*** Your Purpose Must Be Bigger Than Your Fear ***
Like many entrepreneurs, I started my business from scratch...and I often describe myself as one of the most unlikely, uneducated, RELUCTANT entrepreneurs you’ll ever meet. That’s because I started my business mostly out of desperation with a little hint of inspiration.
At the time I launched into the world of self-employment, I had piles of debt and zero savings. I had no mentors. I’d never started a business before in my life and had zero clue on how to do some of the most fundamental things, like creating a product, getting a business license, putting viable contracts in place, collecting credit cards, hiring people, keeping financial records, collecting and paying taxes, etc.
Today, when I think about my growth as an entrepreneur, and reflect back on the most frustrating and even desperate points on my journey, I realized a few things:
First, the reason I struggled was simply because I didn’t have the knowledge, and more specifically the SKILLS, to get the result. it wasn't the economy, those "damned" customers, the weak labor pool of lazy employees who didn't want to work, the competition, etc., etc., etc. It was MY lack of skill.
The second reason I struggled was because I was afraid, for some reason, to do what was necessary…and my fear was greater than my desire.
In every case when I achieved a major result in my business, it was because my desire...my mission and my purpose...was bigger than my fears.
So I PAID to get the knowledge I needed, then WORKED to develop the skills necessary. Rinse and repeat. Yes, I came up short. Yes, I was often frustrated and disappointed. Yes, I made the same dumb mistakes over and over again. Yes, it took time, focus and was not easy.
But was it worth it all? HELL, YES!
Right now, if there's anything you're struggling to acheive, ask yourself this: Is it a lack of SKILL, or a lack of WILL? Perhaps a little of both.
