Stay Open To Business Opportunities

I’m constantly surprised by the wisdom of others. A seemingly routine networking event or chance encounter can turn into a life/business changer in a heartbeat. My challenge is to say open to possibilities and resist my own limited thinking about how my business should run. And you can too. Here are three character strengths to nurture so you can stay open to business opportunities and let others help you become successful.

1. Humility – is the character trait of being teachable. No matter where you are, at the office, in church, on the street there is always something or someone to learn from. Business is a great opportunity to listen and learn from vendors, colleagues in the industry, and potential clients. No one person has all the answers. Be teachable. Align what you learn with your greater purpose and another business opportunity is birthed.

2. Compassion – is “deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.” Imagine a business model that embraces compassion! Quite a change from doing business in a ruthlessly competitive, cut throat, and at times unethical environment. I am alarmed at a local university’s center for ethical business practices. Apparently we need such an organization because some business practices are questionable at best and criminal at worst. We can and must do better by our employees, our customers, our communities, and our environment. How we do this is the subject of another blog post.

3. Courage – There is no better platform to demonstrate courage than in business. Pitching your product idea to a venture capital firm, depleting your savings to fund your idea, and putting faith in the marketplace all take courage. When I started my business I cashed a CD but before I could do that I had to have  ‘the talk’ with my husband since we jointly own all our assets. Whew!

Of course to be successful at anything in life requires strength of character and when we fall short its good to promptly admit our wrongdoings and move forward.  Put humility, compassion, and courage to work for you today and let success follow.