Soon after I graduated from college, I found myself in San Diego selling commercial real estate. It didn't take long for me to figure out that I had initially looked at the opportunity through rose-tinted glasses. In reality, I had accepted a non-paying position under a so-called "seasoned veteran" who ultimately had no intention of following through on the commitments he had made to me. I quickly made a career-switching move and didn't look back.

While I didn't take a dime away from that experience, I did learn a few important lessons, which have subsequently served me quite well. One of those lessons was the simple reality that actions lead to results. This may not seem to be an enlightening idea, but I think entrepreneurs often forget this simple point.

Let me explain. While training to sell commercial real estate, I was taught the firm's simple formula for success. This formula had much less to do with "who I was" and much more to do with "what I did." Therefore, while sales skills were important, even more critical was accomplishing the activities that would ultimately lead to sales.

I began to learn that sales is truly a numbers game. Specifically, in real estate, if I wanted to make more sales, then I needed to have more appointments. To get more appointments, I needed to make more phone calls. And so on. By focusing on the right activities you can greatly increase your chances of achieving the desired result. In my case, the desired result was sales.

As an entrepreneur, I have had the opportunity to implement this concept. I have a friend who owns a small retail store. Year after year the business seems to generate essentially the same revenues. In all that time the market hasn't dramatically changed, and he is trying to sell his products in the same way. His very consistent actions are leading to a very consistent result.

My friend is in an entrepreneurial rut. He isn't doing anything wrong necessarily, but his current actions have achieved all of the success they likely can achieve. It is logical to conclude that he is going to have a difficult time increasing revenues if he doesn't change his actions.

I have been in entrepreneurial ruts, too. On occasion it has occurred to me that I am trying to achieve greater results by completing the same actions day in and day out. At that point, I have to go back to the drawing board, reassess the results I desire, and then change my actions in a way that will more specifically drive toward those results.

Consider the results that you want to achieve within your own business. Are you getting those results? If not, it is likely that you have to make some changes in your actions. Again, this doesn't necessarily mean that your current actions are incorrect. It may just be that you have to do something better, do certain things more often, or try something new.

Once you figure out the actions that will take you to your desired result, you may want to consider the actions of those you employ. While monetarily or verbally compensating your employees based on results is not typically a bad practice, you may find that you achieve even greater success if you at least partially compensate your employees based on actions.

If you feel like you are in an entrepreneurial rut, slow down for a day or two and take some time to figure out what you need to do to make sure you are reaching your goals. Then do those things well. My bet is it won't take long before you achieve a new level of success.