Words of Wisdom: Your Dreams Are Calling You
While entrepreneurship looks glamorous to those on the outside, it can be a mental, physical and financial challenge to those who are at the helm. At the bare minimum, it takes vision, passion and tenacity to be successful. Lacking any one of these attributes could lead to the demise of your dream. More importantly, you must be willing to make sacrifices and work in crisis mode often to achieve even the smallest of tasks.
Let’s start with the vision. An entrepreneur must have a vision of his or her goal, even if no one else sees or understands it. Without a vision, there’s no motivation to move forward on anything because vision allows you to see the end before you even begin.
Next is passion. An entrepreneur without passion is like a lion without a roar or courage. Your passion will carry you a long way toward garnering respect for your vision from others, attaining team members and attracting customers. When people see that you are passionate, they will thrive off your positive energy and are compelled to assist you. Passion will keep you going during times you want to give up and provide you with the motivation to keep moving forward when others doubt you. Without passion, you are just trading your time for nothing.
Lastly, every entrepreneur must have the tenacity to endure what feels like both a roller coaster ride and a long desert journey. Being a grassroots entrepreneur can be like a roller coaster ride as so much depends on the success of your vision. Some have sacrificed their families, homes and entire savings to pursue a dream. As a result, it may feel like a lone journey walking across the Sahara desert. It will be your faith and tenacity that will pull you through such moments. Ultimately, the only one stopping you from becoming great in anything that you choose to do is yourself.
Aspiring entrepreneurs must realize that not everyone will understand their dream nor will everyone support it. However, the vision and dream are yours and not everyone else’s. If the idea had been presented to others, they would be doing it; and if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Therefore, let it be your goal to remain steadfast in pursuing your dreams regardless of the understanding and support of others around you. Instead, allow their lack of knowledge or doubt to fuel your fire to be successful with launching your idea.
Success isn’t always about how much money you make; it is about bringing your dream to fruition. By doing this, you will have far exceeded many because ideas often remain in people’s minds. There is no right time to pursue your dream. Don’t be afraid of failure. Although you may be feeling scared, it means you are about to do something brave. Trust and believe the fear never goes away regardless of how much money or moral support you have.
Your thoughts will eventually become your reality, so it is essential that you think positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive people. Define yourself by knowing your purpose in life, and that will help to drive your passion. Most importantly, be sure to network and build relationships with people who can assist in fostering your development. Life is the state of mind. You are what you think you are. If you think you can’t, you won’t. If you think you can, you will.
Don’t dream your life away. Instead, live your dreams. If someone tells you that you can’t do it, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. It may just mean that you can’t do it with them. Stay away from negative people. Individuals who are negative may be lonely, broke or bored.
Entrepreneurs must be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time. If there is no applause, clap for yourself and maintain a positive attitude.
According to “Eat, Pray, Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert, “You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control.”
When you do something that you are passionate about, it’s as if you are not working at all. Be passion driven, and the money will soon come. If you’re not excited about it, it’s probably not the right path. It is imperative to set goals, deadlines, and to prioritize to keep yourself on track. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.
Meanwhile, your dreams are calling you…