When thinking about success, is there a specific person that comes to mind? If so, why do you find this person to be a success? Maybe they have your dream house, or job, even life! But whatever they did, it worked! You saw this person start their business and look at them now! 10, 15 years later, they did it! What was it they did for all this time to make them this successful?
So many questions, so little answers… or so I thought. I’ve been in business for 10 plus years and I have seen many businesses succeed but many more fail. Recently I found myself talking with my mastermind on the topic of “success” and what it takes to get there. I decided to do a little market research.
I have interviewed a handful of entrepreneurs on my podcast and, though these entrepreneurs all have different businesses, they’ve all had ups and down, but regardless of that, all are successful today.
As I began to revise my notes, I looked for the differences between each entrepreneur, but that took me nowhere. Every person, every business, even though successful, reached their level of success by becoming excellent at what they wanted to do. Then I realized, all of these businesses went through struggles, setbacks. Everyone that I spoke to had gone through some degree of struggle. But none of these people ever gave in to the idea that they couldn’t succeed. They all stuck to one key habit: Consistency.
Why, even when told no, didn’t these people throw in the towel? In the words of Brandon T. Adams, the ‘Crowd Funding King’: “it’s because success is only the destination; we need to enjoy the journey.” When building a business we’re also building ourselves, as we grow our business, we grow personally, we learn about ourselves. We have to make bold choices that push us beyond our comfort zone, make mistakes and learn from them. How can we learn if we don’t make mistakes first?
Here’s a given: Entrepreneur life is not going to be easy and it’s not going to be for everyone.
Entrepreneurs understand this, but the thing is that we cannot settle for the regular nine-to-five, we cannot settle for doing the minimum and getting the minimum, so we continue on to do the things most people wont, because we cannot bare the thought of living the mediocre life. A lot of people give up on an idea because they don’t see any one else doing it or because they cant see where to start. But entrepreneurs don’t need anyone to show us, we don’t need to follow a leader, we are the leaders.
Tim Denning, a phenomenal writer whose all around success has been shared by the thousands, told me in an interview what his biggest mistake was when pursuing success: He sought quick success, and gave up to early. He attempted to achieve success many times before actually accomplishing it, and the reason why he hadn’t accomplished it was because he was giving up too early! He would get to a certain point, feel scared, doubtful, stressed, and he would give up.
Tim got to the point where he said to himself, “Am I good enough to actually do this?” Today Tim is a business coach; he coaches his students on the principles of personal development and the fundamentals of entrepreneurship.
One thing that plagues most of us is fear. Even the best of us go through fear. Normally, when facing a scary situation our brain resorts to one of two options: flight or fight. We either run away from our problems or we face them and we fight. When faced with your fear, what do you do? Entrepreneurs know that there will be scary times; there will be times of difficulty and doubt. But when struck by these, you musn’t shake at the sight of struggle because there is always a way. Everyone feels fear; successful entrepreneurs just don’t let that fear stop them from doing what they feel the need to do.
Eric D. Moeller, a real estate investor who got his start when he was 19, renovated and flipped over 100 properties and he owns and manages multiple properties. In our interview, I asked what book he would recommend anyone starting their entrepreneurial journey, his response was Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway. When asked why, he went on to explain that when we look at successful people we think that they have something we don’t and that’s why we cannot get to where they are. Eric said, “These top producers have fear, but they use that fear to motivate them and push them forward. “
Now, there comes a point in everyone’s life when your own faith river runs out and you need some encouragement from an outside source. At that point is when you will look at our friends, and wonder if they’re pushing you or holding you back. When working on becoming a success you may realize that there are many aspects in which you have to work at, not just one. It’s a lot easier though, when the people around you have similar mindsets. If you surround yourself with people that are already successful, your only choice when you look at your friends is be inspired to do better.
Nicholas Bayerle, the creator of The Billion Dollar Body, said, “If you’re just focusing on what’s in front of you all the time, you don’t really know where your end destination is going to be.”
After putting together their stories, I saw that although different, all stuck to one trick: they all remained consistent. They all continued to pursue success, even when the tough got going. That is why, once you realize entrepreneur life isn’t easy, and you still want to do it, then you must keep consistent to that idea, because that is what you are destined to do.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com