One of the key determinants of your success as an entrepreneur is commitment. The moment you have started on your venture and are working your way towards carving your niche in the market and developing a brand you often realise that it is not as easy as it looked from the outside. There’s the long hours, difficult customers and financial challenges. Yeah trust me it is not a walk in the park. But you know one thing, if you work on your strategy deliver on your promise and stay the course you’ll be laughing to the bank someday!

Somewhere along the way we start to look at other opportunities and even start looking at some corporate positions that are there for the taking. The grass starts to look much greener on the other side, you start to doubt your vision and reasons for doing what you are doing. This is a normal yet dangerous place to be at, because from this angle it is so much easier for you to focus only on the positives from the other side when in reality there are some stinkers on that side too.

The grass is not always greener on the other side, you’ve gotta mow and water your side to make it greener. It’s your grass, you’ve got to water it and when it seems to grow out of control you have to be disciplined to mow it. No matter where you go the grass is going to need the same kind of attention no matter what side you’re on. This is the truth we don’t want to hear when we are determined to jump ship and run after a new thing, but it is the truth that you have to heed anyway.

So forget the grass on the other side for a while and concentrate on your own turf. Ask yourself some tough questions here:

How can I mow my grass?
This is about being brutally honest about what it is that you need to cut down on. You have to regularly trim off the things that are not necessary and often hinder you from going forward. What are some of the bad habits, bad debt, bad customer service trends, bad spending decisions you have made that you have to eliminate in order to go forward. This is a big and difficult step, one that is crucial to your success. If you are to win you need to focus ruthlessly on those things that will make you successful and cut out the rest. If you Mow your grass and do it continuously you will see some amazing results.

How do I water my grass?
The grass only remains green if it is regularly watered. Without water it will go brown and start to wither, the same applies to your business, your career and life. If you do not water your grass don’t expect it to be green. There are specific things for each business, each career and indeed each life that are necessary for growth. These are keys to your success, if you do them regularly they will make you wildly successful. Depending on what business you are in these things will differ but you must know what they are. Ask yourself what do I need to do consistently to get and stay at the forefront of my industry. What is it that keeps me fresh and valuable to my clients and my company. Keeping your offering valuable is the key. You only remain successful as long as what you have to offer is valuable to those you’re selling it too. Your customers buy value from you, if you work for a company that company needs to get value out of you. Identify the value you bring to your customers, improve on it and you will water your grass. It’s just that simple.

You should take some time to seriously look at these two simple questions and start changing your life for the better. Trust me, moving to Australia won’t change your circumstances, if you’re not watering and mowing your grass here you’ll have the same dry patch over there. All you’ll get is a different set of neighbours and new rugby team. So why not stay and make your business, career and South Africa work? It is up to you.