Ever wonder how a great businessman can achieve so much in a short timeframe and others achieve very little during their entire lifetimes? Granted, some businessmen are just in the right place at the right time. They found the right opportunities and didn’t look back. But what about the businessman who wasn’t gifted with luck; the one who had to strive to find the right opportunities that eventually paid off? What was his secret? We’ll use deductive reasoning to find the answer.
Do Skills and Abilities Make a Great Businessman?
I believe too much emphasis is placed on skills and abilities. Yes, you must have a certain level of skills and abilities to be an effective businessman. But much of this is overrated. You can easily hire someone who has the skills and abilities you need to get the job done. Why waste your time learning a new skill or ability when you can hire someone and save the time and hassle. Plus, there is always someone out there who can do it better than you. So why not get them to do it instead. That just makes logical sense. So let’s strike skills and abilities off the list.
Does Natural Talent Make a Great Businessman?
I’m sure every businessman wants to think that he has a natural talent of being great at business, but that’s rarely the case. In fact, I think it’s completely false. No man comes out of the womb a great businessman unless he’s The Boss Baby. If you haven’t watch the movie yet, you gotta. It’s suppose to be a kids movie but I think it’s more for adults. Back to the topic at hand. A great businessman is groomed or conditioned to be one in some way, shape or form. Although natural talent seems like the cool thing to say, let’s scratch that off the list as well.
Character Traits
If you’ve listened to my podcast episodes or heard me speak on stage, you know that I’m all about the “character.” A man’s character, in this case the character of a businessman, is really what determines his greatness more than anything. Your character is far more important than the skills, abilities and natural talents you possess. What’s even more important is not the external character you portray to others but the internal character you portray to yourself. Who you believe your are internally reflects on your external world and actually shapes it. It’s not your external character traits so let’s cross that off the list. Now we’re getting closer!
The One Internal Character Trait
A great businessman has many great internal character traits. But there is one that far outperforms the rest. It’s the one that builds your character the most. Without it you are frail and cannot perform. Build it and you become a powerhouse businessman. It’s SELF-INTREGRITY. Simply doing what you tell yourself you are going to do. Wow, this seems so simple but very few men actually have a high level of self-integrity. From my personal experience, less than 5% of men have this nailed down. Am I being harsh? No, I don’t believe so.
What Self-Integrity Means
Self-integrity means that you do what you say you’re going to do every time. Not just some of the time, not just when you feel like it, not just when it’s convenient. It’s all the time. When you build a high level of self-integrity, you build greater clarity, confidence and control over your inner world. The more control you have internally, the higher your quality of thoughts, emotions and energy. These three elements are fundamental to being a great businessman.
Even a small act of hitting the snooze button on your morning alarm tells your unconscious brain that you aren’t doing what you put your mind to doing. It’s very subtle but each of these excuses add up. A great businessman will execute on what he says he’s going to do, every time. That’s the difference between great and everyone else. As I coach men, I explain that 90% of success is doing. The 10% is perfecting the doing. If you show up with self-integrity every day and do what you say you’re going to do, you will outperform most of your competition. It’s that simple! Why, because 95% of the men out their don’t do what they say. So you, just by the laws of probabilities, will end up further ahead and with better results just by having a high level of self-integrity. It’s the guy who shows up every day and does what he needs to who wins at the end.
Tips
Here are some simple tips to boost your self-integrity:
- Start small and gradually increase your commitments to yourself.
- Create a journal and track where you’re on track with self-integrity and where you’re falling short. Don’t feel guilty, just do it the next time.
- Hang around with other men who have high self-integrity.
- Have a partner who can hold you accountable.
- Celebrate your wins.
- Write down what it will cost you if you don’t live up to the level of self-integrity you need.
My grandfather hammered home the point that “your word is your bond.” What he meant was your word to yourself, the strongest and most powerful bond you can form.
Listen to more on self-integrity on The Male Entrepreneur podcast episode “The Most Valuable Asset You Have” by clicking here.
All the best!
Purdeep
P.S. To perform at your highest level, get a FREE copy of my new book “The Complete Man” just by texting the word “free” to (888) 210-5566.
