Being an entrepreneur is very much a ‘mind over matter’ endeavor
— nobody wakes up one day knowing the perfect path they must take, and it’s important to persevere with your aspirations, even if it’s not the easiest route for you to take. Here are 10 suggestions that will help you get back on track.
1. Don’t follow the crowd, follow your passion
Devoting your time and money into a project you feel no passion towards is a waste of time. It may reap short term rewards, but eventually your motivation will fade and you will be left with little to show for your efforts. Settling for the safer options your entire life and never going after what you truly want cannot lead to you being a successful entrepreneur — the very nature of an entrepreneur is being someone who is willing to trek into unknown territory in search of success, and taking the comfortable path is no way to do that. Nelson Mandela once said, “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”, and this truly depicts the fact that you should follow your passion on your route to being a successful entrepreneur.
2. Invest not just in yourself, but in others
A major part of being a successful entrepreneur is not just devoting time your own goals, but communicating with like-minded individuals. It’s important to spend time with people of your own field, get ideas, inspiration, and maybe even gain helpful networking opportunities for the future — Grace Helbig, a popular Youtube creator (Helbig has amassed a following of over 2 million people) has frequently said, ‘High tides raise all ships’, a statement well worth remembering.
3. Surround yourself with positive people
It’s logical to assume that if you surround yourself with negative, unambitious people, those same character traits will begin to reflect in yourself. You may not even be aware that some of the people you spend time with are ‘weighing you down’, so to speak, but rethinking your social circles and instead surrounding yourself positive, driven people will have a significant impact on your success — the quote by Jim Rohn, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”, is something worth reflecting on in your own life whilst attempting be a successful entrepreneur.
4. Have a mentor
Procrastination is perhaps the biggest killer of positive entrepreneurship, and having a mentor to guide you can be a huge help against that — “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”, the quote by John C. Crosby, further supports the idea that having a mentor will aid you take steps in the right direction. Some people are under the impression that to be a successful entrepreneur you have to do every little thing yourself. And to a certain extent that is correct, but it isn’t possible to always be on top of everything — having someone there to support you will definitely ensure that you further your aspirations as an entrepreneur.
5. Have self-confidence
Conquering the inner part of yourself that doesn’t believe that you will succeed can be the biggest obstacle to success. The quote by Abraham Lincoln, “Most folk are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”, can be applied to entrepreneurship, in that some people are destined for failure not for lack of talent, work ethic, or intelligence, but because they are not confident in themselves. Ever heard of the phrase ‘fake it till you make it’? Well, that’s more than applicable here — even if you don’t feel confident, act like you are, and it will impact not just your efforts as an entrepreneur, but your everyday life as well.
6. Have an end goal
Having something specific to work towards can aid you in becoming successful. As mentioned earlier, procrastination is a very easy trap to fall into. A clear goal will help clear the path to success, so that you know what you need to do, when, where, and how. Make lists, use planners, maybe even make a vision board, anything to help yourself identify what you want to achieve. “People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.” — Brian Tracy, Author.
7. Be grateful
The quote by Epicurus, “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.”, depicts that while it is important to be driven, and to set goals for the future, getting too caught up in the race to success may cause you to go down in a downward spiral. Being grateful for what you have is an integral part of being successful. Just little things, like taking a moment to appreciate all that you have, or acknowledging your last achievement, however small, will lead to happier life and positive attitude, two elements that definitely will help improve yourself both as a person and an entrepreneur.
8. Accept failure
Failure, while not the most glamorous part of entrepreneurship, is essential if you wish to make any substantial progress. The quote by Lou Holtz, “I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.”, sums up the fact that if you’re not prepared to fail, you’re equally as unprepared for success. In saying that, dwelling on your failures is definitely not the best option either — just make sure you take the time to learn from your mistakes and then move on.
9. Face your challenges head on
It’s incredibly easy to get overwhelmed by the challenges before you, especially if they are far beyond the realm of completion. An important character trait that every successful entrepreneur has is the ability to persevere through the tough times, and make the best that they can out of their situation — the quote, “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”— George Bernard Shaw, further portrays that if you need to rely on your own work ethic and personal stamina to be a successful entrepreneur.
10. READ
Spending time in pursuit of knowledge, and more specifically knowledge that pertains to the areas relevant to your endeavours can make a huge difference in your success rate as an entrepreneur. Topics such as economics, psychology, world news, and so forth, are all subjects that can broaden your perspective of the world and thereby open your eyes to opportunities you did not even know were there.
