Mark Twain said “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so:’
Being clear about what you DON’T KNOW, and embracing it, and being willing to find out, is one of the characteristics of the most successful businesses across all industries. Progress and building a successful practice always requires a leap into the unknown. Write down 3 “I don’t know” statements about your practice. Then think about them. Open yourself to new solutions through the possibility of leaping into the unknown.
I dove into the unknown with all of these “I don’t know” statements in my practice: I didn’t know if removing all frames from display was a good idea or not. I didn’t know if my clients would purchase £400, £600, £1000+ frames. I didn’t know where to get better at marketing or if I could afford it or if I could make it work for my practice. I didn’t know how to train employees to get exceptional results and I was intimidated about the steep learning curve required for me to get good at those thin sending monthly newsletters to our clients would work or if I could afford it. I didn’t know what would happen if we offered a 60 Day Love Your Glasses guarantee. I only knew that other smart companies had tried all of these strategies and had success with them and I knew that I was curious and stubborn enough to take them seriously, extensively study them and try them all and see what worked.
Leaping into all of these unknowns made me a better student of my practice. I learned. I grew. The practice grew.
In a Financial Times magazine interview, racing cyclist Chris Boardman was asked ”Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?” His reply was: “What matters is the ability to look yourself in the mirror and be brutally honest about what you see:’ An Olympic gold medallist, here is someone who understands success. Can you look at every aspect of your practice and be brutally honest about what you see? Your success depends upon it. In the same interview he was asked what he found most irritating in other people. He answered, “People’s ability to ignore facts:’ Ignoring facts in your practice will constantly steer you off course into muddy, even dangerous waters. You need to be honest about what you know for sure and what you don’t know. Opinions are not facts. Speculation is not evidence. To guide your practice in the direction you want to take it you must become brutally honest about the facts, and be curious enough to leap into the unknown until you discover the facts.