Archive | June, 2015

It could be that one reason life presents challenges is that we would be easily bored if it didn’t. Another reason some believe is that overcoming difficulty builds character and makes us stronger. There is probably truth to both those beliefs. So certainly starting a new business, while not ‘rocket science’, is going to present some obstacles.

One major obstacle is mindset – whether it is your own negativity or those who are close to you – your spouse, family and/or friends. For some reason they are going to be the most critical, and where you might expect a supportive and affirming atmosphere, you are likely going to encounter negativity about your new venture.

Another real true theory that is relevant here is ‘fear of the unknown’, and maybe that is what scares people and makes them so wary of going out on a limb to try something new or different. Even an element of jealousy there perhaps in that they may never have acted on any of their dreams, assuming they were unrealistic; but you are – because you are brave enough and bright enough where maybe they don’t feel that they are.

The other way mindset can be an obstacle to a new business start-up is getting discouraged when you don’t make money right away as you thought you would. Still another related thought is having unrealistic expectations with regard to the amount of time it will take to develop a successful business. If you are not realistic you are going to set yourself up for self-imposed failure because you will end up quitting without giving it a fair chance.

We have to be logical because so much ‘hype’ makes it seem so effortless and as if you will earn a fortune just by joining a program and doing nothing. NOTHING could be further from the truth. In reality we EARN what money we make and in fact with your own business you may need to work TWICE as hard to earn money until you get the ‘well-oiled’ machine running at optimal levels to create your success on ‘autopilot’.

Because there is a learning curve and there are lots of obstacles to overcome, we need to guard against being discouraged at all times. Discouragement is the opposite of motivation. We need to stay motivated at all times and to refuse to be discouraged. We may have to do mental exercises as part of our process on an ongoing basis. Even talking to yourself to say how everything is great, how you are fine and doing a good job can really help to strengthen your resolve to succeed. No matter what negative thought or comment may come to mind, we have to counter that with something positive.

Since you are in new territory and have not yet built up your skill or expertise in the field, to give you confidence, you may need to rely on things you have done in the past that made you feel proud or strong. Think about all of your accomplishments no matter how small you think they are, and even write them down. Go all the way back to your childhood and remember everything you can about times where you were feeling good about yourself. Then keep those facts close at hand in your mind so that you can call on them when you start to feel like you are losing the battle against negativity. Believe you can succeed in starting a new business and that you will go far with it.