The standards we set for ourselves impact our lives – and our businesses – in so many ways.
A few months ago, I shared some thoughts about how striving for perfectionism can be detrimental for entrepreneurs. But there’s the flip side. Unfortunately, our society – and entrepreneurs are no exception to this – has become very accepting of mediocrity. Being good – passable – is good enough for many people.
You can put in the time, be sincere in your dealings and aim for mediocrity. What can you expect? You’ll likely see average results.
What Standards Do We Set For Ourselves?
I’ve also explained how the power of choice – and living our lives from a state of awareness can result in massive results. One of the biggest choices we can make – whether or not we are entrepreneurs – is what quality level we will strive for. Again, a big issue for many people is that they are not even aware of the ability to choose this.
Why Standards Are Important In Social Media
Let me give you an example:
I often have people that ask me how I have so many followers on Twitter and how I’ve been able to build up the influence I have.
The answer is simple: I consciously consider whether or not what I am about to tweet will provide value to my followers. It doesn’t need to be all followers, but at least some.
This results in trust. It results in people wanting to share (retweet) what I tweet. It results in people adding me to Twitter Lists and recommending that others follow me. It results in people mentioning me in blog posts.
From a business and professional standpoint, a crucial part of developing a solid reputation is the trust component.
I rarely directly tweet things pertaining to what I do business-wise, yet I’ve generated a substantial amount of business from Twitter. Why? In part because of the trust established. But also because people who are familiar with my tweets also expect me to hold the same standards in my business dealings.
Ultimately, the choice of the standards you hold yourself to is one of the most important choices you can make. It is something entirely under your control, it doesn’t truly require more time and it has long-lasting and broad implications.
I offer you this challenge: Consider your standards in 2012 to date. With a little over half of the year left, make the conscious decision to raise the bar – even just a little.
How can you raise the bar? What little things can you do to set a higher level of standard? What impact might it have for you? Have you raised the bar already? If so, what results have you seen from it?
Photograph by Foxtongue
