Some business inspiration

Those who know me can tell you without hesitation that my favorite reality TV show is “The Biggest Loser.” This show is inspirational on many levels, but I’m most inspired by the fact that the trainers, Bob and Jillian, give people hope. It sounds corny, but it reminds me that no matter how big the challenge, whether it’s business or personal, if you want it bad enough and are willing to work for it, you can accomplish anything you want… and I mean anything.

Each season a new crop of sedentary obese people comes to the “ranch” and completely transforms their lives after 10 short episodes (over a span of probably four or five months). They conquer pain, suffering, mental roadblocks and demons in order to change their lives for the better.

Let’s be honest: in 2009 the promotional products industry got hammered by the economy. People experienced some terrible pain, lost decade-old customers, lost their business and in some cases lost their homes. It sucks, and what’s worse (in my opinion) is the fact that so many industry professionals lost hope and ended the year a bit broken, with waning confidence.

My “Biggest Loser” message is that this was just one episode; you have nine left to go. The question that you now have to answer is: are you ready to man up, run through the wall, beat the demons and rebound, or will you go back to sitting on the couch feeling sorry for yourself?

The answer is predictable. If you are willing to work hard, believe it or not, you can completely transform your business in a way that will pay dividends for many years. Conversely, if you say “woe is me,” if you have an excuse for every derailment or put the blame on everyone else, in 12 months you will find yourself in a world of hurt.

So ask yourself, what would Jillian and Bob say to you? My bet is they would give you a stern talking-to that would hopefully put your business on the path to becoming a svelte supermodel.

For a little inspiration:

Best of luck in your next nine episodes!

- JB

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

blog comments powered by Disqus