Have you ever told yourself that you're not cut out for business?
Do you think that being wildly successful isn't for the faint of heart, and you don't have what it takes because you're "too nice"?
I want to talk to you about using kindness as a business strategy.
Some situations call for more kindness and compassion than others and it's important to try and recognize and respond to those situations.
I once received a letter in the mail, and it said: "To Lisa: you are inspiring, generous, brilliant, and beautiful. Congratulations on realizing your dreams and encouraging so many others to do the same."
They didn't have to send that, they didn't need to say those kind things "just because". That person took time to hand-write that card, address it, stamp it, and put it in the mail.
Why did they do that?
That person did that because that individual leads with kindness.
Kindness is not weak and kindness is not wimpy. Kindness does not mean that you are not a player in the business world.
Kindness is strong, powerful, and confident. You can be kind AND be an unbelievable businessperson. You can be focused on what you want to accomplish in your business and still be kind to other people. You can be hard-hitting and direct, and yet still be kind in the way that you show up and treat other people.
You know that saying, "Nice guys finish last"? That makes us think we've got to be mean, aggressive, and abuse them in order to generate success. That is not true at all.
Kindness, gratitude, and compassion are important qualities that you want to lead with in your business.
Ask yourself these questions:
Are you kind when you talk to yourself?
Are you kind when you say no to things?
Are you kind to your body?
Are you kind to the people who work hard for you?
We could use a whole lot more kindness in this world. There are some people who automatically lead with kindness, and there are others who have forgotten what it means to be kind to someone else.
Think about kindness as a business strategy. When you are clear about your revenue model you can be good to people and still make money. Which means, no, you don't have to be a bad person to be good in business.
Don't be fooled by people making you think that it's ok to be nice to your friends and family, but you have to be a shark when it comes to business -- because it's not true.
Think about how you show up in the world and leave me a comment -- what do you do to deliberately spread kindness in your professional life?