A business coach client asked Clay what advice Clay had about the option for the business owner to invest his retirement account from a former job into his business. Clay’s response was, “Do you want to bet on yourself?”. Naturally, this got me thinking. Would I bet on me? What kind of people would you bet on and what is the best return on investment when it comes to choosing what to do with any acquired wealth or other resources you have? Even investing in stocks, mutual funds, 401ks, I.R.A.’s (Individual Retirement Account) or even the casino (ha) leaves your finances, future and investing decisions in the control of someone or something else. THAT… hit me hard this week. So, shout out to my fellow obsessive-control-disorder-competitive-I-can-fix-everything-myself, like-minded people. This one’s for you.
Take control and bet on yourself.
Everyone will interpret this piece of advice from Clay differently and there is not necessarily a right or wrong way to do that unless you are lying to yourself. I thought about this quite a bit this week because I wanted to know just how much I actually would bet on myself. John Maxwell talks about The Law of the Lid in the Thrivetime Show interview. He also writes about this in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. To sum this up in a sentence, your lid is your maximum potential at that point in time, and everyone has a different lid.
So, how do we take the concept of the law of the lid and execute this when it comes to betting on yourself? Well, you have to be honest with yourself. Where is your lid? How much can you actually handle? This is why I say, everyone has a different lid and the lid can be different depending on you, your circumstances, your choices and a particular phase of life you may be in. For example, would I say, as a general statement that I would bet on myself as a business coach? Yes. As history proves, this is usually a safe bet. So, if I were going to invest in myself when it comes to a goal I am aiming to achieve, I would not hesitate to bet on myself.
However, would I bet on myself to make a successful President of the United States? Absolutely not. Anyone who thinks I would make a good president (which is currently a club of zero members) is a fool. I’m a lover, not a fighter. I would never want to be the one to pull the trigger on an execution. I’m glad someone else is protecting us, but I simply would not want to be the one to make that call. Additionally, I would not handle knowing all of the government’s secrets very well. If aliens exist and the Twin Towers were an inside job, I’d rather not know. Thanks, conspiracy theorists for the constant mystery in my head that I will never actually solve.
Here are my action steps for you after taking the time to read this business coach blog. One, I hope you marinate on this concept this week the way I have. It made me look into myself a little further than I typically do. Then, find your lid. If you think you may be blind to what your lid actually is, ask someone who knows how you work best; a spouse, a manager, perhaps a colleague that you work closely with. Third, bet on yourself just slightly past your lid. Not too far past, but push yourself nonetheless. Bet on yourself because you know you best. Whether your investment in time, finances, or any other type of resources, bet on you and that’s about the safest bet you can make.
