How To Deal With Uncertainty In Business | Peter Sage

Summary

In this video, Peter Sage offers key insights for business owners on how to navigate uncertainty. He emphasizes the importance of mastering uncertainty as a critical skill for success. Sage shares three strategies: understanding uncertainty's role in opportunity, changing self-talk to shift focus from obstacles to possibilities, and leveraging resourcefulness by surrounding yourself with supportive peers and mentors. Lastly, he highlights the importance of connecting with a deeper 'why' to sustain motivation through tough times. His advice aims to help entrepreneurs thrive despite economic challenges.

Takeaways

• 💼 Uncertainty is a constant in business, but learning how to handle it is crucial for success.
• 📊 Over 42% of business owners in a LinkedIn survey identified uncertainty as their biggest obstacle.
• 💪 Successful entrepreneurs thrive by mastering how to deal with uncertainty and viewing it as an opportunity.
• 🧠 The language you use shapes your mindset—switching from limiting thoughts to empowering ones can change your outlook.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Resourcefulness, not resources, is the ultimate asset for entrepreneurs in uncertain times.
• 👥 Surrounding yourself with a strong peer group and finding mentors who give advice, not just opinions, can be game-changing.
• 💡 Mentorship is vital—mentors offer practical advice based on experience, unlike consultants who provide opinions.
• 🎯 Remembering your ‘why’—the purpose behind your business—is crucial to weathering adversity.
• 👟 In tough situations, focusing on a cause bigger than yourself can provide the motivation needed to push through challenges.
• 📈 Changing your psychological approach, even by altering small habits or words, can significantly transform your business.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of Peter Sage's video?

The main purpose of Peter Sage's video is to share insights on how to handle business uncertainty effectively, drawing from his 30 years of experience in various economic climates, to help business owners thrive rather than be crushed by external challenges.

What does Peter Sage consider the most important skill for successful entrepreneurs?

Peter Sage considers the ability to handle uncertainty as the most important skill for successful entrepreneurs. He emphasizes that thriving in uncertain times, rather than being crushed by them, is essential.

How does Peter Sage suggest people can reframe uncertainty?

Peter Sage suggests reframing uncertainty by recognizing it as predictable and inevitable. Entrepreneurs who handle uncertainty well focus on opportunities within challenges, while others may feel overwhelmed by the challenges alone.

What does Sage mean by 'checking the shape of your box'?

By 'checking the shape of your box,' Sage refers to paying attention to the language you use, especially the word 'but.' He highlights that people who handle uncertainty well use positive language to shift their mindset and approach problems with a sense of possibility rather than limitation.

How does Peter Sage differentiate advice from opinion?

Sage explains that advice comes from someone who has successfully navigated similar challenges and has firsthand experience, while opinion is simply what anyone can offer, regardless of their experience. He stresses the importance of seeking advice over opinion when facing business challenges.

Why does Peter Sage emphasize resourcefulness over resources?

Peter Sage emphasizes that resourcefulness is more critical than having resources because external circumstances like market changes or government regulations can quickly undermine available resources. Being adaptable and creative is what truly sustains a business through uncertain times.

How can surrounding yourself with the right people help during uncertain times?

Sage advises that surrounding yourself with peers and mentors who are resilient and positive can greatly influence your ability to handle uncertainty. They provide support, insights, and encouragement that help you stay focused and navigate challenges more effectively.

Why does Peter Sage recommend having a 'world-centric' vision for your business?

Peter Sage recommends having a 'world-centric' vision because it motivates entrepreneurs to persevere during tough times. When the purpose of a business goes beyond personal gain and focuses on making a positive impact, it gives entrepreneurs the drive to overcome adversity.

How does Peter Sage relate running a business to running a marathon?

Sage compares running a business to running a marathon, where entrepreneurs often face significant struggles ('hitting the wall'). Those who focus on a cause bigger than themselves—such as helping others or making a difference—are more likely to push through the difficulties.

What does Peter Sage offer to viewers who want more guidance?

Peter Sage invites viewers to click a link for additional resources where he shares mistakes he made over his career, tips on how to shift their mindset, and advice on building a successful business. He emphasizes that this guidance comes from his personal experience and is aimed at helping others avoid costly errors.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Embracing Uncertainty to Thrive in Business

Peter Sage introduces the video by discussing the overwhelming uncertainty many business owners face today, as reflected in a recent LinkedIn survey. He emphasizes that thriving in any economy hinges on mastering uncertainty. Sage recalls a quote by Bob Proctor, highlighting the predictable cycle of challenges and opportunities throughout history. He argues that successful entrepreneurs view uncertainty as a gateway to opportunities rather than focusing on obstacles.

05:01

🧠 Reframing Language to Overcome Barriers

Sage dives into the power of language and how successful individuals use it to overcome uncertainty. He distinguishes between two uses of the word 'but': those who use it to justify inaction, and those who use it as a stepping stone to face challenges head-on. He encourages viewers to be mindful of their internal dialogue, which can either limit their potential or empower them to thrive. By reframing how one speaks, Sage suggests it's possible to change how one handles tough situations.

10:02

💡 Resourcefulness: The Ultimate Business Asset

Sage discusses the concept of resourcefulness, calling it the most valuable resource for business owners. He emphasizes that waiting for the 'perfect time' or having all the 'right resources' is a trap. Instead, those who navigate uncertainty successfully are resourceful, constantly adapting to changing conditions. He uses analogies from Formula One to illustrate how quickly situations can change and urges entrepreneurs to surround themselves with peers and mentors who inspire resilience.

👥 The Power of a Strong Peer Group and Mentors

In this section, Sage explains the importance of surrounding oneself with the right people. A strong peer group that is solution-oriented can significantly impact how entrepreneurs navigate difficult times. He also distinguishes between mentors and consultants, highlighting the value of mentors who provide advice based on firsthand experience. This kind of guidance, as opposed to opinions, can be the key to thriving in uncertainty.

💪 Remembering Your ‘Why’ to Power Through Tough Times

Sage concludes by stressing the importance of having a strong 'why' when running a business. He contrasts personal goals, which may not be enough to sustain someone through challenges, with more meaningful, world-centric missions that serve others. Sage uses the metaphor of running a marathon, explaining that those who endure challenges are often driven by a cause greater than themselves, which gives them the strength to overcome adversity in business.

🚀 How to Elevate Your Business and Thrive in Uncertainty

In the final paragraph, Sage invites viewers to learn more about overcoming business challenges by sharing the lessons he's learned from his own mistakes. He promises practical advice, rather than mere opinions, to help viewers make subtle shifts in their psychology and language to transform their business. Sage ends by encouraging viewers to click the link for further guidance on building a business that positively impacts the world.

Keywords

💡Uncertainty

Uncertainty refers to the unpredictable and volatile conditions in business and life that people must navigate. In the video, Peter Sage emphasizes that the ability to handle uncertainty is a crucial skill for successful entrepreneurs. He explains that those who can manage uncertainty can find opportunities where others see challenges.

💡Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness is the ability to make the most out of available resources, even in challenging situations. The speaker highlights that resourcefulness is the ultimate resource in business, as money or customers can be lost, but the ability to adapt and find solutions will keep the business thriving.

💡Mentor

A mentor is someone with experience and success in a relevant field who provides advice and guidance. In the video, Sage stresses the importance of having a mentor rather than a consultant, explaining that mentors offer actionable advice based on their own experience, which can be critical in overcoming business challenges.

💡Language

Language refers to the way we communicate with ourselves, influencing our mindset and outcomes. Sage points out that successful people use language that empowers them to take action, while others might use it to create excuses, limiting their potential. For example, successful individuals say, 'The economy is tough, but I will find a way to succeed,' as opposed to using the word 'but' as a reason not to act.

💡Why

The 'Why' represents the deeper purpose or motivation behind starting or sustaining a business. Sage advises entrepreneurs to remember why they began their business journey, especially during challenging times. A strong, purpose-driven 'why,' such as impacting others or solving a bigger problem, helps them push through difficult situations.

💡Opportunity

Opportunity in this context refers to the potential for growth and success that can be found even in uncertain or challenging circumstances. Sage mentions that those who master the skill of handling uncertainty can see opportunities where others see obstacles. This mindset shift is essential for thriving in any economic climate.

💡Peer group

A peer group consists of the people you surround yourself with, particularly those who can influence your mindset and decisions. Sage emphasizes that having a strong, positive peer group is a critical resource. It ensures that you’re surrounded by individuals who encourage resourcefulness and resilience, rather than fear and doubt.

💡Advice vs. Opinion

Advice is guidance from someone who has experienced and succeeded in what you're aiming to achieve, while opinion is just a perspective, often from those who haven’t had the same experience. Sage warns entrepreneurs to seek advice from mentors and avoid relying on opinions from people who lack the experience relevant to their goals.

💡Business climate

The business climate refers to the overall economic and market conditions that affect businesses. Throughout the video, Sage discusses how entrepreneurs can succeed in any business climate, whether it's booming or in recession, by focusing on their resourcefulness and the ability to adapt to change.

💡Challenge

Challenge represents obstacles or difficulties that arise in business. According to Sage, challenges are predictable and constant, but how entrepreneurs handle them defines their success. Those who focus on the challenge alone often feel crushed by it, while those who manage uncertainty well are able to find the opportunities that come with each challenge.

Highlights

Understanding the role that uncertainty plays is crucial for business success.

Successful entrepreneurs thrive by learning to handle uncertainty.

Challenge and opportunity have been constants throughout 5000 years of history, and knowing how to face them can determine success.

Shifting language can help reframe challenges into opportunities.

Use 'but' as a way to emphasize action in the face of challenges instead of making excuses.

Checking your resources isn’t as important as being resourceful in uncertain times.

Surround yourself with a strong peer group and mentors to thrive in uncertainty.

Mentors provide advice from experience, while consultants often only offer opinions.

Know the difference between advice and opinion – advice is based on real experience.

Remember your 'why' when facing uncertainty – it drives deeper motivation.

Businesses that focus on a mission beyond personal gain often survive better in turbulent times.

Running a business is compared to running a marathon – you need more than personal goals to push through adversity.

In times of difficulty, focus on the bigger cause your business is supporting.

Entrepreneurs who navigate uncertainty with a smile have mastered the psychology of shifting their perspective.

Being resourceful and using language intentionally can transform how you lead and build a business.

Transcripts

These are uncertain times.

And if you're a business owner or you want to start a business,

how can you mitigate the uncertainty

that so many people are talking about?

My name is Peter Sage, and on this video I'm

going to share with you

the best of what I've learned in three decades

and growing businesses in every kind of economy

or climate or recession

so that you can learn how to crush your business

no matter what's going on in the outside world,

rather than be crushed by it.

Now, the reason I want to put

this video together is because we did a survey

recently on LinkedIn and over 42% of people

said that the biggest obstacle that they think

they were facing right now was the amount of uncertainty

that they were dealing with,

either in their business, in the economy,

in their relationship

with suppliers who may also be suffering.

So how do you deal with uncertainty?

Well, we share three tips.

The first one is to understand the role that uncertainty plays

and your ability to deal with it,

because I've been asked for many years,

what's the number one characteristic

of successful entrepreneurs?

And without doubt,

it's not persistence and desire

in the right kind of business plan.

All those can play a role.

But the people that I've seen thrive

are the ones that know that

uncertainty and dealing with it is the master skill to learn.

And I'll give you an example.

I heard the late, great Bob Proctor once say that

over the last 5000 years,

you can predict what's going to come over the next 5000 years,

and it's always the same.

Two things challenge an opportunity.

If you don't know how to handle uncertainty,

you're going to be looking at the challenges

and you're going to get crushed by them.

But if you know how to handle uncertainty

and the fact that it's predictable,

you're going to be able

to see opportunity where most people run for cover.

And one of the key distinctions on that is to actually

check out the shape of your box.

Yes. My second tip is check out the shape of your.

Now, what do I mean by that?

I don't mean start go to the gym

and start doing squats and all of that kind of stuff.

I mean, the language that we use on

ourselves is very powerful and successful.

People that handle

and thrive in uncertainty

have a very different association to the word.

But I don't mean but with two t's, I mean, but with one team

and people that get crushed and deal

with uncertainty badly often say to themselves

things like, Well,

you know, I would invest more in my business right now, but,

you know, the economy is looking shaky.

Oh, I would be able to help my customers

and invest more in that part of the business.

But right now, my margins are too thin.

I would start the business

I've always wanted to start, but now's not the perfect time.

Now, if you look at people that know how to use language

in their favor,

how to program their own mind, that conscious,

unconscious for success, they're using in a different way.

They say things like, Well, the economy's looking tough

right now, but I'm going to find a way to capitalize on that.

Well, right now,

my suppliers are starting to squeeze me

for different terms because they're under pressure as well.

But I'm going to find a way

where we can have a win win that makes us continue.

So it doesn't affect my bottom line in a negative way.

They use the word bot in a different way.

They rise to the challenge.

Now, depending on where your party is,

you're going to talk yourself in or out of being crushed

or crushing the next 12 months that comes up.

So just be mindful

because it's our language that most often goes unnoticed

because we're

running on autopilot or what I call sleeping awake.

So check out the shape of your bar.

The next tip I've got for

you is to check what your current resources are,

because a lot of people say, Oh,

I don't have the right resources right now.

I said earlier about the best time to start a business.

I'll tell you the best time to start a business. Never.

That's like asking a parent

when's the best time to have kids?

There's never going

to feel the perfect time

where you have the right amount of certainty to say, okay,

now I'm ready to have kids.

Instead, you're going to come up with more excuses

to cover up the fact

that you can't deal with the uncertainty

that that new part of your life brings.

And having a business brings as much uncertainty

as having a baby.

So I'm told now when it comes to resources,

the ultimate resource is resourcefulness.

You can have all the money in the bank

and I've seen banks go out of business.

You can have all of the best customers in the world

and you can get undercut by a supplier that changes the game.

You can have government legislation

make one rule that invalidates your profitability.

So it's what are your resources?

You can think you've got all of your ducks in a row

and everything can change in a heartbeat.

I'm a big fan of Formula One and everything can change in

one lap, depending on somebody making the corner or not.

So when it comes to businesses

resourceful, not is your biggest resource.

And the best way to use that is to check

who are you surrounding yourself with?

You know, there's a strong

tip in business that I can give which goes like this.

It's not what you learn.

It's who you learn it from.

And if you have got good peers around you

that are not running for cover,

when the government comes out with some silly news

that are telling you or reminding you

of all the reasons why you can not, why you can't.

If you've got a strong peer group,

that is one of the best resources that you can actually

put together.

And if you haven't got one, get resourceful

and start looking for people that think the way that you do.

Also, mentors,

if you are able to have a mentor,

somebody that's walked through the fire

before you and can tell you where you're going to get burnt

and why you shouldn't get burnt and where it's safe

or the best strategies to use to stop you getting burnt.

That is gold.

Now, please understand.

Do not confuse a mentor with a consultant.

A consultant is somebody

that is most likely going to give you an opinion.

A mentor is somebody that can give you advice.

And knowing the difference between those two can be

the difference

between going out of business and thriving in one.

Let me explain.

Advice is something that is given to you by somebody

who's achieved what you want to achieve

in a similar market or a similar economy

or walk down a similar path.

There's faced the obstacles you're looking to face

and has got through them either successfully or is learned.

What not to do can be just as valuable,

and they're willing to share

that advice with you from firsthand experience

without asking for a fee or some sort of commercial

hidden agenda.

Opinion is everything else, and everybody's got one.

Yeah.

Your brother in law

who's never run a business in the life is quite happy

around the dinner table to tell you

all the things you should be doing.

We get that is part of life.

But knowing the difference between advice and opinion,

having a good mentor as well as a good peer group

is something that can change the game when it comes to you.

Facing uncertainty in business and can often be the difference

on how to get through it successfully rather than fold.

The final tip I'll share with you

on dealing with uncertainty is to remember your why.

Why did you get involved in business in the first place

or why did you want to start now?

If it's about you

and you needing

to get something, a better lifestyle, more income,

you have something to put your kids through school or provide

that's useful.

And it can be a very helpful way to transition out of a job.

But when it comes to sustaining business at the highest level

in the realms of uncertainty and stormy waters,

you need more than something that's about you.

Is it about what difference you can make?

Is it about the lives

that you're touching with the product

or the service that you're bringing to the market?

If that's what drives you, if the vision

or the mission of your business is more world centric

rather than egocentric,

you're going to be able to dig deep because it's not about you.

And I'll give you a great example.

When you look at marathons, let's take the

the London Marathon, something I've ran on several times.

Whenever you're running a marathon,

especially a big one like London or New York

or something like that,

where you've got

tens of thousands of people lining the streets,

cheering people on,

you will always see people

who deal with adversity in one of two ways.

You've got people who are there

because it was on their vision board.

It's something they wanted to achieve.

It was a personal goal.

Then the people that are most often struggling

the most, when you get to 17, 18, 20, 22 miles

and your lungs are screaming,

your legs feel like they're made of lead, you hit the wall.

It's like running through treacle

and you're trying to dig deep.

But the people that normally go way past that

and get to the end that don't quit

are the people that are running for a cause

that's bigger

than their own medal they want to put on the mantelpiece.

They're running for a charity.

They're raising money for a cause

because it represents something to them

that allows them to dig deep.

Yeah, it may be a hospice that looks after their dying

brother or you have their cancer charity

because they're

with their parent died of cancer

and they want to do something for them in their memory.

When you're running the marathon of business

and you're a mile 22 and it feels like,

you know, with the economy and the interest rates

or the government or your competition,

it feels like your legs are made of land.

That's the time where you don't want to be focusing on

just what you want to get out of the business.

You need to remind yourself why you're here.

What difference are you making?

Who you raising the money for?

Who are you running for?

Who are you trying to impact?

And what difference is it going to make to them?

Because that will tap

into a place

where you can ride through the storms of uncertainty

at an entirely different level.

That's my biggest tips.

If you'd like to learn a lot more about how entrepreneurs in

the trenches are rising to the challenges

with a smile on their face rather than as a struggle.

People that are sailing through the river of life

no matter what the winds. Then click the link below.

It'd be an absolute honor to share with you

some of the mistakes I've made over the years

that have cost me millions, tens of millions of dollars

that you don't have to make.

So I can give you the advice rather than the opinion

of somebody that's walked that path.

If you want to know how to

make the the tricks and the tips of shifting your psychology

just a few degrees, like changing one word

or the meaning of it, like the shape of your body

and how that can transform your business.

Then again, click the link below

and it would be an absolute pleasure

to be able to help you build the business of your dreams

so that between us doing what we do, we can help

make the world a better place by impacting it at a high level.

Click the link now and I'll see you on another video soon.