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Hi there, Simon Crabb here. And—a bit of a strange video today.
It's about half past six in the morning. I'm wide awake.
I've just had my coffee and my favorite shed mug. It's pretty cold. The heating has not
come on yet. So, I've got my two dressing gowns on.
My bunnies are awake down there. They're just nibbling on little carrots, as bunnies do.
It's strange though, the bunnies didn't used to eat carrots. You know how a bunny can eat
a carrot and seem to nibble on it? They didn't used to do that.
They used to just eat the green bit and then leave the carrot.
They've actually just started eating carrots, which is a bit bizarre. I used to have to
chop them up for them. Fussy carrot—fussy bunnies.
So, last night—just before I fell asleep, I had a thought for a video and I thought,
"Oh, I must write that down. Oh, I haven't anything to write it down with. I'm not going
to remember what it is." But, thankfully this morning I remember what it is. And, I thought
I'd just share it with you.
It's about the concept of firing yourself.
So, we all know The Apprentice, in the UK - Alan Sugar. In the states it's Donald Trump,
and he does the, "You're fired," bit.
Over the past year I've had a year of some significant change in my businesses.
What I've realized is—I've effectively fired myself several times in several businesses.
What I think is important when you're an entrepreneur—when you're working for yourself—or, even if
you're in a job—is that you've got to take notice of what's working.
Take notice of what is happening in your businesses—in your professional life, or even in your personal
life, I guess, and not be afraid of firing yourself.
What do I mean by that?
Well, I have several businesses and what I noticed earlier on in the year is that some
of them weren't working as well as they should be.
Whilst I'm making money, I wasn't happy.
So, I made some changes and I effectively fired myself and said, "Right, that's it.
You're fired," and fired myself from that business.
And, in one case I sold a business.
In another case, I've been just winding down a business.
What I'm doing here is saying, "Right, that's not working. Get out—move on to something
that works."
If something isn't working quite correctly, you have to have the confidence of changing.
You have to have the confidence of doing something different—even if that time it doesn't feel
right—even if at that time it's going to cause some pain and hardship, perhaps.
What I've realized over the last year is that—getting rid of things that don't work to give yourself
some time and space—especially head space to track things that are important and concentrate
on things that are working well and focus on a small amount of things—is really important.
I've seen that this year where I've got rid of some stuff—gone even lower—and, had
to start from almost scratch again—not necessarily with the new business, but focusing on a new
particular project.
It turned around and it's working well now and I think having that conviction to fire
yourself worked really well for me this year.
So, don't be afraid to fire yourself. I've fired myself many—many times. And, don't
be afraid to do it.
If you're not happy with the situation—if something's not working—don't be afraid
to stop doing it and move on to something else.
Okay, that's all for now. I'm going to upload this and have some breakfast. Let me know
what you think of this firing yourself thing.
Does it make sense? I don't know.
Leave a comment wherever you see this video and let me know. Okay, I'm going to go now.