By Anuradha Tandukar

Working hard is important; there is absolutely no doubt about that. But how about working smart at the same time? It may seem that working smart is as important as working hard. Now the real question arises; do you have faith in your hard work, in your smart work, and in the success of your business?

“Faith”, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, is defined as something that is believed especially with strong conviction. In business, faith is about believing, with a strong conviction of course, that your business will continue to get better, attract new clients, find new opportunities, etc., despite the turbulence. These strong and positive beliefs towards your business, combined with your hard work and your smart work, will generally produce a lot of positive energy that will lead your business towards competitive success.

Looking back at 2012, do you believe your business is better off than a year ago, or maybe two years ago? Do you believe your business is expanding and prospering?

If you answered “Yes” to these questions, you are already on the right track! If you answered “No” and are experiencing challenging times in your business, do not feel dispirited quite yet. Not all days or months are going to be sunny. The tough days are like the test dates. They are there to test the level of your patience, your persistence, and most importantly, the level of your faith in your business. Hence, you can still take this as an opportunity to express your belief and faith in your company.

Many great personalities, including philosophers and other successful people, have repeatedly mentioned the role and importance of having faith in one’s work. Some of my favorite faith quotes are written below. What are yours?

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – MLK, Jr.

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” – St. Augustine

“He who has faith has an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well – even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly.” – B.C. Forbes

Now with the help of these highly inspirational quotes, let’s take a leap of faith and boost our performance and hence, our business.