Whether you’re building a business or a career, there’s something I would ask you never to forget to do for yourself: reward the small wins.
The road to success is a journey that can take a lifetime dependent on your goals. That’s why it is not wise to wait a lifetime to reward yourself.
You’ve heard the stories about waiting until you retire to travel the world and not be fit enough to travel or take up golf but suffering a bad back? Well, this is the same thing.
Life will follow the lines of a heartbeat (some prefer to use roller coaster but at my time of life you’ll only get me on the carousel!).
With the ups and downs life brings, rewarding yourself is important – even more so when you’re down!
I recall a period in my own life when I had given up my first business in favor of a man. I know! Youth is blind and love blinder. I felt unstoppable yet the adventure was short-lived and I was back before I knew it. Homeless with a 6-year-old. I talk about this with Paula Senior in my first podcast episode – Making Conversations about homelessness count.
I was lucky. I was resilient. I rewarded myself by surrounding myself with people who loved me and whom I loved in return. We partied as our reward.
My second business was a franchise. My husband invested the set-up money and I ran it. It was going well. I was helping others start their own franchise. Then the rules of the game changed and I lost it all. Don’t get me wrong, it was devastating and doubly so as my husband had not had his investment back. I treated him to a slap-up meal as an apology and he showed his support in return.
The silver lining was meeting a lady through that experience who saw my potential and nurtured me under her wing until she knew I was ready to go it alone. That’s when WAG was born. Small and definitely not perfectly formed!
Providing help to local businesses in picking up the phone to drum up new customers for an hourly rate. It was a success and I was being recommended to others in their circles. I would celebrate with a pint or two on a Friday night.
As my confidence grew, I found myself training people how to mirror my own processes, gain ground and grow. These projects would fund trips to the theatre for the family as I’m a great believer in making memories.
Hourly rates turned into campaign packages and my reputation grew. Some rewards were simple: stationery items. Others were improving the office with a smart bookcase or better chair. The best reward I have treated myself to was a log cabin in the back garden. No longer did I need the serviced offices nor to commute. I’ve been working from home some ten years or more now and wouldn’t change anything.
My point? Oh yes, reward yourself on the journey. Celebrate wins, big or small.
Remember to put back what you take out of yourself both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
How will you reward your own success?
No matter how small a reward – a book, a bottle of wine, or a shopping binge. Or set a larger goal for a personal development mastermind or a retreat.
Take some time to think about the small wins, what will you do as a reward?
Then look forward to the big, juicy wins. The steps to making your dreams come true. What huge reward could you allow yourself to if these happen?
The bigger the goals, the larger the success you will have in yourself. This equals a bigger reward, even if it’s not a physical item but a day spending valuable time with your family.
