My first painful lesson in business dealt with expectations and change. Early in my professional life I worked for a large company and poured my heart into a particular job. There were great results, goals were met and I was proud, the bosses were happy. The carrot of advancement was danged, and I bit. The next few years, I worked harder, met higher goals and expected that advancement.

When the “advancement” meeting with the boss finally arrived, my heart sank as he told me that “Things are always subject to change.” The bottom line was: stay in your current position and continue to exceed goals. Of course, now in hindsight (and as a business owner myself) I can see that my value to them was in being that goal-exceeder. They did not know how to use my talents to help them continue to exceed goals and have me advance at the same time—which would have made both of us happy.

In 1997 I jumped into entrepreneurship and built a business where we help companies exceed goals every day. I can now transfer my over-achieving mind-set into results and have determined that dealing with change and challenges every day is a huge motivator for me.

What was your first painful lesson and how did you deal with it? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you!