Choose Your Enemies Wisely

by Patrick Bet-David

What is the difference between your competitor and your enemy? A competitor will reveal your weaknesses in the marketplace. An enemy will inspire resilience you might not know that you had. A competitor will force you to work hard to stay in business. An enemy will get you out of bed every morning with fire in your gut. A competitor will show your team the numbers to beat. An enemy will create a passion that moves your team to blow past stated projections. For any company to survive, you must understand and analyze your competitors. But to achieve long-term dominance, you need enemies to destroy. All of this starts with a good mission and business plan. Many people make the assumption a mission statement is just something we can write down quickly with little if any thought. That is far from the truth. Not only should businesses have mission statements but also key people should write one out for themselves to remain focused. I have had a lot of practice during my career writing mission statements for businesses. It is a timely endeavor that takes a lot of thought and the more diversity you have helping you the better results. My personal mission statement for most of my life was very self-centered. It focused on climbing the corporate ladder and money. I decided to take some time and rethink what is important to me now as a 50 year old. So here is my new mission statement: “I want to live a simple life where I can serve my church and family because I’m dedicated to my faith and loved ones. This simplicity brings me closer to what actually matters in my life.” What is your mission?

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