I used to get angry, upset, and worried all the time. It wasn’t fun. Then I came across a formula from a Roman Emperor that helped me a lot…
On the outside, being an entrepreneur or CEO seems to be ´all sunshine and roses´. That is what your friends see 😉
But if you have been in this game for as long as I have (over 20 years) you are bound to experience ´the cycles´.
You probably know what I am talking about:
There will be times that all moves forward effortlessly….
and times you feel like you´re puling on a dead horse, hitting speed bump after speed bump.
It´s easy being captain of the ship when it´s all smooth sailing.
But what you do when the SHTF, shows what kind of a captain you are.
Your mindset will make all the difference.
Enter Marcus Aurelius:
Marcus Aurelius was the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome (161–180 CE).
His Roman Empire spanned across most of Europe, parts of western Asia, most of the middle east, and northern Africa….ruling over 40 Million people…..without Wifi 😉
As you can imagine, this guy had his challenges.
To keep his mind sane, he developed and and used a Operating System that is still in use among the most successful entrepreneurs today.
(After over 2200 years, so it must be good)
It has helped me through many turbulent times as well.
The formula is deceptively simple and work in business and in life:
E + R = O
Event + Reaction = Outcome
The event is there, it does not care. It is not positive or negative perse.
It is your life situation at this time. You have very little to no control over it.
Your reaction however, you have full control over. At least you should have. Your reaction is where in lies your freedom to chose. It does not need to be automatic.
It is your reaction to the event that will determine your Outcome.
Example:
An employee that you have heavily invested in, leaves you to work for the competition. A knee jerk reaction can be that you are extremely upset. ´How can he do this to me?´.
In that case the Outcome will be that you are seriously unhappy and maybe even resentful: All emotions that do not feel good or help you solve the situation.
Or you can chose to just accept the situation, not add emotional fuel to it and move on.
The outcome will be wildly different.
Is it easy? No. But the good news is it becomes easier with time and practise.
I hope this formula will help you keep a cool head as well!
Let me know your best HOS (Human Operating System) Rule for Life in the comments 😉 I´d love to learn from you.
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Tomorrow I´ll share with you what I learned by getting destroyed by a K1 Freefighter…
How to stop worrying and start living…
