If You Think You Will Fail, You Will
"What you think, you are." A priest once told me that monks use that simple phrase to clear their minds and maintain focus. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, this quote is extremely applicable to your personal and professional life. As a student, if you focus on failing an exam, you will likely fail. In your personal life, if you fear loneliness, you will probably be lonely. In business, If you think your business will fail, it will.
A common link among people I know that always fall short of their goals is that they focus on failing. They think and talk about what they will do if they fail. Their entire focus is on what they will do if they don't meet their goal, not on what they need to do to reach it. That's why it's never a surprise when they actually do fail. How could they succeed if they don't completely believe in themselves?
The good news is that this same mentality can be applied to work in your favor. If you think about your goals and visualize success, you will likely reach those goals. I make sure to spend time every day thinking about where I want to get my business to in three weeks, three months, and three years. As soon as I stop believing I will succeed, I will fail. Think about it - how are my customers supposed to trust me if I am not even sold on my business? As an entrepreneur, you have to be the one person that always believes.
But doing this is not easy. In fact, I think it's the biggest challenge a first time entrepreneur faces. The most likely people to take you down are your friends and family. It's not intentional, but it is real. As an entrepreneur, you will constantly be questioned by those around you. It's very unlikely that anyone you know will come right out and say that what you are doing is going to fail - that you are too young/old/poor/stupid to succeed. They will all say that they support you, but throw in little things like "if it doesn't work out, you can always go back to your job." If you start listening to and believing this, and planning what you'll do if you fail, you will fail. You need to maintain complete focus that you will succeed. Their is no other option. You will eat, sleep, and breathe success. That mentality keeps focus on the goal. And guess what? If you focus on the goal, you are probably going to achieve it.
Just as I said that everyone I know who fails thinks about failing, the same holds true for everyone I know who succeeds - they all think about success. Remember, "what you think, you are."
Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!
A common link among people I know that always fall short of their goals is that they focus on failing. They think and talk about what they will do if they fail. Their entire focus is on what they will do if they don't meet their goal, not on what they need to do to reach it. That's why it's never a surprise when they actually do fail. How could they succeed if they don't completely believe in themselves?
The good news is that this same mentality can be applied to work in your favor. If you think about your goals and visualize success, you will likely reach those goals. I make sure to spend time every day thinking about where I want to get my business to in three weeks, three months, and three years. As soon as I stop believing I will succeed, I will fail. Think about it - how are my customers supposed to trust me if I am not even sold on my business? As an entrepreneur, you have to be the one person that always believes.
But doing this is not easy. In fact, I think it's the biggest challenge a first time entrepreneur faces. The most likely people to take you down are your friends and family. It's not intentional, but it is real. As an entrepreneur, you will constantly be questioned by those around you. It's very unlikely that anyone you know will come right out and say that what you are doing is going to fail - that you are too young/old/poor/stupid to succeed. They will all say that they support you, but throw in little things like "if it doesn't work out, you can always go back to your job." If you start listening to and believing this, and planning what you'll do if you fail, you will fail. You need to maintain complete focus that you will succeed. Their is no other option. You will eat, sleep, and breathe success. That mentality keeps focus on the goal. And guess what? If you focus on the goal, you are probably going to achieve it.
Just as I said that everyone I know who fails thinks about failing, the same holds true for everyone I know who succeeds - they all think about success. Remember, "what you think, you are."
Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!
posted by Adam McFarland at
12/24/2005 01:08:00 PM
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