In order to survive and prosper in a recession, you definitely need effective methods, because without them you don’t have much of a chance.
But you also need to possess certain unseen, or “invisible”, qualities if you want to be able to guide your business towards success in a recession.
This blog series will focus on what I’m calling “The 7 Invisible Qualities You Need To See Your Business Succeed In A Recession.”
Yesterday we looked at the 1st quality, which is persistence. (See previous post here.)
Today, we’ll look at the second invisible quality you need to possess to succeed in a recession.
Let’s start with a story that Paul Harvey shared in the LA Times.
It’s a story about a man named Ray Blakenship who made an incredible rescue.
But the reason his rescue is so amazing is not because of what he did, but because of a little known fact about him. This fact reveals the second quality you need to succeed in a recession.
Read on and you’ll see what I mean.
“One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home.
“Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the foundering child.
Then he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the child’s arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray’s free hand felt something–possibly a rock– protruding from one bank.
He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away.
“‘If I can just hang on until help comes,’ he thought. He did better than that. By the time fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety.
“Both were treated for shock.
“On April 12, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard’s Silver Lifesaving Medal. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew. Ray Blankenship can’t swim.”
How much persistence does it take to pull someone from the raging current of a flooded drainage ditch? A lot! But when you can’t even swim in calm waters, then you need more than persistence. You also need courage.
Courage is the second invisible quality that you need to lead your business to success in a recession.
Courage is one of those factors that most people probably don’t think of when they think of your every day business owners, but it’s definitely the invisible quality that makes the difference between failure and success in so many endeavors.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was attributed as saying…
“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.”
I love Emerson’s line when he says, “There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right.“ And I love that he describes the courage as “the same courage that a soldier needs.”
Courage is needed to face the difficulties a recession brings to your business. Courage is needed to cause you to take action instead of taking cover. And courage is needed to accomplish the things that others are too afraid to even attempt.
Without courage there is no victory.
Do you have the courage to face the facts about where your business is really at right now?
Do you have the courage to gain the knowledge and, if necessary, bring in the expertise to accomplish what needs to be done?
Do you have the courage to take the actions that need to taken?
With courage and persistence you can accomplish things that you never thought you were capable of.
As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”
This is the 2nd invisible quality you need to possess in order to succeed during this crazy economic time. We’ll look at the third quality on Monday.
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One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the foundering child. Then he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the child's arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray's free hand felt something--possibly a rock-- protruding from one bank. He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. "If I can just hang on until help comes," he thought. He did better than that. By the time fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. On April 12, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard's Silver Lifesaving Medal. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew. Ray Blankenship can't swim. </p>
<p><font color="#0000FF"> Paul Harvey, Los Angeles Times Syndicate.
