Stop Feeling Inferior and Do Something
This post is Day #29 in the 31 Days to a Better Work + Life Balance series.
Do you suffer from the "Little Guy" syndrome?
This is the mindset that since you’re blog/business isn't "big" or super well known yet, your standards can be a lot lower.
Some of the symptoms might look like this...
- Work is often thrown together
- Customer service is lacking
- Poor craftsmanship or follow through
- No effort into connecting on social media
- Things get done halfway
I understand the temptation to think, “Well, my following is small so who’s really going to notice?" Or maybe wondering, "Is it worth it to put in effort just for a few people?”
Are You Trustworthy?
Jesus told a story that applies so well to this mindset called the Parable of the Talents. (You can read the full story here.)
The story is about a man who has to go away on a journey and so he entrusts a little of his property to his servants. He gives 5 talents to one servant, 2 talents to another and just 1 little talent to the last guy. The servants who had 5 and 2 talents work hard and double what they’d been given.
But the servant with the 1 talent didn’t put in any effort and instead buried his in the ground. It might have been out of fear of failure or just plain laziness, but obviously the master was not happy with him. He didn't do anything with what he’d been given so what he had was taken from him. The master gave it to the first guy who had proven trustworthy.
Think Small, Stay Small
The same principle holds true for us. It doesn’t matter how big/well known we are or how much we have to start out with. What matters is that we take good care of the amount we’ve been entrusted with.
There comes a point when we have to stop feeling inferior to those who have more (bigger followings, more sales, more publicity, etc.) and do something meaningful even if we only have a little. If we think small and make excuses for not doing our best, we’re going to stay small or maybe even lose the followers we have now.
Investing In What We Have
On the flip side, we should show gratitude for each and every person who follows or buys from us by taking good care of them. If we do, there’s a good chance they are going to take notice. And maybe tell their friends, who tell their friends and suddenly that little following might just grow a lot larger. But even if it doesn't, we can avoid getting bitter about the amount someone else has and feel excited about what we have.
(AND BE MORE AWESOME.)
- What can you do today to take care of the followers you’ve been given?
- What goals can you set to improve the quality of what you do?
- What further training do you need in order to put your talents to good use?
