“My strength did not come from lifting weights.
My strength came from lifting myself up when I was knocked down.”
-Bob Moore
It was a complete pleasure of mine to have attended a workshop for business entrepreneurs last week. In this workshop I met two entrepreneurs at different phases in their business. Entrepreneur 1, we will call Tom, was seeking knowledge, and inspiration to start the entrepreneurship journey. Entrepreneur 2, we will call Antonio, was approaching the end of his entrepreneurship journey. Both of these individuals had big desires, big dreams but only one had experienced all the major setbacks and failures that can stop you in your tracks.
Tom, was man who was seeking to open a restaurant and wanted to get inspired. The lack of confidence was the result of many of his friends and family members predicting major failures that can be part of being a business owner. Antonio, was a restaurant owner who was very open about all his failures, but was also very candid with his success. From having IRS auditing his business, a very difficult divorce to having to close a previous business. To his business being recognized as business of the year last year, there had been a definite push forward! Both these men had two things in common dreams and setbacks. Today let’s focus on four effective strategies for making into a push forward.
Know that set backs are part of the game.
If you understand that in your journey to your becoming you will stumble and fall, you are ready for the game! You can’t have acceptance and not have felt rejection. You can’t have conquered if you have not struggled. When you fail you are supposed to learn something from the fall. There are lessons that need to be learned to make you a better leader in your family, work or business. The difference between the successful and the unsuccessful is how many times the successful will get up. Antonio, hit the ground seven times and got up eight! The unsuccessful believe that if they fail once or twice they must give up. To follow dreams you must have the will to see it through!
Step back and reflect on the lesson.
You have failed when you don’t step back and learn the lesson. Analyze the situation and see how you can avoid such event in the future. For example, Antonio failed in a previous business because he was not smart with the financials. He did not hire the right people to balance his books. Now he knows the importance of this and his business is thriving. The reality is that failure is part of success so learn from it and move on!
Adopt a positive and perseverant mind.
It’s your mind that will carry you through! It’s all about your belief system. Are you teaching your mind to see the good in every situation? Are you focusing on the things that are working and changing the things that are not? If you are, good for you! If not, you have some work to do! A positive mind will not stop, while a negative mind will quit before the finish line. Stay positive to persevere!
Always imagine a better future.
It should be evident by now that success and failure dance together! Yet, you will decide who will take the lead. Imagine yourself five years from now. Who will you be? Know that a better future is waiting for you. Know that all your hard work and dedication will not be wasted. I understand that this may be easier said than done, but believe me nothing is forever! You will overcome anything that comes your way if you decide to do so. Nothing great ever came easy and don’t forget that the difficulties that you may go through on your journey are preparing you for something AMAZING!
So, “Will it be easy?” you ask. “NO!” “Will it be worth it?” Absolutely! It is my desire to motivate you to be on your journey to success. Remember, you have what it takes to be successful. Don’t forget to learn the lessons so you can persevere. Let me know if anything I said today resonated with you in any way! Until next Monday, Believe. Change. Become!
NancyJ