Business Leadership Lessons for Difficult Times There are three major lessons that can help all of us succeed.

Today, more than ever, you need your network to help you through difficult times. The last 18 months have been very challenging for most businesses. It is your network of friends and associates that can help you get through times like these.

While operating more than 10,000 networking groups in over 70 countries, I have learned this importance firsthand. I've also learned that it starts with our own actions.

First, you must believe

You must believe you can pivot your business and find ways to help more people. You must believe in what you can do for people in the "new normal" that we are all living in.

There is an old story of two shoe salesmen who were sent to different parts of a developing nation to see if there was a market for their shoes. After one week, the first salesman wrote back to the company and said, "No one wears shoes here. There is no market for us. Send me a return ticket." The second shoe salesman wrote back to the company and said, "No one wears shoes here — there's a huge market for our shoes. Send me a large shipment."

You must believe in yourself and the people around you. Believe that you can pivot. Believe that your network can help you in this process.

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I work with more thsn 280,000 people in my organization, and I see people in the exact same professions who believe it is possible to pivot and people who believe that it is not possible to pivot during these challenging times. It may come as a surprise to some, but it does not come as a surprise to me that many of the people who believe they can pivot are doing so successfully. Whether you think that you can or you cannot, you will probably be right.

Pivoting during difficult times always begins with the belief that you can.

You must have passion about what you do and a plan for achieving your goals

Let's be clear about passion — it does not produce commitment. Commitment produces passion. Commitment and passion, together, produce results. Nothing great in life has ever been done without passion and commitment.

And we can't overstate the importance of leadership. Quality leadership is not about managing and complying; it's about mobilizing and inspiring. Over the years, I've learned that it's true that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. It's about the touch points you have with the people you manage, work with and serve.

Leadership lessons:

1. It's about connecting with people. It's about giving clients and customers love, care and attention.
2. It's about inspiring people to take action.
3. It's about getting people to do six things a thousand times. Not a thousand things six times. It's not about doing something so many times you finally get it right — it's about doing it so many times that you can't get it wrong.
4. In any organization, that involves learning how to coach people effectively. It's about guiding people and helping people. Day in and day out, it's about showing up to help them be a better version of themselves. That's what leadership is.

Related: 3 Important Leadership Lessons From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Don't overcomplicate things. Business doesn't have to be complicated. It's about three things: belief, passion and leadership.

I've seen ordinary people do extraordinary things throughout my career. I believe anyone can do extraordinary things with the right mindset, plan and effort. I believe that our vision controls our perception, and our perception becomes our reality. Set a vision that makes a difference to the people around you.

Today more than ever, we need to ask ourselves, "Why accept mediocrity when excellence is an option?" Excellence is always an option — even during difficult times.