If It Was Easy HD

If It Was Easy

August 31, 2015Nina KovnerGROW

“I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” Thomas Jefferson

(originally posted in April 2014, revised August 2015)

A conversation I had with a super awesome hairdresser the other day has been completely stuck in my mind, so what better way to get it out than to share it. Here is how the conversation went…

We were discussing a very successful salon in Los Angeles. Like mad successful. How did we define successful? Happy team members, happy clients. A TON of traffic. I also happen to know they are very profitable. My friend said to me…”Why don’t other salons work like that? They could be awesome too!” My response was, I know. They could. But they choose not to.

You see, success is a choice. And it is NOT easy. No matter what people say. Oh, and let’s just smash the other myth, that there is a secret. I call total BS on that one. And then there is the “they are so lucky.” Really? Luck? I like what Thomas Jefferson said in the quote above, that luck is tied directly to work. Very smart man.

Don’t know what to do to be successful? Find out. When we choose to become a brand owner, we have opted into knowing what it takes and doing what it takes. We either acquire the knowledge or hire the knowledge. We create. Then we execute like a bad ass. Measure. Adjust. Create again. Period.

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. What are you doing to grow your business? Hiring the knowledge or acquiring the knowledge? It’s a choice. And the most important thing to do right now it to make one.

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina

 

Promise Me You'll Always Remember

I Think I Can

October 18, 2012Nina KovnerGROW

“Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.”

Henry Ford

 Promise Me You'll Always Remember

I’m Not Good At That
How many times have you said I’m not good at that?  I would suspect, more than you care to admit.  Before you went to beauty school, were you good at it?  If you were like me, the answer would be a big NO!

To be honest, I could hardly use a curling iron and had no clue how to put a roller in someones hair.  But I made a commitment, and I tried, and after a while, realized I was actually really good. This is my story.  Every step along the way, every opportunity that was presented to me, if I did not know something, I figured out a way to learn it.

I have always believed I could do something, and with the skills I acquired along the way, my undying passion and my ability to execute on ideas, I made good things happen.

Passion + Skills + Execution
No matter where you are in your career, there are three things you must possess to be successful in business and live a fulfilling life.

Passion
Many of us discovered our passion when we walked through the doors of beauty school.  Well, at least that’s my story.

Passion is misunderstood.  There are a few articles written recently that say “follow your passion” is a completely misleading phrase.  Meaning, if we are taught to follow our passion, and our passion is, let’s say, watching TV all day, then maybe that’s not exactly how we will live a happy and prosperous life.  Unless of course, you are independently wealthy.

What I believe is if you find something you are passionate about, it is entirely possible to turn that passion into an awesome career & life.  However, passion alone is not enough, you must take the steps and do the work to turn your passion into something meaningful, and something that pays the bills.

Skills
You may learn these in school, in advanced classes, or you may be self-taught.  And if you did not learn what you needed to, find out where you can learn it, or find people who know it, or who have done it.

I have had awesome mentors, and have made a commitment to lifelong learning, no matter where I was or what title I had in my career.  I still do.

When Gordon + I set out to create Passion Squared, I did not know how to use WordPress, the platform I am using to write this blog, but that did not stop me.  I made a decision to learn, and found the resources I needed to learn, then sat down, and learned.  Sounds simple, but how many times do you stop at this step, because you think, “I’m not good at that”.

So, either learn the skills or hire the skills, doing neither will not help you get closer to your dream.

Execution
This is what separates people who make things happen and people who talk about making things happen.  Execution does not get talked about enough.  We are told to follow our passion, and work really hard, and things will just magically fall into place for us.  Not true.

How many times have you said you wanted to do something, and just never followed through?  How many times did you have an awesome idea to generate new referrals or marketing program, and realize six months later it never happened?

Execution is everything.  You can have great ideas and great intentions, but unless you make a decision and commitment to execute on those ideas and intentions, they are just ideas, not executed.

So now you have the secret recipe.  Take two cups of passion, add a cup of skills mixed with a gallon of execution, and you are well on your way to doing big things.

Promise me you’ll remember, you are smarter than you think.  You are.  I know.  I am you.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista, Nina)