We make plans, and we picture the goal and the path to success as dictated by the plan. There is a preparation for action within our ability and that is complementary to our skills which will see us benefit from that plan.

Then we step forward … 

Alan is a new acquaintance I met recently. He’d had heard that networking was, amongst many other things, a great sounding board.

He was looking to introduce his ideas to the Weekly Business forum and of course, he was welcome to join us for breakfast.

“So, Alan thanks for joining us, what is it we can help you with?”

Sadly, for the most part that day Alan was invisible amongst us and continued to be so for the next couple of weeks until I decided to sit down and see if he might benefit from a conversation.

Like many who step into a new environment for the first time, there can be a sense of unease – even dread. The ‘what if’ … or ‘what if they don’t?’

We may have the best-laid plans (Robert Burns) but if we cannot see the way to communicate ‘the plan’ we can become lost. Even with the confidence of knowing precisely what it is we need and with the steps toward success being obvious there is still one thing that is overlooked.

Learning to trust.

Do we have the faith in our own ability?  Am I able to recognise genuine support, will I be able to keep up the pace … and how do I trust??  

Alan was coming across as a little uncertain, he was worried, nervous, and lacking in faith in the plan he himself had laid down. He wasn’t able to relate and so went unseen, unheard.

Alan soon realised that running a business is a leap of faith. There is rarely an end game, the spirit of reason and enterprise that led us to start in the first place is not necessarily going to be with us after the early years of success. Learning to trust in the influences and changes as our business grows is important as we adapt and initiate the change within ourselves.

Such as the change we face today, Alan.

You have a plan, you know the route to success and now, stepping out – here before you, here is a room of people following similar paths with stories that may inspire, influence you, or at the very least keep you from becoming the invisible man. 

People buy from people because business is personal.