Have you ever reached the end of your week and thought, “what the hell am I doing with my life?”
This is the place where every entrepreneur has found success. Your dream business is a labor of love. But you end up with 80 hours of unpaid work a week. It’s exhausting and taxes your mental, emotional and physical health.
You will see the true potential of your self-employment. It may seem that many entrepreneurs are too independent to succeed in business. However, even successful individuals in every industry need coaching to make their businesses and lives more successful.
Here are 5 things I’ve learned from experience and coaches that has led to my success in business and personal life.
1. Stamina
Once you make the decision to be your own boss, you’ll quickly discover a solid lesson in self-employment. While it is difficult at times, your life will not be affected by this new work-life balance.
You will face problems like sickness, kids not being at school on time, car breakdowns, and divorce. It is important to be able endure the growing pains. No matter how difficult your day might seem, it is important to keep going regardless of what happens.
This is a problem because the motivation behind building a business can be stifled by daily obstacles. The drive for success can be diluted over time as entrepreneurs become too focused on the little things, and lose sight to their larger vision. It will be easier to keep your mind focused on the bigger picture and why you’re going through these trials. For a greater life and a larger business, it is important to have stamina.
2. Execution
Inability to execute is what holds people back from realizing their potential. No matter how well you plan and prepare, things rarely go according to your expectations. Start by planning and then execute. You can adjust your course by making pivots along the way. Learn to sail, and to find the best route to your destination.
You can win small victories, but steady growth will build a stronger foundation than fast growth. Patience is a bedrock skill because it’s not so easy to settle on 1 or 2 new clients a day when you want 1000. You must execute first and maintain consistency to reach your goal.
Plain and simple, you won’t get to 1,000 customers without first getting 1 or 2. You must be 100% committed to building a strong foundation. Don’t take any chances. There is no easy path to running a strong and successful business, but it can be simple… as a famous footwear brand like’s to say, “just do it.”
3. Resilience
When you’re an Entrepreneur everything stacks up on your shoulders, or at least it can often feel that way. To achieve success, you must learn how to overcome these obstacles with resilience.
Do a self-inspection and be open with yourself.
- Are you letting other colleagues’ or family members’ feelings of doubt get to you?
- Do external factors hold you back or do you get in your own way?
- Are you letting small bumps derail the entire train because it’s easier than facing the larger issues at hand?
These are the questions you should ask.
- Are there ways to use negative thoughts about myself or others in order for me to execute?
- What systems can I use to stop focusing on external factors and instead focus on those that I control? What are the rules to achieve this goal?
- Are I more focused on the drama than my goal?
Life doesn’t stop when you become a business owner. Your success will depend on your ability to turn your doubts into motivation. In order to do this, you’ll need to set rules of engagement for the small things that take a majority of your time. You should take stock of your most significant problems, and make rules about how you can avoid them.
You’ll have to face challenges no matter what you go through as an entrepreneur and resiliency will help. Remember that resilience isn’t about how many times you can get punched in the face, it’s about being able to bounce back when you do. Figuring out how to dodge those blows in the first place will allow you to create capacity for resilience when the odd one lands and you’ll be able to regain your balance more quickly.
“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf
4. Context
Why bother? When you’re a few weeks, months, or years into business this question can rear its nasty head.
According to the macro, abstract view, we all only have a limited time. It is realistic to have only 20-30 years of your life left to truly push yourself. Unfortunately, many people are able to experience success for a few months and then fall back on their dreams.
Reminding yourself why you began in the first instance and how you can make a difference for clients, employees, and the rest of the world is crucial. A daily practice I use is to look at client testimonials in those moments when I’m losing my way. These testimonials help me to find my true north.
5. Continual Growth
To see continued success, not just year-after-year complacency, one must be open to continuous learning. As you reach milestones that your past self has set for yourself, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment that’s necessary for continual growth.
Certainly, you can take time to celebrate reaching your goals, and you should, but it’s important to be able to experience those moments year after year and the only way to do that is through setting new goals as you accomplish the old ones.
It means being willing to accept discomfort and taking the time to evaluate what you can do to push your business and yourself to greater heights.
If you are not willing to grow, growth will be promoted. You must stand firm on your decision and not be afraid to take risks. Take a leap off the edge and learn how to create your parachute. These risks will take you to the places you’ve dreamed about, and that is the journey with the best rewards.
Finally, love is in the journey
With all of this said, you won’t see success unless you learn to love the journey. There will be ups and downs. Embracing and celebrating the successes and the newfound ability to accomplish the things you’ve wanted to must be embraced as much as the miserable parts. Your failures can be seen as failures, or opportunities for growth. And if you don’t fall in love with growth, you won’t fall in love with the journey.
If you don’t show up to work every day, it is a sign that you are not willing to suffer. You will be able to achieve success if you keep your eyes on the bigger picture and stick to your toolset. It is possible to learn a lot about yourself by suffering, but you also have the potential to discover something wonderful.
Stamina, execution of business strategy, resiliency, accepting and enduring temporary pain… these will all lead you to question “why am I doing this?” That is often the toughest part, and if you can find the answer and execute on actionable steps that move you forward, you will move on to bigger challenges. Success comes with greater challenges. This cycle will continue as long you keep in mind why you chose this route.
Addicted 2 Success published 5 Essential Skills to Be a Successful Entrepreneur.