As an Entrepreneur, I have made many bad decisions in my businesses and there are some bad decisions which resulted in years of pain and suffering. That is when I realized the power of a decision. It sounds very cliche to say but our decisions shape our lives.
My life changed for the better when I finally understood that I was exactly where I wanted to be in my business. I was earning just as much as I wanted to earn, I was as healthy as I wanted to be, and I was as happy as I wanted to be. The truth I stumbled upon was that, we are who we are today because of the decisions we have made in our past. And, we will be, in the future, whoever we choose to be because of the decisions we are currently making right now in our lives.
I have also made many great decisions which have greatly benefited and positively impacted my life and I have realized that there are a four common elements to those great decisions I have taken.
A great decision is broken up into four components. If even one component is missing, this will result in you making a decision from an unstable and insecure position:
- Accurate information
- Foresight
- Courage
- Consistency
1. Accurate Information
It is extremely hard to make a great decision when you do not have any accurate information. After all, a decision is basically a conclusion, but in order to have a conclusion you need to first have some kind of information.
Imagine for a moment that you just received a text from your best friend and as you open it you are perplexed by the text because all it says is “YES or NO?”. Yes or no to what? What is the context? I am sure that we can both agree that your best-buddy is not feeding us adequate information thus making it hard for us to make a well-informed decision. What if you entertained the text and replied with “YES” only to find out that you were saying yes to the both of you getting a Backstreet Boys tattoo on your face? That, if you have not figured it out yet, would be a BAD decision.
2. Foresight
It is foolish to think, even for one moment, that everything will go perfectly according to my plan. I learned this the hard way, there will be many obstacles that will pop up before you and try to hinder you from achieving more in your life.
This is why I love playing Chess, because it is not only about who has the better strategy. It is also about who has more foresight, who can accurately predict and counter the moves their opponent is about to make next.
Likewise, you can make a seemingly great decision but if you fail to take any possible obstacles into account then you too will be outplayed and your decision will not create any lasting positive effect on your life.
3. Courage
I was a guest lecturer at the University of Pretoria (one of Africa’s top ten Universities) in South Africa and I was speaking to a handful of students who were completing their Honors in Publishing Studies. I had a great time engaging with the students, we had a great Q&A session and at the end they told me that it was a very beneficial lecture. I left that campus thinking to myself how grateful I was that I had contacted the University and asked them if they would let me come and speak to their students on how I built my successful publishing company. I also realized that if I did not have the courage to send that email, I would not have had the opportunity to speak to those students and I would have missed out on inspiring and guiding them.
4. Consistency
What is better than one great decision? Many great decisions.
See, when you make a great decision, it becomes easier to make another great decision, not because you will be less pressured or fearless but because you have made a great decision before. And so, it becomes your proof that if you could do it then, you can do it again. This boosts your self-confidence and allows you to make decisions from a place of confidence and not from fear, uncertainty or anxiety.
Your decisions decide your future, so start making great decisions and watch your life blossom with progress and success.