What dream do you have that is so big it has become your calling? If it’s your dream, what steps are you taking to make it happen?
Last week I shared some of the reasons and ways that entrepreneurs may block their income flow, and one of the biggest ways they do this is by stopping before they even get started.
I think sometimes our dreams, plans, goals and ambitions can be so big they scare us. We wonder “Who am I to believe that I can?” There is always a fear in many entrepreneurs of appearing too big for their boots, or perhaps being scoffed at by friends, family, and colleagues.
And like me, if you had a successful corporate career, the last thing you want, is to fail on your own, to perhaps lose your credibility – and hence your reputation and financial fallback.
If you have ever wondered if you “can”, then you know that often times the self-chatter that follows is “Well maybe I can’t”
And how that shows up is in doubting and resisting the very actions you need to take to make your dream a reality.
Have you ever faced any of the following and felt stopped in your tracks?
- Leaving a successful corporate career
- Investing in training and mentoring needed to grow
- Investments in business development and infrastructure
- Hiring team
- Firing the wrong team
- Borrowing money
- Getting funding
- Marketing and sales conversations
- Money conversations
- Letting go of secure but not ideal clients
I certainly have! I know that when I first started my business, even with all of my business expertise, I often got in my own way with big decisions.
And believe me, it wasn’t because I didn’t know what to do, on the contrary, I often knew exactly what to do. All of my expertise in business, hadn’t prepared me for the very thing I needed – BEING an entrepreneur, and risking my own name and money! So when I say “I get it”, really I do. I understand.
These fears can seem very real – and then it becomes really easy to look at our circumstances, our bank account, our schedule, you name it, and make that the “reason”. And those reasons soon become our emotional and mental roadblocks.
Fear, however, is never real. What’s holding you back isn’t real. I know it feels real, and yet, there is no circumstance facing you right now, that if you are willing to do what it takes, can’t be overcome. What’s holding you back, is what you believe about your circumstance.
Yes, there are risks, and uncomfortable actions needed to make your dream happen. And while fear isn’t real, those risks and actions do require that you take calculated caution, and I will be honest, sometimes you lose money, or you make a mistake.
I certainly have made some mistakes along the way– and, well, they HURT – financially, emotionally, and mentally. The thing is, what I gained by being willing to go through those risks, to take the bad with the good, is that on the other side of it is success.
And while there are risks to going forward, there are even more risks to staying still. Except the risk of staying still is much more insidious. You see when you move forward, make a decision and take bold, (and cautiously calculated) action, even if it’s not the right decision, the forward momentum will allow you to shake off the bumps, to course correct to make a different decision and to keep moving on the path to your goals.
The problem with standing still, is yes, you may feel safe in the moment, and it can lull you into a false sense of stability, as you settle for less than you desire, for “good enough” and never meeting your potential.
To make your dream happen you don’t need to know all the steps, you only need to know the next one. So, what’s your next step? What do you need to believe to take it? Are you willing to take that risk?
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