We all should know by now, if you take enough action on a consistent and measured basis toward a clearly defined end goal you WILL succeed!
Then why don’t we do it?
Sometimes the end goal is not clear enough.
Often, we can’t stay consistently motivated toward our goal.
Self-doubt creeps in and we let the lack of self confidence turning speed bumps into brick walls.
If you can relate to any of this (and if you are planning or running your own business I’m sure you can), then two points Richard Branson recently communicated through his blog post “The Importance Of Determination” could (and should) change your life for the better:
1. Self-Motivation…for any of you that struggle to stay consistently motivated you will be happy to know Richard Branson believes that inner motivation can be learned and is not necessarily innate. It doesn’t mean achieving more consistent motivation is easy, but it does mean that it is possible.
“The ability to tap into your determination and grit is not just an innate skill. You can teach yourself to get up every day and try to keep a new business going despite long odds, partly by structuring your life and job to make sure you are working toward your larger goals.â€
Ah, there it is…”make sure you are working toward larger goals”
I believe Richard implies that these goals must not only be large, but must be extremely important to you (like food and water is to your body) and highly emotionally charged.
Too many people are pursuing goals that are NOT extremely important to them nor for which they are emotionally charged…if this is the case it is inevitable that you will be distracted and under achieve.
2. Overcoming Your Limitations...another big roadblock for aspiring entrepreneurs is overcoming one or more self-imposed limitations. Richard notes his was shyness…can you believe that? Richard Branson was extremely shy as a teen – that should be incredibly motivating to anyone out there that is considered an introvert or shy.
He recognized this as an issue and best of all, his mother helped put his shyness in perspective…she called it selfishness as you choose to not share the full extent of your humanity (emotions, thoughts, knowledge, energy, etc…) but rather keep it to yourself.
…was very shy when I was young, and it was clear that I would have to master this if I was going to succeed. My timidity could have easily held me back if she hadn’t helped me come out of my shell. She feels that shyness is very selfish, as it means you are only thinking of yourself, and so she was very insistent that I look adults in the eye and shake their hands, and carry on conversations with guests at dinner and at parties – no excuses.
What Richard’s mother understood is that if you want to beat something (a limitation you have in your life) you must first come to terms with it, recognize its ugliness in order to move beyond it – outside of your comfort zone.
If something in your head (a self limiting belief about your ability, skill, knowledge or position in life) is holding you back you need to face that, understand how ugly and horrible this limitation is so that you can elevate the pain of staying where you are allowing you to comfortably strive beyond.
These are two of the most powerful concepts you will EVER learn in life or business…but they are only powerful if you choose to internalize them and let them direct your life in meaningful ways.
