1. We are afraid of failure:
We expect the outcome to be instant: Anything that is worth your while will need to be worked for and fought for. I'll let you in on a little secret: YOU WILL FAIL. You WILL fail. The first maybe 100 times you try to reach your goals, you will fail at it, you will mess up, you will get discouraged, but those are not good enough reasons to quit. Nobody ever made history by 'almost' making it.
Let's take Thomas Edison as an example. What did he do that was significant? He invented the light bulb right? Wrong! Many inventors were working on light bulb prototypes pining for the final discovery including Alessandro Volta, Henry Woodword, Matthew Evans and Joseph Swan. I bet you didn't know ANY of these peoples' names, Right? Well, I didn't either. Thomas Edison simply held the patents for the light bulb, thus crowning him for eternity as being the inventor of the glorious electric light bulb.
What secret weapon do you have to get you ahead in the game?
2. We take on too many projects at once:
I personally am involved SO much in my community. Work, ministry, outreaches, church services, small groups, meetings, camps, trainings, classes etc etc! After all these activities, I don't have the time or the stamina to focus on my future and my dreams, let alone work to achieve them! Real goals and dreams take a LOT of determination and time. Eventually, somethings gotta give. You have to retreat yourself from one (or a few) activities to have energy to pour into your future. No one ever woke up one day as billionaire, or a CEO. It takes hard work and consistency.
What are you GOOD at? What are you GREAT at? What are you EXCELLENT at? Become excellent at what you do, make it YOURS.
3. We are afraid to sacrifice:
I am comfortable with my current schedule, I like what I do now. Yes, it's true, there is a substantial amount of comfort in rituals but rituals won't get you anywhere. In fact, they make you stuck in one pattern of eternal repetition. There was a time when I was afraid to sacrifice any of my church activities because I didn't want the pastor, congregation, or God (Eeek!) to be mad at me. That's crazy, Right? I was wearing out and I was too afraid to admit it. Nonetheless, all of these church activities became a ritual and a comfort zone for me. That is when I decided to step down from most of my activities and put my focus elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, I am still very involved but it does not control my life anymore. Let me tell you, sacrificing something you love and something you've done for years is not easy. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do but I already see all the good that's coming out of it.
So what is it for you? What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve what you desire? What do you need to sacrifice to focus on your goals and dreams?
4. We love comfort and don't like things that are out of our comfort zone:
I mentioned this earlier but comfort is... well it's comfortable. A man, who I greatly look up to, said this: "Set a goal and do one thing a day that is pertinent to reaching your goal. Do one small thing a day to keep moving forward and not falling back". I've taken his advice to heart and have been doing at least one thing a day. Now this frightens me to the core because I am coming close to achieving what I set out to do and all the work that i've been doing is paying off. Stepping out of my comfort zone makes me so nervous that I feel like fainting(no joke!) every time I think about it!
How can you take what you currently have and excel in it? What do you think you should do to get out of your comfort zone?
5. We don't learn from other peoples' successes and failures:
People succeed in different ways and people fail in different ways. Do some research! Who is someone that you look up to or aspire to be like? How have they succeeded? How have they failed? You can learn so much from taking the initiative and doing a little bit of research. I personally love reading articles on how different prominent people started out, what they did, their work ethic, what they should have done differently and so on. There is so much advice out there that is just waiting to be shared with you! All you have to do is look.
6. We don't take advantage of our resources:
If you haven't noticed, all the people who we look up to started out where you are now. Lost and confused. At one point, THEY were the ones looking for guidance and advice. Now they are in a position to give you advice, but most people give it out only when you ask for it. So go and ask! LinkedIn is a GREAT source. I found a person who works for the company I want to work for one day. I emailed him and asked him how he got to where he's at. He was gracious enough to share with me and offer me some advice. People are typically very genuine, they typically WANT you to succeed. Please find a mentor or several of them who will guide you and offer you quality advice. Make sure they are trustworthy and actually want the best for you.
Go and be great!
I want the best for you, Wishing you all the best in your ventures!
