Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you have something fun planned for celebrating the luck of the Irish….at least a bit of green beer!
Today’s holiday got me thinking about “luck”. You might not know where the term “luck of the Irish” actually came from. During the gold and silver rush years in the second half of the 19th century, many of the most famous and successful miners were of Irish and Irish American birth.
This led, over time, to the association of the Irish with luck and the expression “luck of the Irish”. Unfortunately, because of the discrimination of the Irish around the same time, more often than not, the phrase was said with derision, like the Irish didn’t really deserve the “luck” they got.
So what is luck, really?
Did the Irish have the gold and silver they found literally fall in their lap? Or did they have the determination, grit, and just plain “roll up their sleeves” attitude to dig a little deeper, or longer, than others around them? I say it was the latter.
I believe, just like the Irish, we make our own luck.
I know it’s easy to look at others around us that appear to be having all kinds of “overnight success” and think that luck played a big part in it. In fact, all too often I hear entrepreneurs say things like…
“She got really lucky to get that speaking engagement.”
“Gosh, how lucky can you get to have “Guru XYZ” promote you.”
“I’m just not lucky enough to have the good client prospects find me.”
If you’ve ever found yourself saying something like this (or at least thinking it), take a moment to think about what’s often behind what we might perceive as “luck”.
…Did that speaker have to make 100 phone calls and speak at countless Meet Up groups of less than 10 people before that “big” speaking opportunity came through?
…Did the big guru notice that the entrepreneur had supported every one of the guru’s launches for the last year, converting at higher rates than some of the biggies with a small list?
…Are you consistently doing what it takes to create a flow of ideal client prospects?
Luck can be created. It’s the small everyday actions that we consistently commit to and steadfastly stick to that RESULT in our LUCK.
What actions do you know make the biggest difference in your business? These are often called Key Performance Indicators and you MUST know what they are for you.
I recommend that you identify the top 3 things in your business that have the biggest impact on your overall revenue. For many service-based entrepreneurs, examples include…
- # of Strategy Sessions each week
- # of referrals each month
- # of days between services
- Show up rate on your webinar
- # of speaking engagements each month
Set an objective for each week or month for each Key Indicator, and TRACK IT! Get yourself a white board and at the start of each month, for each indicator, list your objective and then use a check mark each time you complete the action.
You just may be surprised how lucky you get!
Share your Key Indicators ….and enjoy your green beer. :=)
