Getting Out of Your Own Way
Brilliant author,
philosopher, and speaker Alan Watts once published his autobiographical
book, In My Own Way, the title of which is a play on words with alternate
meanings. An extremely independent thinker, Watts clearly did things in his
own inimitable way. The clever alternate meaning is probably more common
for the rest of us, where we use excuses and other convenient reasons to
get "in our own way" on the path toward success. As Watts pointed
out, the difference lies between fulfilling yourself and obstructing
yourself.
Starting a business is a bold step, not one for the timid. The list of
excuses used to avoid the dangers of launching a business are many and
varied, but they all resonate with the same timidity. Fear of failure is
probably the most common thread among all of the excuses holding us back.
It takes courage to take the plunge, and a prospective entrepreneur must be
willing to take some chances or they will definitely getting in their own
way.
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses
You are familiar with these. We have heard them all before: I don't know
enough about running a business. I don't have the skills. I don't have
sufficient contacts with the right people to get started on the right foot.
I can't afford it right now. The economy won't support a new business just
yet. It's just not the right time.
Each of these may be a valid concern, but the bottom line is that they are
nothing more than excuses holding you back from exploring your dream. THEY
are not what is holding you back. YOU are what is holding you back.
There are many ways to overcome the fear of failure. One of the most common
is simply out of necessity. People lose their long-held jobs and have to
pay the rent. Being "forced" into business has been the best
thing ever to happen to a lot of people. But whether you are forced,
following your dream, or simply fall into it by chance, the opportunities
are there for you to succeed. Pat Flynn's success is a good example.
Pat Flynn was laid off by an architectural firm in 2008. He set a goal of
passing an architecture-related exam and created a website to gather
information on the test and how to pass it. Many others were also
interested in this objective and the site started generating thousands of
hits daily. His internal light bulb went on and Flynn wrote an ebook study
guide on how to pass that test, selling it for $19.99. Within a month, he
had generated sales in excess of $7,000. He never looked back, and today is
the brain trust behind SmartPassiveIncome.com, as well as numerous other revenue-generating
websites. Pat Flynn got out of his own way.
Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg is an extremely successful
entrepreneur. He didn’t start the wave that has become social media, but
his brainchild is today clearly the most popular vehicle in the genre. On
his profound success, Zuckerberg said, “The biggest risk is not taking any
risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is
guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
You must get past that little voice in your head that says, "You
can't," and find the other one in there that says, "Yes, you
can." That voice is in there. You just have to find it and listen, for
a change. The boldness to take the plunge depends on it. As Henry Ford once
said, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're
right."
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