10 Steps You Can Take Now to Stay in the Moment
Being an entrepreneur is one of the most thrilling adventures any of us undertake in our lives. One moment it seems like your world is crashing down and the next you are riding on waves of excitement and fulfillment, unlike anything else you have ever felt before. There is just something so magical and deeply satisfying about knowing that you built something, yourself, from the ground up. Along the way, it is inevitable to struggle with persistent fears, worries and doubts.
In many ways, these things can be useful and may guide you towards solutions you need. One thing that cannot be questioned however is that every time you find yourself worrying about the future, you are taking yourself out of the present and the things you can be doing today to ensure the best outcomes for tomorrow.
You grapple with doubts, struggle to confront the very real danger of procrastination, and find yourself reorganizing your priorities constantly.
You know that you are on the right path but it can be so hard to shut the mind down and return to the inspiration and bliss of the moment. It can be a real luxury to be able to shut down the worries, check the doubts and ensure that you are making the right choices day in and day out to get closer to your own personal vision of success.
I know that I have certainly grappled with these issues and only after years of practice and refinement have the solutions become intuitive.
Continue reading to wrap your mind around 10 common worries and the action based solutions you can use to counter them!
Stop feeling entitled.
The world does not owe you anything. If you want success, you are going to have to work for it just like any other apex predator out there in the jungle or under the sea. That does not mean that you need to be ruthless or without morals but it instead means that you will need to fight, perhaps brutally, to achieve all that you desire. Sweat equity is the amount of effort you commit towards any given project. It alone defines your worth. It doesn’t matter where you went to school, who you interned with, or who your parents are. All that matters in this life is how hard are you willing to work for the things you care about.
Instead: Start proving your expertise and defining yourself as a thought leader in your industry or niche. So you think you know something? Prove it: start an informative blog and use it to showcase your skills. Along the way, you just might get to rattle your sabre a bit and you may even get knocked off your high horse. At the end of the day though, a highly informative niche specific blog is always highly marketable.
Stop trying to do it all yourself.
Ego is a very real and pervasive trap among so many who aspire for greatness. They think that they need to do it all themselves without realizing the immense pressure they are putting on themselves by refusing to look for any solutions outside of themselves. Whether considering the way modern technologies or even just social circles can assist business ambitions, it is very clear that by opening your mind, you very much can work smarter, without having to work harder. If you are struggling with a concept, idea, or element of your business, chances are others have too. Alternately, even if you are trying to accomplish something truly awe inspiring in a very narrow niche of human experience, you just might find that by interacting with non-experts in other fields, you are able to move closer to a solution just after chatting it out a bit. Don’t close yourself off, look for ways to open up!
Instead: Give up control! I know it sounds wildly crazy and may oppose everything that you have internalized around your identity as an entrepreneur and that is precisely why it is so important. There are just certain times when it is way smarter to hire the expertise of a professional rather than spin your wheels trying to learn how to write lines of code or do anything else which is far outside of your skills. Devoting time to professional development is one thing, trying to master everything may be a little overly ambitious. Remember, asking for help is often the smartest choice one can ever make.
Stop trying to be perfect.
All the most successful people in the world have failed an incredible number of times. These things are far less published or celebrated but they are essential facts that you need to internalize. You will never be perfect. You will never be above the potential to have it all crashing down. It is not these moments of “failure” that define us but what we do with them. You will never be perfect but if you work really hard you just might be able to be resilient.
Instead: Dedicate yourself to personal advancement. Set strategic goals around physical fitness, mental awareness, technical skills, spiritual development and anything else that is meaningful to you. Instead of losing yourself because of your supposed shortcomings, find yourself among the things you love and care most about. When you are working on getting better in many separate areas of your life, you move closer to perfection while accepting that you are always a work in a progress.
Stop comparing yourself to others.
All the people in your life have unique things to teach you about yourself and the things you will need to do to achieve success. In this way, everyone you encounter is in some way, a mirror of yourself. Everyone comes from a different point of view and has undergone different challenges to reach their position. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that because you know a few things about someone, that you have their whole life figured out. I have said it before and I will say it again: there is no easy way to the top. Stop directing your energy and attention on things that do not matter and that do not affect your success.
Instead: Realize that there are successful people out there who are willing to be your mentors. It doesn’t matter what you want to achieve in life: 8% body fat and a jacked and cut bodyshape, a 7 figure salary, or financial independence based on your own entrepreneurial ambitions, there are people who have come before and who can show you the ropes. Look to these experts and be humble. Ask for assistance and guidance, not with an air of entitlement but a genuine willingness to learn.
Stop procrastinating.
It’s true. Certain aspects of business are really challenging and unenjoyable. You put them off day in and day out, weeks pass and still, you have yet to make any progress. You are caught in a loop of dread and procrastination and it is holding you back tremendously. What if I told you that not all of life is meant to be easy, simple or enjoyable? What if some of the most important lessons and opportunities can only be unlocked through persistence, dedication and pain? Sweat equity is very real and the sooner you can embrace its benefits, the better!
Instead: Use a S.M.A.R.T. framework and develop achievable mission critical daily and weekly goals. Track your progress and keep yourself accountable. If you want extra support, get your team mates or partners involved and then you can use the extra competition to help ensure accountability. Stop daydreaming about the solution and create a roadmap that will take you directly to where you need to be.
Stop being unprepared.
Being a success means putting in the time to learn all the things you need to know. There really is no excuse. All the most successful people in the world devote themselves to personal development with a truly impressive tenacity and attention to detail. They don’t spend their free time watching TV nor do they stay up late at night playing video games. Instead, they use every moment of the day in a strategic way.
Instead: Set your alarm to go off 15 or 30 minutes earlier than usual. Use this time to focus on personal or professional advancement. Consider reading through your lunch break. If you are really ambitious, you might even pop in an informative webcast or book on tape for your commuting time home. Use the time you have wisely and you will not feel unprepared.
Stop complaining.
The more you complain about the way this or that is not going your way, the more you set yourself up for future failure. Life will not always go your way. Your business ambitions will certainly not always go your way. What separates the most successful people in the world from everyone else is really simple: they never gave up. They didn’t let a little adversity get in their way and instead saw a “failure” as the true opportunity it was always meant to be. You will never be able to see all the opportunity in front of you if you can’t keep looking back to gawk and run your mouth. Keep your eyes on the prize and stay focused on the positive things you can do today to get where you want to be tomorrow!
Instead: Start and end each day with a mental inventory. List the things you hope or hoped to accomplish and the eventual outcomes. Make a specific point to list at least 3 things you are grateful for. Feel free to address any shortcomings or mistakes but after describing them, let them go. Keep practicing this exercise and you will eventually see your priorities and mental outlook shift. In time, you will be so cued into thinking about gratitude and opportunity, minor setbacks will not compete for space in your mission focused mind.
Stop wasting your financial resources.
Realizing financial success and the ability to grow your wealth relies on your ability to manage your finances in a strategic and realistic way. If growing your business is your main priority, you may need to sacrifice in other areas of your life. Alternately, you may need to make investments in things like your website before you purchase fancy status symbols like a flashy but unnecessary new laptop. If you find yourself worrying about how you will have the money to accomplish your dreams in the future, maybe it’s time to take a good long hard look at how and where you are wasting your financial resources today.
Instead: Start making weekly, monthly or quarterly budgets and stick to them. Everyday track earnings and expenses. Overtime you will have a much better sense of how and where you spend your money. You will also have cultivated a very useful accounting skills which will only benefit you as you do move closer to your entrepreneurial success. Stop worrying about the problem and start crafting the solution.
Platforms like Bench.co and Mint.com can help you to get organized!
Stop telling yourself you are unprepared.
You will never be prepared for the biggest and most demanding parts of your life. The truth is, no one is! Whether you are launching a business, planning a new family or considering a move to a foreign nation, there is quite simply, no amount of research or preparation that you can do that will ensure your success. At a certain point, you just have to commit to your game plan and remember that regardless of what happens next, everything in your life is an opportunity if you choose to see it that way. The pathway to knowing any subject or solution is unknowing. To seize the day, embrace the mystery and accept that whatever happens, happens. Even if your dream “fails” now, that failure may be the single most necessary element of the future success you will realize.
Instead: Start using affirmations to biohack your subconscious and train your brain for success. Anytime you feel a doubt rise up to the form of a thought, counter it with a positive affirmation which will remind you about where you are going.
For instance, if I started to worry about about being unprepared for a presentation, I would say to myself: “I am doing everything I can to be prepared for the presentation. I know I will succeed.” Now the affirmation itself is quite simple. What is important is that it is a statement of purpose which reminds you about who you are relative to the goals you aspire towards.
