In sports, umpires/referees/judges have an extremely tough job.  They must be able to perform their duties – calling the game as fairly and accurately as humanly possible – while blocking out all external influences such as screaming fans, angry coaches, unruly players, etc.

It’s the same when you are you’re own boss.  Keeping a cool head is crucial for success as a freelancer, entrepreneur, or business owner.  But let’s get back to sports for a minute.

When a ref blows a call, and he knows it, you can’t help but wonder how that might affect his next call.  For example, a baseball umpire makes a called 3rd strike on a pitch that was clearly off the plate.  That call ends the inning, which results in one team being able to hold their lead going into the ninth.

The coach of the losing team comes out to argue the call – knowing full well that in baseball, calls never get overturned.  Nonetheless, he’s out there cursing out the umpire, kicking dirt on his pants, throwing his hat across the field.  He makes his anger known, and it’s compounded by the fans who erupt at the sight of a firey coach meltdown.

Coach is thrown out.  Game continues.  Now every call this umpire makes for the rest of this game comes with extra baggage.  In the split second he has to make every call, he’s second guessing himself.  Should he compensate for that missed call by leaning slightly in favor of the team he screwed over during the last inning?

The best umpires/referees/judges have the ability to detach themselves from all that baggage and focus on making the right call – no matter who benefits.  They keep their cool and do their job.

Human errors happen and there’s no getting around that.  It’s about moving past them without letting them effect whatever comes next.

Managing that fire in business

The ups and downs of running your own business are not limited to only errors.  You never know what type of unforeseen obstacles will come your way.

You lose out on a big project you thought you had locked up.  You get hit with a lawsuit.  You owe a lot in taxes.  Your employee quits in the middle of a large project.  These things happen, and sometimes there’s nothing you can do to control or prevent them.

The question remains – how will an obstacle effect what’s next?

Let’s say you take a hit financially.  Will you start lowing your price quotes to ensure you lock up new business?  Will you accept projects that you wouldn’t normally take on – such as a red flag client, or something outside your specialty?

If you do, you’re making a very serious mistake.

Once you take on a project that you regret – either because you’re not getting paid enough for it, or because the client is a nightmare to deal with – you’ll be killing yourself with stress.  Stress results in lower quality work, which leads to more problems.  Now it happens all over again – you’re spiraling and constantly playing catch-up.

Bad move.

Above all else, you must stay true to yourself, to your business, and to your big picture goals.  Accept that there will be hurdles.  Learn how to move past them, minimize the damage, and continue to perform at 110%.

When it comes down to it, that’s what keeps your business in thrive mode.