Why is Being "Irresponsible" Good For Business? Part 1

You see “her” turning a brilliant business idea into reality – despite (or because of) the risk. You see “her” trusting her guts, quitting her job, starting her dream business and now calling her own shots. You see “her” breaking out of the mold, attempting the “impossible” and coming out stronger and brighter.You are jealous. You feel left behind. You feel stunted… bogged down… by something you can’t put your finger on. “Why can’t I do the same?” you ask. You are just as smart, and just as determined.Maybe you are conditioned to be a “good girl”, and “good girls” are “responsible.” Maybe you are conditioned to make sure other people get taken care of, or to “keep it together.” Maybe the “virtue” of being “responsible” is slowly but surely, crimping your creativity…We picked up a lot of “identities” as we grow up – daughter, friend, wife, mother, employer, employee, volunteer… most, if not all, of them come with “responsibilities” as their “job descriptions.” All our lives, we are conditioned to be “responsible” for certain things or people, in order to be accepted, approved or loved.

“Responsibility” and Creativity

Somewhere along the way, we were told to buckle down, get a job and “be responsible.”Somewhere along the way, “Planning” and “Keeping It Together” has become a “Virtue.”Somewhere along the way, we were discouraged to take risks because it’s “irresponsible.”Somewhere along the way, we shot down spontaneity communicated to us by our guts through feelings like thrill, elation, and butterflies in the stomach… because they feel “reckless.”Somewhere along the way, being “successful” got equated with “being in control” and “having a plan.”Somewhere along the way, we stopped listening to our GUTS and stifled our natural-born rights to LIVE brightly, loudly, unapologetically because we have to “grow up.”There is so much creativity hidden in our natural instinct but we are pushing it down by denying our desire for exploration, adventure and spontaneity because others tell us “that’s how it’s done.”

Where In Your Business Are You Holding Back Your Creativity and Individuality By “Being Responsible”?

Maybe it's time to be irresponsible. Of course, we are not asking you to gamble your house and lose your pants. Having the awareness that this hidden desire in us can help us HAVE MORE OF US in our business, can ignite the FIRE and guide us to express our creativity and individuality – which will open up possibilities and potentialities that we didn’t know exist within us.Here are a few questions to help you do a “gut check”:

1. Are you implementing “proven” processes, blueprints and systems cookie-cutter style without asking – what do I WANT my business to do FOR ME?
2. Have you fallen into the comparison trap, “modeling” after everyone in your field and ended up with Frankenstein-marketing-copy that sounds just like everyone else… but nothing like YOU?
3. Have you had ideas that really pulled you but got shot down by some business coach because it doesn’t fit into his/her “paradigm” of how things are done… before you had the chance to explore all the angles and see how YOU, as you, can make it work for your business?

Reinventing the wheel is not smart, but letting the wheel determine how you roll sounds kind of ass backward too.

We have seen success stories about people taking risk and making it big. What can YOU do to take that leap?Part of us needs to feel safe before we dare to DARE, and that’s totally cool. We all have different criteria in order to feel safe, before we can let free that wild and imaginative part of us. Do not beat yourself up for needing more (or something different) to feel safe than “everyone else.”Acknowledge what you need – because all parts of you need to be heard, if you want to have all of YOU in your business.But make sure whatever you need to feel comfortable so you can dive into the deep end comes from YOU, not from other people’s standards of what “being responsible”, “being in business”, “being a success” should look like.What do you need to know in order to feel safe enough to jump? (If you are honest with yourself, you may be surprised by how it’s actually “smaller” than you might think!)

(Why is Being "Irresponsible" Good For Your Business Part 2 on Wednesday)

Let's hear from you. Did this message resonate with you? Do you feel like you are being held back by being "responsible" with your business? Tell us in the comments below.