You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

For those that have heard this saying and take it to heart, there is really no reason to go on reading this post. You understand the concept and apply it in your life on a regular basis. However, if this is a new concept for you, or perhaps you heard it before but never really took it to heart, then you should go ahead reading and give this principle deeper consideration.

This saying was an ‘aha’ moment for me in my professional career. I had been working on building my business, and as with most entrepreneurs, I was frustrated that it wouldn’t happen faster. Business wasn’t “bad”, but it certainly wasn’t as good as I would have liked it to be. It was in those early years of building my business that I heard that saying: “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

For any that may need a little additional explanation, the saying means that if we aren’t aware of something (don’t know it), then it’s impossible to realize what that is because we aren’t aware of it in the first place. To take it one step further, it means that we need someone in our lives that can be a mentor of sorts, pointing out things that we don’t know but that would benefit us. It was at that point that I started seeking out individuals that could help me along the way to learn what I didn’t realize that I didn’t know.

With most entrepreneurs, there aren’t too many people in our lives that can be good mentors. We have unique challenges, and most of us are so focused on our own businesses that we don’t spend enough time trying to help others. If you are fortunate enough to have a more experienced business person in your life that you can discuss issues with and that can help you, then that truly is a blessing. For most of us, we have to actively seek out that individual though. If you are someone like me that had to actively seek out that individual, then you may want to consider what I ended up doing: hiring a business coach.

Hiring a business coach isn’t for everyone. First, it truly is an investment. Very few things in life are free. Secondly, you have to be willing to accept the fact that you might not be right about everything. With many business owners, once they have achieved some success, it becomes difficult for them to open up and be coachable in order to grow even more. Being coachable is an important aspect to being able to benefit from any kind of coaching or mentoring. You have to be open to the fact that you may not know everything. Literally, you don’t know what you don’t know.

If you are at the point in your business where you know you could grow faster or achieve greater peace from your business, but you haven’t yet been able to achieve it, then coaching may be for you. Consider the possibility that someone else may be able to help you have greater insight into your business by taking a fresh look at the situation. If that seems like it even remotely could be the case, then it’s likely time to reach out to someone to help you get this perspective.

Until next time, I wish you the best in your business.

Mark Goldman