I’m writing this article as much for myself as for you to hopefully get something out of too.
The great thing about America is that I truly believe everyone has the opportunity to chase their dreams as long as their body and mind will let them do so. Yet the vast majority of people in America aren’t doing what they want to do in their lives for work, aren’t living the life they “dream” about, and frankly aren’t doing much of anything about turning that around.
The funny thing is that the main thing that can stop us OR empower us to cross that line… from frustrated, beaten down, financially and mentally poor, adjusting our “dreams” and ambitions down because we don’t think we can (or deserve) to live big dreams… to inspired, driven, purpose-filled, energized, mentally engaged, and financially and emotionally successful… is what’s going on in that noggin of ours.
Every time I’ve ran into a discouraging time as an entrepreneur and felt like adjusting my goals and dreams down because it feels “easier” to just do that rather than get over myself and make stuff happen… it was a self-imposed mental roadblock I was putting up in my own way. Something that creeps into your mind that makes you focus on the negatives in the situation, on what was wrong, or why it wouldn’t work… rather than why it will work, what you can do to make it work, and the great stuff on the other side of all of that hard work that will reward you when you get there.
So, if you’re an entrepreneur (or want to be)… one of the biggest things stopping you from your dreams… is… well… YOU.
It’s those little thoughts that say “you can’t do this” or “I need to get it perfect before I can roll it out”… because deep down for some reason you’re afraid of this weird thing called failure. Because “failing” in peoples minds for some reason is seen as a bad thing. Because many people associate the act of failing with being a failure … and if you are a failure… “what are people going to think about me?”.
Right? Has that gone through your mind when you hit a big roadblock and felt stuck in going after your goals? Yep, we all have been there.
But the thing that separates those of us who don’t settle for the status quo and who want to be the ones making our lives better (and others around us) vs. standing back and letting the world happen TO us…
… is we’ve learned to get over ourselves.
When others believe in you but you deep down don’t believe in yourself… we dig deep and find thing things inside of ourselves to believe in… then use that positivity to make things happen.
When others don’t believe in you but we know deep down that we can do it… we dig deep and realize that listening to others opinions can be a good thing, but others opinions usually don’t hold a candle to trusting our own gut.
If you’re not doing something that some people question or think you’re not capable of doing it… you’re not shooting high enough with your goals and dreams.
As Steve Jobs once said, “I look in the mirror every day and ask myself, ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?”… and when too many days in a row that answer is “No”, I know I need to change something”.
Ask yourself that question every day. And learn to get over yourself… over your fears… over the things in your head holding you back from being great in your life. If you say “no” too many days in a row… get over yourself and just make things happen while you can. Life’s short. You’ve got full control over what you do (or don’t do) with it.