Grow Yourself, Grow your Business

What if I told you that this idea of putting your business before yourself can not only lead to serious burnout but can actually harm your business? And what if I told you, you can meet your own personal needs AND have a business that flourishes at the same time? Let me let you in on a little secret, and my hot tip for Small Business Owners to thrive in 2021; Fill your own Cups first. As the age-old saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty Cup, and this is 100% true. But there doesn’t have to be a trade-off. YOU can have a successful business and an amazing life. YOU can have your cake and eat it too, and I’m going to show you how. 

There is a misguided belief out there that you have to work yourself to the bone to be successful; and this is simply not true. I’m not saying running a small business is easy and that it doesn’t consume so much of your time and energy. What I am saying is that there is a way to build a successful and thriving business without forsaking your wellbeing to get there; and it’s easier than you think. 

At The Phoenix Cups, we have created a framework to help you achieve what we call Life Needs Balance. Understanding why people behave the way they do can be explained simply by using an analogy about Cups. As humans, we are all motivated to choose behaviours to meet our needs. In fact, it has been argued that every single behaviour we do is to meet one of our basic human life needs. Imagine these life needs as five different sized Cups; your Safety Cup, your Connection Cup, your Freedom Cup, your Mastery Cup, and your Fun Cup. 

Like everything else in life, everyone is different. So naturally, this means we all have different sized Cups that need filling; this is known as your unique Phoenix Cups profile. This means that where I might have a dominant Freedom Cup (my biggest Cup that needs filling more frequently), someone else might only have a smaller Freedom Cup, and therefore a smaller need for freedom and autonomy. When our Cups are full (or filling), we have a strong sense of wellbeing and tend to be a happier, and a more positive version of ourselves. When they are emptying, however, we are driven to choose behaviours to fill them. So, using this analogy, you could say that every behaviour we choose is to fill a Cup.

How is my business affected by this?

Let’s apply the Phoenix Cups to running and growing a small business. Empty Cups at work will result in lower productivity, poor performance, agitated behaviours towards clients and colleagues, and possibly even mistakes because we’re not 100% focussed. This can also result in you starting to lose your passion for your business, and possibly even come to resent it for affecting your health. 

So, what do we do about all this?

The first step is to look at this elusive thing we call “work / life balance”. Anyone who is in small business knows that work / life balance is somewhat of a myth, with our businesses consuming most of our time and filling so much of our lives. So, let’s reframe this elusive “work / life balance” into something we like to call Life Needs Balance. And as it suggests, Life Needs Balance is essentially that, Full Cups at home and at work. With Life Needs Balance, you will be able to achieve Safety, Connection, Freedom, Mastery, and Fun, and live the balanced life you desire. 

What does a Full Cup look like, to achieve this “Life Needs Balance”?

When our Safety Cup is full at home, we will feel at ease – increasing both our mental a physical wellbeing. When our Safety Cup is full while working on our business, we will feel more clear-headed and secure in our decision making.

When our Connection Cup is filled at home, we can experience the love and belonging of friends and family. This also ensures you and your loved ones do not resent your business as quality connection is still maintained. When our Connection Cups are filled at work, this ensures we maintain our passion for our business.

When our Freedom Cup is full at home, we achieve autonomy, and ultimately that is the goal of having a successful business. When our Freedom Cup is full at work, we don’t even feel like we are working.

When our Mastery Cup is full at home, we can be at ease as we feel on top of everything. Filling your Mastery Cup at work can also be rewarding, as doing the work will no longer feel like a chore but will actually feel productive. This will help your business immensely as work is being achieved, strategies initiated, and wellbeing increased.

And finally, the Fun Cup. Enough said really, because enjoying life is what life is really all about. When you enjoy your work life and your home life, both will flourish.  

How do I work out what Cups work for me?

It’s really quite simple. Firstly, you’ll need to determine your individual Phoenix Cups Profiles. This can be done by taking our free quiz HERE.

After taking the quiz, you will be emailed your Cups Profile, and from here you can create a Cup Filling Plan so you know how to fill your Cups at home AND at work; and be on your way to living a happy balanced life where business and non-business can both thrive.

From here, it is up to you how you want to implement the Phoenix Cups into your life. If you want to know more about Phoenix Cups (and how it can essentially change your entire outlook on life), we have plenty of resources, courses and tools to help you along your way. 

Author: Christopher Phoenix.