In business, we are constantly having to pivot. From validating our offer to determining which areas we need to scale, to which pieces we need to solidify, to going through the entire process again as the business evolves. Business is all about pivoting, and it can be exhausting. Today I’m going to challenge you: when you are tired of pivoting, pivot once more.
Running a business is hard. We have all heard it said: if it was easy, everyone would do it, right? We get that, no doubt. I have said it a thousand times, if we had known how hard it would be when we started our business we may not have jumped all in. That too is another good point. It’s like having a baby. You didn’t realize all of the pain and fears you would have while you are in labor, but it’s too late to back out or change your mind at that point! The same holds true after you have invested your heart, a piece of you, all of your capital, and thousands of hours getting your business running and successful.
When you pivot, you get exhausted. Now, we are mentally pivoting in our businesses. But what about physically pivoting? Stand up, anchor your foot into the ground, you pick which foot you want to pivot on. Leave the ball of your foot and your toes connected to the floor and rotate around for a minute. If you are in great physical shape, do it for five minutes. 😉
Now, we all know that in business and in basketball, you won’t be pivoting for a minute or five minutes. But the entire point of a pivot in basketball is to prevent a turnover, move the ball, and eventually try to score. If you don’t pivot, but walk, you turn the ball over. In business, you miss the chance to move your business forward in the same way you miss moving the ball forward in basketball. The reason you pivot is that you see a defender coming your way or you aren’t in a position to score, so you have to move the ball. In business, you have learned something new about your customer or your product, for example, so you have to pivot the action or the direction your business is going in order to score (sell your product).
While both basketball and business are exhausting, the entire point of doing either or both is that you love the game, you want to bring joy to others, and you want to win. So no matter how exhausted you are, when you are tired of pivoting, pivot once more. Don’t give up.
Be Legendary!