuts were the first thing to go. I would almost have believed them had it not been for the fact I had just left my friend’s salon where he was asking my advice on coaching his staff and which customer management platform he should install as he had never been busier.
Hmm I thought, how interesting. Now I have heard it said too that the economy is faring very differently in different parts of the country. Very true, but the salons in question are less than a quarter of a mile apart. The difference is the way they are thinking.
In my humble opinion it’s also the cause of the current economic slowdown. I’m going to be controversial here and say the current slowdown is of our collective own making. The only thing that has actually happened is that people have lost confidence. The banks have made bad lending decisions and so have lost confidence in each other. Then the media has jumped on the bandwagon and propagated the fear further, and so it goes on.
The facts are that most people still have the same income and mortgages have only become slightly more expensive. It’s just that fewer people are able to get mortgages and so the market falls. The actual monthly figures haven’t changed much but what has changed is confidence, the confidence that house prices will keep rising and the financial cushion will continue to get fluffier and fluffier. Nothing much has actually changed except the way people are thinking and it’s particularly true of my friend’s hairdresser. While one tells themselves that haircuts are the first thing to go when times are hard so they should pack up and go home, the other said “people will always have hair” and changed his marketing, increased his volume and is now running a much busier and more profitable business. He may go back to his old business model one day but has been flexible enough to adapt, and that’s the key to your continued success.
When times get tough don’t tighten your belt, let it out a notch, feel the free space and then get creative, adapt and get on with getting hungry for success. Get creative and come up with ways of making more money. Anyone can steer a ship on a flat sea, it takes talent to navigate the ups and downs of life. So here’s the tip: stop for a minute or two and allow yourself to get creative and think how you can do things differently. Answer the following question: if tomorrow was my first day in this business what would I do? Don’t make the mistake of believing in other people’s fears.
Ali Campbell is a life coach and NLP master
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