The Process and Journey

Throughout my life, I have been very focused on goal setting mainly to accomplish or achieve my sports goals. As an athlete, you are consistently working towards your goals – no different than an organization actively pursuing their own goals. In life, sports, and business we become so focused on achieving our goals, the satisfaction of the accomplishment, and then the hunger for more to feel this way again. However, looking back, mentors and coaches used to stress the importance of the process and being focused on the present. Outcomes will follow, but only if you stick to the plan each day – usually this means doing the things we do not want to do. In sports, this is extra conditioning, spending extra time improving weaknesses; whereas, in life this could be staying healthy, challenging your mind, or anything specific to you individually.

Each company and person has their own journey, rate of development, and different objectives each day. I remember my first year out of college – I was a college football coach, barely 21 years old, and thought I had made it. I was making $500/month – one of the best decisions I have ever made. Early in my professional career, I fell victim to a fixed mindset (FMS). Since I always had success growing up and things came fairly easy – I believed my professional career was going to be easy since I was a “natural.” My career was not taking off how I intended, everyone else was the problem not me, and I was not taking care of myself as a whole person. These trials and tribulations, where you are searching for yourself and pondering how you will create a future provide great experiences that teach lifelong lessons.

Take chances on yourself early and often. The opposite of the FMS is the growth mindset (GMS) and when I learned about this concept it really helped accelerate my personal and professional development. As we embark upon our journey, taking chances and being in uncomfortable situations will develop skills to overcome adversity and obstacles in life. It creates a resiliency; where no matter what the obstacle is during my process and journey I know there is a way. The GMS focuses on learning, effort, open feedback, planning, and understanding that anything worthwhile will come with obstacles. If you or your company truly wants to elevate its performance, then adopting the GMS can help propel a sustainable business. Moreover, even as we say we are committed to the process it is easy to simply just say this. We can say we are living in the process, but still manage our firms solely by numbers, or check social media for hours a day when we should be living the process.

Each company and person will develop at their own rate. It is important to remember your path is unique to you. Create your own story, take chances, love to learn, and understand life is not all perfect, but with a positive attitude and GMS, anything is possible! Enjoy the journey. Please reach out with any questions about how we can help your team.

Stay safe, take care of your people, and do what is right for your business!

Best regards,

Ryan Forrestal

President

Westport Business Management, LLC