How Do You React to Change?

Guest Blogs by SBIers

By Richard Gorham from Leadership-Tools.com

Too often we hear people complain when they are forced to change from "the way it's always been". The excuses are plentiful and easily anticipated, usually coming from the same group of nay-sayers.

This type of reaction is not surprising because most human beings, when faced with change, experience a heightened degree of discomfort. Their discomfort leads to fear and anxiety as they ponder the potential for future conflict or failure.

Consequently, most people prefer to remain within their 'comfort zone'. They shackle themselves with lower expectations and will do almost anything to avoid change from affecting them.

And then there are the ultra-successful minority (measured by overall happiness) who understand the many benefits of change, and who more fully appreciate why getting, and living outside their comfort zone is so deeply important.

In my experience, SBIers are prime examples of people who 'get it.' Not only do we continually push past the fear and anxiety that comes with change, we actually seek out these opportunities. Why? Because we understand that by doing so, doors open, opportunities arise, and the world provides paths to increased personal and professional freedom.

For those who do embrace change, it becomes the spur that forces us to learn and grow.

We live in a world of constant and never-ending change, and thank goodness we do. Can you imagine how boring it would be if our daily routines were the same as 10 years ago? Scary thought, right?

Back in 2002, when I first began my online business journey, I literally knew nothing about building a website or running an online business. Looking back almost 9 years later I can honestly say I'm not the same person I was when I started. As my business has grown so have I, both as a businessman and as a human being. Only as a result of working through countless life and business related challenges have I been able to realize so many great rewards.

Change continues... a recent challenge came with Google's recent "Farmers" algorithm update (see Ken's posts on this, starting here). My Google AdSense revenue dropped over one-third, which equates to a significant negative financial impact.

However, with experience comes perspective. Although I was not immune from having feelings of fear and anxiety when the change first occurred, I quickly reminded myself that "change leads to growth" and this is just one more minor bump in the road. Giving in to fear was not an option. Instead, I decided to own it and get on with figuring out how I could best respond to the situation.

I'm now in the process of going back and making improvements to my website that will add greater value to my visitors and make my overall business better; creating a more solid foundation for future growth and earnings. By also diversifying my income streams more widely (and testing to know which ones to keep and which ones to dump), I will be able to lessen the risk of being so negatively impacted financially in the future.

Notice I've never said that change is easy, it's not. In fact, change is often quite difficult. But as we develop a 'bring it on' mindset, where we actively initiate, accept and even welcome change, we open the door for amazing things to happen.

Not so long ago, I attended a conference where the guest speaker was Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks International and author of the book, "It's Not About The Coffee". The primary message of his presentation was that business is not so much about the product (although having a quality product is important) as it is about the value we bring to our customers. It's about the personal and emotional connections we make that lead to a positive long-term relationship.

Sound familiar?

During his speech, Behar related a story about how Starbucks came very close to missing out on a $1.4 billion (so far) opportunity because of a top Marketing Executive who was not open to trying new things.

This short-sighted executive actually rejected the idea of adding flavored coffee drinks to the Starbucks menu. His stance was, "That's not what we do". Behar stated that the financial windfall that Starbucks experienced by adding flavored coffee drinks to the menu was only possible due to the tenacity and persistence of a local store manager who wouldn't take no for an answer, and a few executives who were open to testing, and ultimately changing things from 'the way it's always been'.

This is just one more example of how our willingness and desire to change for the purpose of continual growth directly relates to the opportunity and rewards we experience in life. Embrace the opportunity of change, while conducting yourself and your business within the golden rules of building successful businesses.

Of course, it can be hard to "stick with it" and realize the benefits of persistence when one hits a bump in the road, especially if you are working alone from home. Frustration and negativity can make us forget that every business inevitably has temporary setbacks.

Rather than giving up, keep tortoising ahead. Build a social network of like-minded associates.

It's great to be a part of the outstanding community of SBI! owners (in the Forums). These are people who readily tackle the challenges that are presented in a rapidly changing environment while simultaneously encouraging and reassuring with their own real-world experiences that setbacks melt away by working through them.

I hope this post reassures that you can indeed, with a little help from your friends, do more than "get by" as Lennon and McCartney once sang. You can reach your goals and claim control of your life by embracing both change and your friends.

Richard Gorham created his first of 2 SBI! sites (Leadership-Tools.com) back in 2002. His home-based e-business allows Richard to share and nurture his passion for leadership and self-help with other like-minded people and, on the personal front, to show his children by example that "you can do anything you set your mind to". Thank you for being an inspiring role model, Richard.