The 8 Laws Of Life And Business Success

I was driving my 3 little boys to school today, and Jeremiah, my 11-year-old, asked me, “Dad, would you rather be sad 100% of the time or be scared 100% of the time?” I told him I’d rather be sad because sad people can pretend to be happy part of the time. Fear paralyzes you, even when you know it isn’t logical. So, how does this apply to running a business?

Embrace The Learning Curve In Business And Life

Sometimes, I get a sudden moment of clarity on how to improve my life or business in a certain area where, until that point, I had made very little progress. A variety of experiences and information seem to converge and present a solution to the problem. One of the issues I worked through in 2020 (and continue to work through in 2021) wasn’t planned. However, because of the pandemic and social unrest, fear, negativity, lies, and sadness have run rampant everywhere you turn. Many will remember 2020 as a cursed year for that reason.

We have all seen people who say 2020 was the worst year ever. Most of us have uttered something similar, and I’m guilty of that for sure. Of course, 2020 wasn’t a walk in the park for most. For me, business was difficult early on in the pandemic, but most of my struggles in 2020 were personal. The truth is that it was a year no one anyone expected. Regardless of how it went for you, we’re all in the same boat, even if we’re standing on different parts of the deck.

Fight Through The Fear

Even as we reach the halfway point of 2021, many people still haven’t moved past the issues and fears born in 2020. I was walking in downtown Boise this past weekend with a buddy, and to my surprise, many stores were still closed due to COVID-19. Most places have reopened in Boise at this point, so what are the still-shuttered stores afraid of?

I can understand the fear people felt in March, April, May, and even June of last year over their jobs, their businesses, or the economy. Uncertainty was rampant. But here we are in 2021, and so many are still struggling with fear, worried about what the future might hold. 

Over the years, I’ve discovered what I refer to as my “8 laws of life and business.” Most fear stems from these 8 areas. Once you stop fighting against these laws, you can use them to your advantage! You’ll find more peace, growth, and prosperity in the long term. 

The 8 Laws Of Life And Business 

1. Neither life nor business is fair.
2. Make plans and have goals, but know that things will not always go according to plan and that you won’t always achieve all of your goals.
3. Everything changes. Everything will end. Don’t fool yourself by thinking otherwise.
4. There will be hard times. Be prepared for them, plan for the worst, and, if you get knocked down, don’t give up — fight back. If you do that, good times are just around the corner.
5. The only person you can depend on 100% of the time is yourself. That may be good, bad, or somewhere in between. The good news is that it is 100% up to you which way it goes.
6. You have to constantly stay in front of the curve in life and in business. Always be ready to out-think, out-work, and out-hustle everyone and everything life throws at you.
7. People will disappoint you, they will betray you, and they will not always be loving and loyal. The same is true for your behavior toward others. 
8. hink accurately. Rely on facts and logic, not emotions and reactions. Reacting emotionally is never smart. Most things in life and business don’t require an instant response. You may want to react and take action, but in almost all situations, you will make a mistake if you respond emotionally to something. Slow down, take a breath, take a day or two if needed, then respond.

How The 8 Laws Will Shape Your 2021

These 8 laws of life and business are how you get ahead. They are the road map to making millions, being happy, and living a full life. They may seem simple, but I’ve found that most people don’t do the basics, which is why they don’t win. It’s not because they’re missing some magical secret of life and business. They allow their egos to accept that they’re not as successful as they wanted to be because it’s someone else’s fault. But that is inaccurate thinking and a violation of law 8.

 As different as 2020 was, life, business, success, and happiness still boil down to doing the foundational things right. Shiny new ideas or closely guarded secrets are just hype to get you to open your pocketbook and spend money. Ultimately, this pandemic will finish out how it is going to finish out. We can’t control much, so don’t focus on areas you can’t influence. Instead, focus on what you can do right now to make sure you have an amazing 2021.