Smart Business Magazine, February 2018

8 Smart Business Cleveland February 2018 FRED KOURY FROM THE CEO FRED KOURY President and CEO Smart Business Network Inc is the publisher of Smart Business magazine and operates Convero a customer and employee engagement firm Fred is committed to focusing on relationships not transactions in everything he does 800 988 4726 fkoury@ sbnonline com www sbnonline com www converoinc com Laziness enemy of our soul When you lose discipline in your life your potential is limited When the leader of a business becomes lazy these negative behaviors become part of the workplace culture Progress grinds to a halt mediocrity becomes acceptable and gradually that companys customers will choose to take their business elsewhere This is obviously a worst case scenario Just because you decided to sleep in this morning or put off making a call to a key client until tomorrow doesnt mean youve become a lazy leader and threatened the future of your business However it can be a slippery slope Laziness is a choice and you dont have to travel very far down that path before it becomes difficult to return to a more disciplined way of life Heres a quote from J Paul Getty an American born British industrialist and founder of Getty Oil Co The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might and force of habit He must be quick to break those habits that can break him and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires The reality is we only get one chance to be the best person and the best leader we can be We cant afford to become complacent and simply let each day go by without setting goals achieving them and then setting new goals If were not trying to be the best version of ourselves each day were wasting the talents and gifts that have so graciously been bestowed upon us Benjamin Franklin is known for sayings such as Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise and By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail Franklin was an ambitious man who worked hard for everything he achieved and became one of our nations Founding Fathers as well as a prolific inventor among countless other noteworthy accomplishments He died more than 200 years ago yet his values are still applicable today The good news is there are simple steps we can take to keep laziness from becoming the enemy of our soul We can make sure we eat right find time to exercise and get a good nights sleep These are practices that contribute to our overall spiritual well being They put us in the right mindset to be productive both at work and away from the office The lesson is that its OK to stop and catch your breath from time to time Everyone deserves to take a break once in a while Just dont stop for too long Youve got things to do This year we have expanded our ASPIRE conference to the Pittsburgh region I invite you to attend ASPIRE Pittsburgh presented by Metz Lewis Brodman Must OKeefe LLC on March 8 This daylong event is filled with dynamic keynote speakers engaging panel discussions and power networking opportunities For all the details see the ad to the right Laziness is more than just a behavioral trait that we all confront at different points in our lives Left unchecked it can quickly spiral into a mindset that erodes our ability to grow and achieve facebook com SmartBusiness http on fb me 1RseSyO @ FredKoury linkedin com in fredkoury Fred Koury is the chairman of ASPIRE 2018 which will take place on May 3 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Register for the conference at www regonline com aspirecle2018