Eight Traps of Average

In this newsletter I want to quickly touch on eight traps keeping an ambitious person from breaking free from an average life into a life of their dreams.

1.?????Waiting for the Perfect Timing

I was told by a mentor that my life is the slowest it will ever be. Every month, every week, in fact every day my life gets busier. Too many use the excuse that they have too much going on in their lives to start something on the side. There are some legitimate reasons to temporarily delay, but if you are waiting for everything in your life to be perfect, it will never happen.

People find time to do the things they want to do. Your investment is your inconvenience. But, when you invest inconvenience, you get back convenience. There will never be the perfect time to start. You just need to start. Doing it now is more important than doing it perfectly.

2.?????Information Constipation

Have you ever had information constipation? It’s where you have had your mind filled with so much information and details you can’t get started on anything. With the Internet you have access to a world of information. This can be good, and bad. There’s no shortage of people offering you their “proven system” or “free webinar” and you can quickly find yourself spending all of your time chasing information and you never get started. It’s like drinking from a firehose. You try to get started but get overloaded and never do.

Set a window of time to explore and research your opportunity options and choose your top three. Look into the effort, time, money, commitment, and competition of those top three and choose the right niche for you and get started.

3.?????Chasing Rabbits

Yes, there are a lot of choices for opportunities that you can have on the side of your job. I recommend that you do a little homework before you type, “side-line business opportunities” into a search engine. There are limitless opportunities in the world today and you can become easily distracted with the next big idea that you see or the next “must attend webinar” that is advertised.

You can’t do everything at once. Take note of the interesting opportunities you see or hear of, but work on one thing at a time. Once you’ve found success at your niche, then it can be a good time to review other possibilities and pursue them, or better yet incorporate them into what you are already doing.

4.?????Procrastination

3 turtles were sitting on a log and 2 decided to jump. How many turtles are left on the log? The answer…… 3! Why? Because they only THOUGHT about jumping. You can think about doing something all you want, but until you get up and do it, it won’t happen.

Procrastination happens when we:

1.?????????????????Don’t value time

2.?????????????????Are undisciplined

3.?????????????????Don’t prioritize our time

Overcome procrastination by planning your day, making a list of what you want to get done or achieve each day and following through with doing it. Decide that you won’t enjoy ___X___ until you finish doing ___Y___. When you begin to get things marked off your list you will feel better about yourself knowing you got something accomplished.

5.?????Distractions

Life is full of distractions. Distractions are more prevalent than they ever were with the Internet, cell phones, social media, gaming, TV, email, etc. Decide to block, or better yet cut out your distractions.

Distractions can cause us to waste time. If you are going to be investing your time outside of your job and family time toward a side-business, make sure you are not wasting it by just being busy. Make that time as productive as you can. By avoiding distractions and focusing your time you will find you are using less time in the long run.

6.?????Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Average people have an excuse for everything; why they can’t, shouldn’t or couldn’t. That’s why they will never be more than average. Excuses tend to always blame external circumstances. Making excuses become a habit and form an average person’s reality. To them, it justifies why things aren’t going their way to make them feel better.

7.?????Looking at Past Failures

Average people think, “I should have…” or “I wish I would of…”. You can’t move forward if you continue to look behind you. If you are always looking in your rear-view mirror while driving, you will crash. We can’t change the past; we can only learn from it. Regret is one of the thieves of life.

Failure isn’t defeat unless you quit. Don’t dwell on your past failures but use them as a lesson. Learn from them and move on. Ask yourself, “what could I have done differently?” or “what can I do next time instead?” Take an inventory of your successes and what you have done right. Our failures don’t define us as a person. Don’t live in the mistakes of yesterday, but in the spotlight of tomorrow.

8.?????Avoiding Risk

Average people avoid risks. Successful people take risks, but they are calculated risks. There is a difference in taking a risk versus being reckless. Successful people understand that there is a chance of failure, but that’s okay. Failure is a part of success. If you never fail at something, that means you aren’t trying or taking any risks. No one that achieved any success has avoided failure, or on the other hand blindly jumped into something without understanding what risk might be involved. Failure isn’t final unless you quit.

Realize if you are going to move forward, there will always be some sort of risk. Risk isn’t always financial. It could be a risk to your self-image, ego or getting out of your comfort zone. Risk requires us to have the courage to face the fear of uncertainty. We grow through the process and become more creative and confident.?

Thanks for reading this edition of the Think Differently newsletter! Please follow me on LinkedIn!

Rik Covalinski is an advocate of having multiple long-term income streams. After spending 20+ years in the Marketing & Management arena he?quickly got tired of the corporate politics and endless ups and downs of layoffs or restructuring. He was introduced to a team of entrepreneurs who became mentors who advised him to read #richdadpoordad by #robertkiyosaki. He then realized he had been operating in the Active?Income quadrant expecting a lifestyle the Linear quadrant brings.

If you would like some advice or are genuinely ambitious and looking for a side-line business opportunity that can create multiple long-term income streams, send me a message through LinkedIn and we can schedule a time to talk. Check out my website to find out how I help others Think Differently!