When I bought my restaurant, the former owner signed a non-compete agreement for a 5-mile radius around the area. One day I was talking to some of my restaurant neighbors, and one of them casually mentioned that the former owner was opening a new restaurant down the street. I felt SICK. I immediately started to panic! I was crying hysterically, because I was so afraid that the new restaurant would steal from me…that we wouldn’t make money due to the competition. 

So, I picked up the phone and I called my primary investor. I told him all about what was going on, and then I asked him for advice. 

He said, “Let me ask you a question: Is everything perfect within the four walls of your restaurant?” 

I said, “Well, no! Of course not! Why?” 

“Until everything between the four walls of your restaurant is perfect, then under no circumstances do you pay attention to what is going on outside those four walls. What other people do is none of your business. Quit worrying about what others do. Just worry about yourself and your business.” 

That piece of advice changed my life, and it changed my business. I started really organizing my people, my product, my policies. We had less problems, and we had more consistent staff, customers, and I felt more confident in my abilities. But in addition, I have taken that advice into my personal life: quit looking at what others are doing and focus on making everything within my four walls operate at the highest level. 

On another note, the owner did open another restaurant, and it was out of business in six months. A testament to focusing within my four walls. 

POWER THOUGHT: Once you put your walls up, focus solely on what happens between them BEFORE you focus on what happens on the other side.