The Mindset Shift - Keeping the Dream Alive
It is easy to connect freedom and travel business ownership.
You have the freedom and flexibility to choose what to do and when to do it –
or so all of the entrepreneurial hype says.
Sadly, it doesn’t take long before that little dark rain cloud of doubt hangs over your head.
Where is that flexibility I promised myself? I’ve traded 9 – 5 for 24/7. I eat, sleep, and worry myself out of the entrepreneurial promise.
Where is that freedom to do what I yearned for?
I have traded in an external boss for a much more demanding one—myself. I am constantly letting myself down. I am too busy. I am not good enough, I am not doing enough, and I am not enough.
Oh, but you are! You are everything you need to be.
When it comes to the entrepreneurial journey, the most crucial thing any owner can do is invest in keeping their spirit alive.
Three essential shifts exist to keeping your dreams alive on the long, winding road to achieving everything you want.
Shift One: Decide – what do you really want?
The mistake business owners make is they limit goal setting to a number and a date. When I work with travel business owners, we spend a lot of time here. A LOT.
The other day, I was working with a client who expressed his goal to me in numbers. After all, doesn’t every SMART goal include a number and a timeline? We are trained to know our numbers in business, and it is important because it gives you the benchmarks for measuring your progress.
Deciding what you really want goes much deeper than the numbers on a spreadsheet.
“I want to achieve 10 million in sales in three years" he said to me.
Keep going; you’re doing great! Here are five more questions to consider on a walk or even in the shower.
Why is that goal important to me?
Who else is it important to?
How will I keep the dream alive every day?
What is the one thing I need to do to make progress?
How will you hold yourself accountable when it gets hard?
Step Two: Make a Plan then Execute – Repeat
“Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.”
Dwight Eisenhower
Some wingers fly by the seat of their pants but get it done, and some Planners take time to consider how an effective strategy can save time and deliver a far greater outcome.
Travel Business Owners need to be both Wingers and Planners.
I coach two great friends who own travel businesses. Their kinship lies in the fact that they consider themselves exact opposites: one is a Winger, and the other is a Planner.
They have learned the power of working together, encouraging each other to do the hard stuff; while one excels at planning it, the other avoids it, and vice versa when it comes to execution.
They hold one another accountable for stretching themselves out of their comfort zone.
The key takeaway: Make a simple plan, execute it, and find a friend to hold you accountable to do the hard stuff.
Step Three: Keep the Dream Alive by Sharing it with Others
The one thing that every successful business leader has in common is the ability to influence others to join them on their journey.
Most business owners start by influencing themselves, their family, and a few close friends that starting a travel business is the answer to everything they have been looking for!
They share their passion with anyone and everyone who will listen, and their travel business takes off! (My favourite story is when a brand new business owner sold her first cruise to the Fed Ex Driver!).
Somewhere along the way, we stop sharing our dreams, that unbridled enthusiasm wears off, and we keep it to ourselves and follow everyone else. Every travel business starts to look the same.
“Fortune favours the bold.”
Latin proverb.
Keep your dream alive by daring boldly to be different, share your journey, and invite others to join you. Consider these ideas:
How did your passion start – your history
What is your next bold move that will spark your enthusiasm?
How does it make you different and unique?
Who does this appeal to?
How can they join you?
Your spirit will soar if you lift it on purpose. What do you really want today, tomorrow, and by the end of next year? Sketch out a simple plan, execute it daily, and share your dream with others so they will join you.
Enjoy the journey!
I am a travel business coach, strategist, and author. I help owners take a leap, engage a high-performing team, and become the "go-to" leader in their market.
" Geraldine is amazing! I have done her group mentoring class and it was great!
Geraldine really gets to the heart of what you need to be successful.
Every Travel Business Owner needs to work with Geraldine!
- Lisa Hulbert
If you are interested in gaining clarity and improving your impact, schedule a strategy call with me HERE.
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