Seven years ago, I started my business during the last recession and at that time; I knew there was a lot about business that I did not know. However, I did not realize how much I did not know I did not know.

If I had to assign it percentages, I would say the breakdown was like this:

What I knew: 10%
What I knew I didn’t know: 20%
What I didn’t know I didn’t know: 70%

What I knew consisted of my area of expertise – behavioral analysis. What I knew I did not know were things like selling and bookkeeping.

What I did not know I did not know is the content of this article. These items came as a surprise to me and they might be helpful to you while you navigate this New Economy.

1. Be attached to your purpose but not your plan. In my seven years in business, I have changed my products and services, my business model, even my persona (from insights to The DISC Wizard) but have stayed true to my vision and purpose. Things have changed dramatically for many people in the last year. A good practice when making decisions about your life is to ask, “Does this new direction align with my purpose?”

2. Be careful whom you collaborates with. This applies equally to personal and professional relationships. Be sure you share the same vision for the future, the same values and have compatible or complimentary personalities. I know it seems like it would be easier to share the burdens of business and life with someone else but the wrong partnership can become the biggest burden of all.

3. Controlling your mind is job number one! It is easy to stay positive and optimistic about the future when things are going well. Yet it is even more important to remain positive when things are bad. When our minds become filled with fear, doubt and worry, it is unlikely that we will do our best, creative problem solving.

One exercise I do when I am stressed about something is to ask, “What’s the worst that can happen?” I run the scenario to the ultimate consequence (“I won’t be able to pay my bills; I’ll go bankrupt, lose the business, and lose respect, blah, and blah, blah”).

Then I ask “Could I live with that or would I survive?” The answer is usually – of course I could live with that (it would stink for sure – but I could live with it). Then I proceed confident that I could deal with the worst (which by the way – 95% of the time NEVER happens!) and can get back to a more proactive mindset.

4. You must have mentors. Okay – this one I knew. What I did not know was where or how to find good mentors. I thought I had to know them personally and ask them to teach me. What I found out was that mentors are everywhere. They can be living or dead, in-person or not. Yes, it would be great to have a close, personal mentor who is multi-million dollar business owner at my disposal. However, that is not always possible.

Yet, I can read books, attend seminars and buy programs from very successful business leaders and owners. I can “associate” with them virtually.

In addition, what you may discover is that these people are not so unreachable.

Two years ago, I met my business mentor Alexandria Brown. I had been following her success and advice for over a year. I even implemented a decision-making process in my business called “WWAD?” after the popular WWJD? Slogan (What Would Jesus Do?). I ran into her at a business conference. She was accessible and very willing to talk shop.

Mentors are all around. Find someone you admire for his or her life and business choices and learn everything about them. How they make their decisions. What they have read and studied. Especially how they got through hard times and how they are coping right now!

5. Never stop learning. This is closely tied to #4 so there may not be much else to say. I knew this one as well. What I did not realize that sometimes it is just as important to learn what NOT to do, as it is to learn what to do. This is something that is easily learned from mentors. I have found people are very willing to tell you what they have been through and how they struggled – once they are successful.

6. You must do something with what you learn. The key to success in any endeavor is IMPLEMENTATION. You would think that would be obvious but I have only really learned it in the last year. I had a dear friend and mentor say to me once, “Nancy, you know enough. Stop learning and start doing.”

Well I do not think I ever want to stop learning but he was right – I needed to start doing something with what I already knew. Many of perfectionist people or us overly theoretical get “analysis paralysis.” We learn and correct and learn and correct and learn and…Well, you get it. We never do!

Recently I have learned that “GOOD IS GOOD ENOUGH”. Yes, quality is important and knowledge is critical. Nevertheless, most of us never take action on our ideas – no matter how good they are.

Therefore, that is it for now. The six secrets I have learned in seven years in business. I am sure there is more but that is another secret – always leave them wanting more!