Startups
4 Ways to Reach Success in Your Business by Aligning Strategy With Spirituality
Oftentimes, people see business strategy and spirituality as two separate worlds. The former is very well-developed, logical and systematic, while the latter is a messy, inward, personal journey of self-discovery. It’s very easy to understand why a strong strategy will support business growth, yet much harder to see how spirituality even fits into the picture.
Let me offer you an alternative point of view. We all know that everyone defines success differently, especially in business. For some this could mean making that first sale, whereas for others, it involves growing a multimillion-dollar empire. Therefore, success is a personal measure and if that intrinsic measure is nurtured over time, it creates an inner system of beliefs – spirituality.
Now imagine strategy and spirituality as being two sides of the same coin. You wouldn’t then be able to walk into a store with just one side and purchase a product of your choosing. You’d need both, to make up a whole coin and therefore, a means for exchange.
Below are 4 ways of aligning Strategy and Spirituality in your business to achieve ultimate success:
1. Listen to your intuition
Listen to your intuition or your gut feeling like business people like to call it. This will help you understand how you truly feel about a new project, which will in turn help you ensure you’re remaining strategic and aligned to your higher vision in all your business endeavours.
Exercise: Every time a new project or collaboration presents itself, take a deep breath and ask yourself if this fits in with your ultimate plan. If the answer feels uneasy in your body, you know that’s a no. But if you get a happy feeling, even a smile on your face and a sudden rush to get started, you know you’re onto something good here.
“You must trust your instinct, intuition and judgment.” – Rouben Mamouilan
2. Ask for guidance
Ask for guidance along the way. Spiritual people ask for guidance from above, all the time, but in your business, it’s important to ask for guidance from people you trust and admire, on topics that are truly within their zone of genius. Every great leader will tell you that you don’t need to have all the answers, but you need to know where to get them.
Exercise: Create a list of go-to resources for various tasks. They will become the experts you can turn to when in doubt about how to proceed. This way, you avoid making branding decisions based on the advice Auntie Mary gave you at the dining room table the other night.
3. Look for a lesson
Look for a lesson in everything you do. Spirituality teaches us about unity all the time and the idea that everything happens for us and not to us. In business, especially when failure occurs, it becomes very easy to shift gears and move in a different direction. And although the ability to pivot can make or break companies, it’s even more important to learn from our lessons to ensure we don’t repeat them again in the future.
Exercise: Think of a time when a launch did not go as planned – what could’ve been done differently and how could you prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future? It’s also important to hear from your team and customers on a regular basis so be sure to incorporate a feedback loop into your overall business strategy.
“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” – Bill Gates
4. Leverage affirmations
Leverage affirmations to ground your ideas and beliefs. Highly successful people will tell you that a positive mindset is essential to entrepreneurial triumph. Affirmations do just that. They help you focus your ideas and build your inner confidence so you can in fact achieve success in anything you do. And if you don’t believe me, look up almost any work completed by Harvard Professor Amy Cuddy.
Exercise: You can begin by simply reciting each of the following affirmations, at least 3 times a day. Try this for 30 days and see how it affects your potential of achieving success.
- I am worthy of a thriving business
- I am a successful entrepreneur
- I believe in my abilities to succeed
By following these 4 steps, you will be able to tap into the magical wisdom within and align it to your strategy and roadmap to achieve massive success in your business and beyond.