Preview Chapter: The Paul Principle
Chapter 26: The Paul Principle
Wondering if there’s a true-blue ‘secret’ to business success? For better or worse, it’s all about you.
Are you working as diligently, deeply and unflinchingly on *you* as you POSSIBLY can?
We don’t mean your accounting, consulting, graphic design, veterinary, writing, speaking, lawn mowing, or other business-specific skills.
We don’t mean your marketing skills.
We don’t mean in (only) an analytical, examining kind of way.
We’re talking about on you. The whole you. Who you are. What you stand for. How you behave. What you believe.
If you have any hesitation about saying yes, here it is:
Time to do something about it.
Wisdom nugget:
You may be familiar with a concept in business circles that’s often referred to as the ‘Peter Principle.’
The Peter Principle is a theory originated by Dr. Laurence Peter in his book by the same name1. In simple terms, the principle says that in any given business, an employee will tend to rise to his level of incompetence.
Or, basically, they’ll keep getting promoted until they’re terrible at their new position, like the factory worker whose terrific performance gets him promoted to a management role, which he fails at.
Well, there’s a new principle we’d like to introduce you to, which we call the Paul Principle. It says:
In any given business, the growth of the business will rise or fall to the level of the business owner’s personal development.
We see this frequently. When people grow, their business grows. When people don’t, their businesses don’t. And sometimes, when businesses get inherited or acquired, the business will show a spurt or dive, based on the ethos of the new owner.
Case Study:
Andrea: At an internet marketing seminar some time ago, I saw an example of the Paul Principle at work in the starkest of ways.
At the request of the coach speaking at the front of the room, a young man about 20 walked to the front of the room. There, he was asked “What’s your big dream?” To which he replied, “To start a record label so great bands can get the attention they deserve.” (Pretty articulate, considering.)
“Okay, that’s great,” said the coach. “So what’s stopping you, why aren’t you going for it?”
And the young man – we’ll call him Jay – said, “I don’t have the money I need to do it.”
“Fair enough.” And the coach turned away to face the audience. “So based on what you’ve heard, is there anyone in the audience who would like to invest some money into making Jay’s dream of a record label come true?”
Hands shot into the air, including mine. Actual dollar bills, ten dollar bills and more were waved around.
The coach turned to Jay at this point and said, “Jay, you have 3 minutes, starting now, to tell these good people why they should give you their money.” And he started the timer on his watch.
What do you think happened next?
The time, simply and quietly, slipped by, and the coach’s “Time’s up” was met with hushed tones.
And Jay walked back – miserable certainly, and shocked, for sure – to the protection of his seat among his friends.
Putting aside the question of this style of coaching – this true story illustrates a potent thing.
When opportunity knocks, are you ready?
If you knew you could have everything you wanted right now, would you know what to say?
Are you – your character, your development, your greater Self – ready?
If there is one thing we invite you to really embrace as you go about life in the next thirty days, it’s this. Work the Paul Principle. Make it work for you by:
- Saying NO to bland. Stand for something.
- Cultivating a vision. Get clear about what you believe and mean it. Lead.
- Conditioning yourself emotionally. You and your business will weather many ups and downs. Nurture your strength of spirit just like you work out your body for the great race.
- Articulate what you want and why. Don’t worry about how just yet.
- Being prepared to say a resounding ‘yes’ to help that wants to find you, and that many times, is sitting right on your doorstep.
Be diligent and unflinching about yourself and your growth. Start now in whatever shape or form that looks like to you.
Your success (financial and other) as a business owner is DIRECTLY linked to your ability to evolve yourself. It’s the Paul Principle and it’s at work in each and every one of us. Remember it.
Wisdom nugget:
One of the ways to work on yourself is to take stock of where your life is now.
Consider taking just 30 minutes now to take the simple and insightful self-test called the ‘Clean-Sweep Assessment’ and score your life out of 100 points. Write to support@msoci.com with ‘Clean-Sweep’ in the subject line to receive a copy.
