My friend, this is a post dedicated to myself. I’ve decided to talk to myself and slap me (figuratively…) to give me a bit of a reality check. Want to feel refreshed and motivated to try again? Read this as well:
You believe that you’ve done everything but you’re still behind success.
You’ve attended conferences about entrepreneurship. You’ve purchased a lot of business books. And you’ve even received a bank loan successfully.
Why, then, are you still behind success?
What’s stopping you?
Here are ten harsh truths why.
1. You love to procrastinate.
Oh, you won’t continue your book’s chapter today – you’ve already done a page so that’s enough, right? No, you’ll just register your business next week since you woke up late this morning – you can’t possibly do it now.
Putting off your actions is putting off your success. Try doing the ten-minute rule: if you can do it in ten minutes today, do it now!
2. You’re lazy. It’s as simple as that.
Why should you learn about taxes? Why should you write your own book? Why should you speak at seminars? Why should you network with authorities in your chosen field? All of these sound like hard work so you become lazy just by thinking about doing them.
Success is hard work. It doesn’t happen overnight. You have to get started and to continue moving.
- Walt Disney was fired by “lacking in imagination”. He did the hard work and tried again anyway.
- Masaru Ibuka & Akio Morita (the founders of Sony) sold only 100 electric rice cookers because they burned rice rather than cooking it. They didn’t stop, though. They continued working and developed better products in the future.
- John Grisham, a best-selling novelist, did the hard work, too! His first novel was rejected by 16 agents and 12 publishing houses. He still never gave up.
3. You ‘re undergoing analysis paralysis.
Should your letters be in short bond papers, or in long? Should the color of your logo be pink or whitish pink with a hint of gray? If you keep on obsessing about the little things, you’ll never have time to work on actually accomplishing them.
Don’t stress too much. A successful person is never perfectly ready – he’s just adaptable to every situation that he may encounter.
4. You don’t believe in yourself.
Why should you be an entrepreneur when you finished a nursing course instead of a business management one?
Why do you want to be a successful author when you don’t even have a solid audience yet?
These “why’s” are the reasons you’re still behind success.
Stop questioning yourself all the time. Get rid of all the reasons why it won’t work – and believe the only reason that it will.
5. You’re not sure that what you’re really aiming for.
Are you clear with your goals? You should have a solid idea of what, specifically, you’re trying to accomplish. Want to be an entrepreneur? Which niche are you targeting?
Want to be a world-class author? Clearly identify who your readers will be.
You can’t attain a dream if you don’t know what that dream is.
6. You’re scared.
You’re afraid of failing, of being rejected, of losing a lot of money or of being made fun of your friends.
Still, push through.
Successful people are also afraid of what you’re scared of.
The only difference is that they’re more scared of the thought of regret. In a few years, sitting on your death bed and thinking about the “what ifs” and the “what could have beens” – now that’s scary.
7. You’re motivated by only money.
Instead of doing things that can help you grow as a person and contribute more to the community, you’re looking at things that can help you earn more money.
Beware of this: greed can influence smart people to do stupid things.
8. You blame everyone else but yourself.
You failed your last project because your mother was sick.
Your last business didn’t succeed because your little sister kept bothering you.
Your book was a flop because your editor didn’t do a good job.
9. You focus on being busy instead of being productive.
You try to do everything by yourself so instead of being productive enough to work on tasks that really matter, you’re stuck with administrative work that doesn’t really help boost your chances of success in the long run.
Prioritize. Focus on your core. And delegate the remaining tasks. Rinse and repeat.
10. You’re not really doing it seriously.
Your venture is just a part-time hobby so you don’t work on it with all your effort. You only deal with it when you’re in the mood. When you don’t feel like doing a chapter of your book, you abandon it recklessly.
Personal finance and self development seem the same in this area – in managing your money, you procrastinate, you get scared and you undergo analysis paralysis too, right? I hope you get to apply the same concepts there as well. 🙂
Fired up to manage your money yet? Contact your trusted financial advisor (or me! 🙂 ) to help you get started.
If you find this post helpful, please SHARE it to your friends. Who knows, they might like it as much as you do. 🙂 Thank you, awesome people!
Live wisely,
Enter your email address to receive FREE budgeting tips, investing updates, self development advice, freelancing tricks and life-winning techniques – all effective, all FREE and all straight to your inbox!