Dealing with Uncertainty
As I write this, I’m dealing with uncertainty…
It’s life…it’s business…it’s the life.
I got a chance to reconnect with my great friends Langa and Khalipa at one of Langa’s two farms. HE is dealing with uncertainty – will there be water? Will he get his green houses up in time? Will the plants do what he NEEDS them to do?
I could see it in his face and I was SO glad to be able to chat with him. Because frankly when you’re in the midst of uncertainty, you need to sometimes just chat it out.
You’re probably in the same boat. You’ve got business plans and problems that are on your mind before bed, and right as you wake up. You might have a family that you’re thinking ‘holy moly I’ve got to take care of ALL of these people!?”
I’d rather not LIST everything I’m uncertain about but I’m betting you have similar problems and me listing them might seem like complaining…of which I do NOT want to do!
Today I’d like to share some tips that I use, and one from Langa, to deal with uncertainty.
Brad’s Tip #1: It’s a Learned Management Through History
There are times when I can just feel totally overwhelmed when I look at my every growing plate!
But when I stop, take a breath, and look at my HISTORY I know it’ll be ok.
Why? How? Well I’ve personally learned from seeing how my parents ran a business and pushed forward regardless of what life was throwing at them that they thrived.
My mom ran a business that eventually went away as the industry died, then went to see her PIVOT into a different business later in life to see her THRIVE once again in a brand new industry! I’ve learned by seeing my dad transition from a career, back into school, then to a completely different industry, and NOW started his own business, AND HE WILL BE OK!
Learned by living it ALREADY!!! We’ve done this before. In fact we, as a family, have had a new baby AND started a new business while away from the safety, comfort and “certainty” of being in the States.
I continue to have to remind myself of my HISTORY and have Faith that we’ll be OK…
Brad’s Tip #2: Talk it Out
Raise your hand if you’re a ‘in your head’ kinda person….(Brad’s hand raised!)
For me, being able to just do a brain dump with/on someone, and then realize it’s all manageable and there’s a path through it! I’ve got a few people in my life who I trust 100% and can confidently brain dump without being judged, and by letting me just get it out. They’ve seen me walk the crazy road before, and know to just hear what he’s got, then let him sort it out.
Finding someone like that is HUGE as it allows me to be able to just get out of my own head, talk through what’s going on without TOO much input from them, and then see the clear path.
Langa: “People believe in me.”
Chatting with Langa today (see point two above 😉 ), it was clear he’s got a lot going on. We talked a little about how to just keep pushing through the challenges from baboons, thieves, traveling over a mountain daily, etc etc. It was a great conversation, one that will always stick in my mind as Langa may not know how helpful he is to ME! Just seeing him lay forth his plan, execute, manage problems, and stay positive.
And one thing that stuck with me from the many wisdom bombs he dropped was this, “I can’t stop or feel down as there are too many people who believe in me.” Essentially he’s saying ‘how can I believe the lie that I can’t do it, when SO many think I can do it!?’
Stop and think for a second, that is amazing.
Because we, as business owners and entrepreneurs, often times feel like we’re on an island. We feel the only people around us who are cheering are cheering for our failure. But the reality is MUCH DIFFERENT!!!
[bctt tweet=”If you take note of the people around you, you’ll probably find more people that ACTUALLY MATTER to you, who are actually cheering for your success and believe in you.” username=”bradstafford3″]
Pretty crazy thought but it’s a true one if you take a second to consider it!
Hopefully this article finds you in a spot where you stop, look back, and realize – ‘Hey, there’s really no reason to feel uncertain as I’ve been through worse and I’m here standing TODAY!”
Have a great day and would love to connect with you. Email me anytime: brad@bradstafford.com
Also if you have ANY messages for Langa please comment below as he will be reading and responding!
Best,
Brad
