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Success can be elusive, but failure is easy. It's up to you!

So much of what I write and speak about, will help you become more successful in your business, and your life. Over the course of my career, I have had the good fortune of working with over 700 small business owners, and speaking across North America to thousands more.

Everyone is looking for an easier way to grow their business. While we work hard, and often put in long days, wouldn't it be nice if there was a magic bullet?

There are two diseases in being in business. The first disease I refer to is the Discovery disease. This is where something happens and you and your business are discovered. In this dream, you are whisked away to the land of success, and everything is fine from that point forward. The second disease is the Arrival disease. In this dream, you arrive in the land of success, and forever you are well. From here on out, you do not need to concern yourself anymore with what you did to get you where you are, and everything is fine from this point forward. If only these things could happen.

There are three reasons why you will fail in your business. You will fail due to a lack of clarity, a lack of congruency, and/or a lack of consistency. It will not be due to a lack of commitment. Most people are committed to making something happen. It will not be due to a lack of conviction. Every single person I encounter inherently believes they have some product, or service, or program that can make a difference in the life or work of another person. Clarity, congruency and consistency are a whole other story.

Let's take a little step in each of these.

Clarity. Do you measure and track your numbers on a monthly basis? Do you know specifically what you want to sell more of? Are you able to introduce yourself to another person, in a way that he or she wants to know more? If you can achieve a higher degree of clarity and eliminate the gray area, you will be one step closer to reaching your potential.

Congruency. There are many ways to look at congruency, and for our purposes, let's sum it up as bringing more of who you are to what you do. Are your real with your prospects and customers? Do they know who you are, and can you admit when you are wrong or make a mistake? What do you specifically do to enhance the critical relationships in your life and work?

Consistency. Anyone can do something once. Let me see you do it again. More than anything else, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and independent professionals are inconsistent when it comes to doing what matters on a consistent basis. Doing what matters, can be defined in many ways of your rming session with yourself or your team members every week.

When you identify those critical and sometimes simple activities and strategies that you can repeat on a regular basis, you set yourself up to succeed for the long-term, and not just a month or two at a time. Do not trust how you feel on a daily basis, trust the process and work your plan.

Contact Mark:
Mark LeBlanc runs Small Business Success in Minneapolis, MN and can be reached at (612) 339-4890 or by sending an e-mail to Mark@SmallBusinessSuccess.com. You can order his books, ‘Growing Your Business' and ‘Never be the Same', at www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com or www.NeverbetheSamebook.com.