One of the hardest things to learn in business is when to give something your all and when to cut your losses and fold. Here is a simple little flow evaluation that can simplify the decision making process for you. Then if you decide to give it a go, the “faith it till you make it” ideology can be the difference of that extra oomph you need to push it through.
You can not learn this in uni!
“Faith it til you make it” can be the difference in ultra competitive or high barrier businesses!
I have tried both ‘fake it til you make it’ and ‘faith it til you make it‘ and I can’t impress upon you enough that the latter gets you by far the best results.
Something almost magical happens when you set your mind to it. Call it a goal or a business target, it is still something you need to achieve for a good reason. Since magic is not real, let’s look at why, when we decide on something, it materialises, and sometimes all we have done is talked about it. Other times of course, it can seem a never-ending battle barely worth the effort.
As business people we don’t always have the resources or skills or knowledge to achieve all of our business goals. What if those goals were mission critical? What if those goals were the difference between survival or not? Even if it is not a make or break scenario, some goals are just as important for many other reasons and the blunt facts are that business people don’t have every skill necessary to do everything that needs to be done every time. So how do we bridge the gap? You already know!
Faith means “confidence or trust in a person or thing” in this case, the thing is “you”. It is also defined as a belief that is not based on proof or factual evidence.
You already have an invaluable ability that is indispensable in business. If you did not have this already you would not be in business for very long. You have that ability to bridge the gap between your current skills, knowledge and the skills, knowledge and experience needed to achieve a business goal, target or outcome. When you don’t have it, you know how to get it.
These are the questions I ask of myself when I need to resort to my ‘faith it till you make it’ mode. Anyone who has developed a process chart of done some coding will get the simplicity here:
1. What is the payoff? Is the return on investment going to be greater than the energy and focus and monetary investment required?
• YES – Go to (2)
• NO – Go to ‘Give it up’
2. Has anyone else ever done it?
o YES – Am I as capable as a person that has achieved it?
YES – Go to (3)
NO – What skills, knowledge and experience do I need to achieve the outcome and are those available for me to gain?
• YES – Go to (3)
• NO – Go to ‘Give it up’
o NO – Is it worth having a go anyway, OR do I have additional skills or resources that none else has had.
YES – Go to (3)
NO – Go to ‘Give it up’
3. Am I passionate or committed enough to follow through and circumvent any obstacles?
o YES – Go to (4)
o NO – Go to ‘ Give it up’
4. Are there any insurmountable barriers to entry?
o YES – Go to ‘Give it up’
o NO – Go to ‘ Give it your best’
There is no evidence or proof that you will succeed but somehow, you do. It has likely happened to you before and you should draw on that experience to help you have faith in you. If you have never had that experience, I’m not going to spoil the surprise for you by detailing the psychological pay off. Enjoy! So when it comes to the crunch your choices are: ‘give it up’ or ‘give it your best’.
Give it up, this is not an achievable goal or a realistic outcome, it’s just a fantasy. It’s ok to have fantasies from time to time but let’s get real. Are you really going to invest your energy and focus on something that you can’t really have any faith in achieving?
Give it your best, ‘faith it til you make it‘. You know it will be worth it in the end. You know you can acquire the skills , knowledge and experience you need to fill the gaps. You know you have the passion and commitment to see it through. You know that the only insurmountable obstacle is your belief in yourself. Give it your absolute best, not just a good go. Leave nothing unanswered so if it does not work, you know there will never be any ‘but if I only(s)’ in your closet.
In business, if we did not have faith in our own abilities, we would never try anything beyond our comfort zone.
You can’t fake that!