subject: Success Is A Team Sport [print this page] Have you ever been waiting in line at the grocery store and had someone approach with 'excuse me' on their lips or a slight point of their finger to indicate they'd like to squeeze past you to another checkout lane? What did you do? Did you puff out your chest, take a bold stance and look straight ahead, denying them passage to another checkout lane? Probably not. Most of us happily step aside, glad to help someone out.
What do we do on the highway when a car signals a lane change? I'll admit it. At times I've caught myself holding my speed or, I'm ashamed to say, speeding up just to prevent them from cutting in front of me. Heaven forbid they should arrive before me. What's with that?
Recently, I've been approaching highway driving a little differently. I look for opportunities to help another motorist out. I try to be a bit more aware of a turn signal that I can respond to rather than driving in the zone.
What would happen if we all approached highway driving with the focus on helping each other arrive safely at our destinations? What if it were a team effort? We already rely on other members of the team to obey traffic signals. We rely on them to stay in their own lanes. Helping another motorist on the freeway actually comes with a lot less stress. Instead of elbowing and honking my way to my destination, I can slow down a bit and wave another driver onto the crowded highway in front of me.
But surely we aren't expected to operate our business with the team mentality, are we? Those who do not have an abundance viewpoint would argue that you must claw and punch your way to every sale. Truth is, however, if every one of our competition's clients fell into our lap, it would feel like we'd been run over by an eighteen wheeler. We couldn't realistically handle that kind of business influx. I have witnessed that when a business owner thinks someone is their competition, they often find that rarely do they compete head to head.
I know that the more I am a resource and offer help to others aimed at working with small business owners, the more I will learn from them, about them, and about our mutual clients. In reality, the more I help others succeed the more I succeed.
I believe it was Brian Tracy who said the secret to becoming successful is helping enough other people achieve success.
So, how about it? Would you give it a try? The next time you see me with my turn signal on, whether it's on the highway or in business, consider motioning me in?
