Stop Getting In Your Own Way and Start Thriving
Entrepreneurs often say, “If only I had a bunch of cash, if only I had a big investor, then I could succeed.” It’s all too easy to line up your perceived blocks to success and wall yourself in to your present situation with them … but here’s the thing: The only person walling you in is you. The good news is, the hungrier you are, the more you feel your back is pressed up against a wall, the harder and stronger you can come out fighting for the success you really want. The real question is, how badly do you want it?
Persistence Is Stubbornness All Dressed Up
When you feel like you’ve exhausted all your efforts, tried everything, talked to everyone and you’re ready to throw your hands up and move in another direction, remember that just a little more stick-to-it-ness can often get you over the finish line. Have you heard the expression, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil?” When it comes to your success, don’t take no for an answer. Push past your personal comfort zone and commit to making your success a reality. Your biggest client ever may be the one who hasn’t yet returned that phone call or committed to that meeting. If you give up now, you’ll never know! Stay with it and you will break through.
Persistence is when you believe in something so deeply that you have to continue to go after it, again and again, regardless of any perceived roadblocks along the way. When things get tough, that’s when most people quit. Sadly, they are missing out on the simple truth that this make-it-or-break-it moment is where the magic happens. It gives you the opportunity to dig deep and access the core of your passion and drive. If you really want to succeed, this precipice, this moment of truth is when you are most capable of committing to success. Don’t give up when you are so close!
Go around the wall.
Climb over the wall.
Dig under the wall.
Break through the wall.
Whatever the source of the circumstances you feel are walling you in, the only person keeping yourself there is you, and you can change that.
Delusion vs. Truth
Our own limiting beliefs are what hold us back from reaching our highest successes. The way to overcome these unhelpful beliefs and thought patterns is to recognize them for what they are—delusions that keep us in a state of fear. Here are some examples:
- Delusion: I must control my reality. If I don’t keep everything under control, things will get out of hand.
- Truth: Control is an illusion. In order to truly thrive, we must let go of this illusion and embrace all the possibilities of what can be.
- Delusion: What will people think? What if they don’t approve of what I am doing?
- Truth: Only you can define your own path. Don’t base your world on what others think, do or say. Experience the freedom and unlimited potential of living your own truth.
- Delusion: I’m afraid to make a mistake and fail.
- Truth: Completed action, no matter what the results, is better than living with stuck thoughts. The mark of a successful person is not how many times they “fail,” but how quickly they get back up and keep going.
When you are hitting walls, it’s time to put your detective hat on. Dig in your heels, go deep with your commitment and start looking for clues. Analyze the situation and stick with it. If you don’t give up, persistence will show you the way through—and there’s always a way through.
So many business owners start out with excitement and passion, but they falter when the “honeymoon” is over and things get difficult. Business does not run in a straight line. To find success, you’ve got to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. When the ground is shaking beneath you, when things seem uncertain and the path ahead isn’t yet clear, that’s when it’s time to hang on for the ride and focus on solutions, not problems. Flow with the chaos. Ride the waves rather than bolstering yourself against them. Find your groove within this constantly moving machine and drive it forward with your persistence. You can achieve more than you dreamed possible.
