Dear entrepreneur (or aspiring entrepreneur), I need to be real with you.
There’s a lot of fluff floating around the interwebs about starting your own business and enjoying all the freedom and rewards that can come from it.
But I need to give you a shot of truth. I do this not to be mean or rude, but to hopefully shock you awake so you can choose what you really want.
So let’s get real.
I’ve identified five internal reasons people never get their business off the ground, and today I’m going to focus on the first one as part of a series.
Reason #1 why people never get a business off the ground:
They haven’t truly made up their mind to succeed, no matter what.
Most people who say they are entrepreneurs are actually wantrepreneurs.
They say they want to build a business, but they aren’t willing to do what it takes.
We all know people who say they want to lose weight.
Despite saying so, they aren’t willing to give up the junk food and put the time in the gym that’s required to get the results.
They know what is required.
They just simply aren’t going to do it.
Why? Because they don’t want it that bad.
They are more comfortable in their current state.
But both options are hard.
Being unhealthy is hard.
Working out and eating right is hard.
“Choose your hard.”
Poverty is hard.
Creating wealth is hard.
“Choose your hard.”
If you think about it, our culture idolizes and worships comfort. Everything is about comfort and convenience.
Our generation hasn’t been taught the meaning of hard work or doing things that don’t feel like doing to get a desired result. I’m thinking of all the generations of farmers who got up at the crack of dawn to milk cows and plow fields. Today we know nothing of that life.
Mental toughness is completely foreign to us.
By the way, if you want to test your mental toughness, try a cold plunge. It’s all the rage right now, mainly for therapeutic reasons, but it’s an excellent mental exercise. You submerge yourself in ice-cold water for as long as you can stand it. The bigger benefits come after being submerged for 5 minutes or longer and the benefits includes decreased inflammation, invigorating your mitochondria (the energy-making part of your cells), anti-aging effects, increased metabolism, mood enhancement, natural hormone boost and more.
The bottom line is that you need to make up your mind if you’re a wantrepreneur or an entrepreneur.
Something I’ve always taught my students is that they must sear this phrase into their brains:
“I will succeed no matter what, and nothing will get in my way.”
Say it again.
“I will succeed no matter what, and nothing will get in my way.”
Write it on a post it note and stick it on your computer.
“I will succeed no matter what, and nothing will get in my way.”
Write it on your bathroom mirror.
“I will succeed no matter what, and nothing will get in my way.”
Print it off and stick it on your fridge.
“I will succeed no matter what, and nothing will get in my way.”
I’m telling you right now: If that mantra isn’t embedded into the core fiber of your being, then it’s not going to happen.
If you don’t truly FEEL that in your body and mind before it’s happened, then it’s not gonna happen.
Do you know why?
Because when you sign up to become an entrepreneur and say “I’m going to build this business” you also signed up for roadblocks every five minutes.
In fact, you should expect that every time you make progress on something there will be 3-5 new “roadblocks”.
Side note: When you become more successful you change the word from roadblock to challenge. A roadblock hinders you from proceeding forward. A challenge is something you solve and overcome. That slight shift changes everything.
Stephen Pressfield, in his book “The War of Art”, calls these challenges and roadblocks resistance.
Resistance is almost like a force of nature. Every time you go to work on your calling, whether it’s building a business or making art, you’re going to feel this resistance, either internally (like “ugh, I don’t want to do this task!”), or there will be external resistance (problems, puzzles, challenges, obstacles).
Pressfield also says “Resistance is by definition self-sabotage.”
So become aware of when you’re sabotaging your potential through complacency.
He says he bigger the resistance, the MORE you should do it.
If you haven’t read that book, it’s fabulous (warning, it does have R-rated language in it) and I recommend you add this to your library. The message is so important for our lazy generation that has no ability to work through discomfort and challenge.
When we’ve grown up having received trophies for just showing up, and when everyone is a winner, it’s no wonder people trying to start a business can’t understand the concept of GRIT!
They have no ability to power through the relay-race of one challenge after another (because that’s what building a powerful business entails!).
So, before you can become successful and build a wildly profitable and thriving business, you must first face your inner demons:
Resistance
Self-sabotage
Complacency
Then, you need to think really hard about what you want. If you want to do this, you’ve got to want it badly.
…To the point that there’s a fire no one can quench.
You must be unstoppable (even if you don’t know what you’re doing yet).
At that point, you’re ready to begin.
Did this blog resonate with you? Let me know by dropping a message in the comments.
