The entrepreneurial journey can be very challenging. Results don’t often come as quickly as we’d like nor are they exactly what we envisioned when we began.
While this may be a reality, here are five things below to help you keep moving forward when you are discouraged and feel like giving up.
1 – Review Your Vision Consistently
As time goes by, it’s easy for your original vision to “leak” and become blurry. Write down your vision and review it at least weekly or monthly to keep it fresh in your mind. Chances are that your vision is much too big to be accomplished quickly. Small visions may be achieved in days or weeks. Big visions take time to develop and you must grow as a person in order to be able to achieve them. Reflect on the vision consistently to keep your passion strong and your energy high so you can tackle the obstacles you’ll inevitably face along the way.
2 – Make a List of Your Progress
Most entrepreneurs are bad at tracking all the small wins or results they achieve along the way toward their greater vision. We can stay so focused on the desired end results that we don’t realize we’re making progress in the process. Winning happens even when it feels like we’re creeping along in inches rather than experiencing quantum leaps of success. It’s important to not only have a clear vision, but you must also track your victories so you don’t get overwhelmed and discouraged.
3 – Stay Connected to Other Entrepreneurs
It’s been said that your network drastically affects your net worth. Jim Rohn famously said that we become like the five people we spend the most time with. Others have said that our future success can be determined by the people we surround ourselves with and the books we read. The critical thing to keep in mind is who you surround yourself with will determine how you feel about your business and yourself. Get around people who will encourage you while also challenging you to keep moving forward amidst and despite adversity.
4 – Give Yourself Grace
When we’re pursuing grand visions, we can be extremely hard on ourselves when we fail, make mistakes, or don’t experience results quickly enough. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace by setting realistic goals and expectations. You can have a big vision while setting attainable objectives that are within your reach. Accept the fact that you will need to grow in your knowledge, skills, and perseverance to ultimately achieve your goals. Don’t tell yourself that you should have it all figured out. The reality is that you will be on a lifelong journey of learning and discovery.
5 – Keep Moving Forward Despite Your Emotions
Emotions lie to us. They tell us we’re not good enough, we don’t have enough, or we aren’t intelligent enough to be successful. These limiting beliefs will pop up when you least expect it and when you need the most encouragement. When they do, commit to taking the next action that must be done. Don’t only act when you feel like it. Instead, act on what you know is required to be successful. Thomas Carlyle once said, “Do what lies clearly at hand.” Whatever that is on any given day, take action and let your emotions follow, not vice versa.
Winning in business requires much perseverance and stamina to endure many obstacles. Being an entrepreneur is one of the most effective personal growth exercises you’ll ever experience. You start with a vision, then have to battle through the valley of unknowns to achieve your ultimate goal. Remember that, along the way, you will face many wins and losses. It’s part of the game. Stay the course and take these five actions. When you achieve your ultimate vision, you’ll be glad you didn’t give up along the way. You’ll also be able to reach back and help others who are in the middle of the journey to keep fighting as well.
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