Today is my son’s birthday and it’s amazing how fast the last three years have gone by.  It was just yesterday that I was holding him in my hands after he was just born and realizing he was totally dependent on me.  Now, he  wakes up everyday like the world is his.  Truly amazing.   Over the last year I’ve been observing his behavior not only as a proud poppa but as someone building a business. I’ve picked up on 5 traits that my son, and probably every other infant on the planet, demonstrates that I think can be helpful in making your business a success.

1. He Likes What He Likes.

My son spends zero time doing what he’s not interested in. He refuses to be bored. Of course with his three year old attention span what he’s interested in changes very rapidly. But when he’s in the moment he’s all in. I’ve also noticed that even when he’s doing menial tasks like getting dressed he finds a way to have fun with it.  Is what you’re doing now holding your interest?

 2. He’s Honest.

In keeping with step 1, if my son doesn’t like something or isn’t interested in it he will tell you. In no uncertain terms. Even if caught doing something wrong, his first thought is not to lie it’s to tell you why he wanted to do whatever it was he was doing.  Like most things in life, honesty get complicated as we grow up but if you could bring back some of that child-like honesty what effect would it have on your life?    

3. He Doesn’t See Obstacles.

When my son started crawling we had to move some things to higher ground because whatever he got his hands on was pretty much toast. The funny thing was it didn’t stop him from trying to get what he wanted.  He just figured out what he had to climb to get to his prize. And that included Mommy and Daddy.  And he may have graduated to walking but he hasn’t outgrown his ability to see past obstacles. I hope he never does. Imagine what you could be doing if you didn’t see any obstacles.

4. He Keeps Getting Up.

I don’t know how many times this child has fallen while playing around. I’m sure its no more than the average boy his age but no matter how many times he goes down, he pops right back up and keeps on playing.  Sometimes he trips and falls and just lays there laughing. I always ask him “are you ok?” and when he can be bother to give me a response it’s almost always “Yes!”. As adults the falls we take can be a bit more serve. But we all have the ability to get up, shake it off, and get back in the game.

5. He Gives It His All.

My son hasn’t learned the concept of slacking off yet.  What ever he’s doing gets his full focus and energy. Again, his three year old attention span allows for rapid changes to what get his focus but he doesn’t half step when he’s in the moment. Your business deserves that type of laser beam focus. Attention grabbers abound when you work from home. Your success will be determined by well you do in fending them off.

I hope it helps. Leave a comment and let me know if it does.

Happy Birthday D