Trust. The. Process.
Trust. The. Process. I’ve been saying those words to myself quite a bit lately. I even say with pauses, like there are periods between each word. I think it’s my way of slowing down, taking a breath and letting the words sink in.
Trust. The. Process.
I think starting a small business is a huge leap of faith, but it gets to a point where you simply have to Trust. The. Process. If you truly believe you’re doing everything in your power to prepare and plan, and you are confident in who you are and what you can do, then about all that’s left is to Trust. The. Process. You have to let go, throw yourself and your plans out into the universe and … say it with me … Trust. The. Process. It’s like the old adage, “What’s meant to be will be.”
Trusting the process isn’t an easy thing to do, especially for small-business owners who tend to have a smidgen of “control freak” hardwired into their DNA. After all, it’s probably why many went into business in the first place … to have control over a product, service or even their lives.
I do a lot of reading, and one category that’s usually on my self-education wish list is eastern philosophy – Buddhism, Zen, meditation, etc. The Buddhists talk a lot about letting go, and how to avoid the incessant, impatient scramble to find solid ground. Their point is that everything is always changing, always growing, always shifting. The minute you think you’ve found solid ground, it inevitably shifts and you’re once again scrambling to find your footing. You’re much better off staying in the moment, and going with the flow.
That is, of course, an extremely generalized explanation. But letting go and trusting the process is a lesson I try to always remember. You never know when or where you’ll find your next client, your next customer or where your next invoice will be sent. While being able to say “You never know!” with glass-half-full optimism is sometimes easier said than done, think back to those chance encounters that resulted in something positive. My belief is those quirky, wonderful life coincidences usually happen when we’re unknowingly trusting the process.
For example, last week I attended a local Chamber of Commerce networking event. As I mentioned in a previous post, networking is NOT one of my favorite things. I’m naturally introverted, and I usually feel pretty uncomfortable walking into a room full of strangers where the sole purpose is to make meaningful connections. But, my love of my own little business easily won that internal argument, so I went.
Wouldn’t you know it, before I realized it, I met a handful of wonderful people and made some contacts that will help me grow my business and continue my vision of helping other small business owners.
So, work hard, be true to who you are and what you can do, and don’t be afraid to trust the process.
