Energy

Energy

You all know that feeling – you get a call and just looking at the caller ID makes you go “pffff” or you open up a mail and see a name immediately giving you that sinking feeling….it’s often not the message that makes your heart sink, but it might well be the person....

In my world there are two types of people – those that give me energy and those that cost me energy. I was having a discussion the other day with a company I advise – they were wondering whether to continue business with one of their freelancers or not. The discussion with the person in question had been going round in circles and just looking at the faces of the partners you could see they were tired of the whole deal. Demands were being made without anything that indicated that the person in question would actually step up his performance too. Then, on the other hand, one of the other people in their circle was very interested in becoming a partner. One day when the partners came into the office for a meeting with him, he was standing there washing up the teacups – making himself useful without being asked to do so. Whereas the faces of the partners dropped and became tired looking when they talked about the first person, their faces almost lifted and lit up when they talked about the second.

I shared my observation with the partners on what I saw and heard in their voices and asked them to check and feel the difference within themselves when they thought of each person in turn…. In the end, it made for a very easy decision on how to proceed.

Being in business is tough – you constantly have to make decisions, find new opportunities, overcome challenges and keep things on track. The last thing you need is to surround yourself with people that tire you out, that cost you energy without giving anything back. I made a very conscious decision years ago that I simply did not want to work or be with anyone that fell into that category. Of course you cannot always avoid dealing with the energy-drawing types, but you can definitely acknowledge how it makes you feel and then make it as short an interaction as you can.

Instead I try and consciously surround myself with people that provide me with energy, that give me inspiration and help me through my day. Making that choice is such an easy thing to do – you can always trust your gut feel when you are with people – it will tell you precisely which is which. Believe me, you need all the energy you have to keep running your business. Don’t let anyone take that energy away from your focus.

Marion

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Contributing

• 
  Rodney Sampson

• 
  Rajesh Vinaykyaa

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  Nirav Mehta