In the kitchen of my grandmother’s house there hung a little sign on the wall above the sink stating Murphy’s Law:
Nothing is as easy as it looks,
Everything takes longer than you expect,
And if anything can go wrong, it will,
At the worst possible moment.
My granny’s maiden name was Murphy, hence the sign. As a child I used to think it was just meant to be funny. Now, as a business owner, I have long-since figured out that Murphy’s law is accurate and a good understanding of this law will help keep you sane.
Anything worthwhile takes effort. Nevertheless, most practice owners seem incapable of grasping this self-evident truth. One of the reasons Murphy’s Law is timeless is because change is constant. What worked fine yesterday is broken today. Your star employee last month is the source of your biggest frustrations this month.
The one thing in life you can absolutely count on is that circumstances will continually change. The great unknown is when they will change. It’s dangerous to base your decisions on the assumption that everything is going to continue as it is now.
The better you understand the reality that circumstances constantly change, the more likely you are to make rational decisions. If you acknowledge the reality that life has an annoying habit of not cooperating with your plans, your brain does not self-destruct whenever an obstacle arises. In addition, you’ll be prepared to take advantage of it when things do fall into place.
The smartest practice owners have clear goals but they are flexible in their approach. They are prepared to go up, down, over, around obstacles rather than being surprised and caught off guard when yet another obstacle appears in their path.
On my weekly calls with Scale Up Mastermind members I am reminded of exactly what it takes to be successful – it takes a whole lot of hard work and resilience and a willingness to acknowledge and solve the next problem in your path, even though you know there will another problem right along behind it. It can be relentless but it is also what makes you strong. If you’re honest with yourself you really don’t want an effortless, easy, problem-free life. The ones who think they want that are usually disappointed and bored and unfulfilled if they achieve it. It is overcoming challenges and feeling that you are growing that truly fulfils you. That, and contributing in a positive way to the lives of others.
It is NOT easy. But when it comes to tackling the endless stream of problems that come your way, remember, your greatest resource is your own resourcefulness.