It’s true: the more you know, the more productive you can be. Increased knowledge and experience naturally keep us motivated, particularly as our levels of expertise grow. If you are not knowledgeable about your business, your motivation level naturally will be low. As a result, you won’t be able to sustain interest for very long.

On the flip side, if you are knowledgeable, energized and excited about the work you are doing, you will have more persistence, energy and intensity. This will inevitably produce better, more sustainable results. It seems simple, and actually, it is.

Yet the hard part is finding a way to keep up with industry news, market changes and competitive activities, particularly amidst today’s fast-paced, ever-changing business environment. In addition, most small business owners do not have the luxury of leaving their business for days at a time to attend industry conferences to get the latest “scoop” on what’s happening.
As a solution, we’ve seen many successful business leaders institute “daily devotionals” specifically designed to help them, as small business owners, looking to increase their breadth of knowledge and experience. Reading or practicing daily devotionals traditionally are processes followed by dedicated practitioners of their religion. However, the concept is also a potent resource for small business organizations as a way to keep up on their business or industry and ultimately, keep inspired, motivated and productive.

Tips for Creating Your Own Daily Devotional
From gathering material to finding the time, here are some ways to create your own daily devotional.

Create a library of resourceful reading material. This is the first step in developing your daily devotional material. Your library can be physical, virtual or both; it’s just important to start getting in the habit of gathering material and placing it in a centralized location. Browse the Web for relevant e-mail newsletters that can be sent to your inbox each day. Consider investing in tried-and-true books from inspirational business gurus like Stephen Covey and Deepak Chopra.

Have access to a daily business “motivational quotation.” Desk calendars or daily emails with quotations from successful business leaders can help set the tone for the day.

If you have a public workspace shared with other employees, consider posting the “quotation of the day.” Check here for ideas.

Read motivational material in balance with other media. Instead of reading the daily newspaper with breakfast or coffee in the morning, try reading inspirational material instead. A well-written book that offers sound advice is more motivating than reading about the latest market declines. Listening to motivational tapes or CD’s in your car for one hour everyday can actually give you the equivalent of a university degree in a few years time.

It won’t be long before you see how keeping the practice of daily devotionals keeps you informed and allows you to leverage that knowledge you’ve gained and apply it to the real world. Take in a bit every day and before you know it, you’re depth of knowledge and consistent application of that knowledge has greatly expanded.