Let’s be honest.
Being an entrepreneur can suck sometimes.
There, I said it.
Entrepreneurship is hard. It’s stressful. It’s maddening at times.
Trying to start and grow a business is one of the most stressful things a person can do. It can be quite frustrating. The things you go through as an entrepreneur would drive a normal person crazy.
That’s why most people don’t do it.
But you’re not most people, are you? You want more. You want the freedom that comes with being your own boss. You want to call the shots. Hell, you deserve to call the shots.
You want to build wealth on your own terms.
But if you’re like other entrepreneurs, you know the statistics. You know that most people who attempt to start a business fail. They go back to their former lives and give up their ambitions.
But….why???
Is it because they weren’t smart enough? Is it because they weren’t talented enough? Is it because they had a crappy business idea?
I’d argue that it’s none of these things.
I would submit to you that these failed entrepreneurs lacked the most important trait an entrepreneur can have.
They didn’t have grit.
They didn’t know how to persevere.
So that begs the question: “What is grit?”
Simply put, grit is what pushes a person to push forward despite their setbacks, obstacles, and shortcomings. It’s that pit bull-like quality that keeps you from giving up regardless of what happens..
When you are building a business, you run the gamut of emotions. You feel inspired because you’re building something that you love. You’re pursuing your passion. You can’t wait until you finally accomplish your ultimate goal.
Then, it gets hard.
You encounter obstacles. Things come up. You start to feel overwhelmed. It happens to all of us.
To make matters worse, you have people in your life who think you should give up. And to top it all off, you wonder if you even have what it takes to make this work.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
If you cultivate grit, it will become easier to deal with the things that make entrepreneurship difficult. You MUST have grit if you are going to succeed.
Here’s the thing…it really doesn’t matter how brilliant you are. It doesn’t matter how charismatic a leader you are. It doesn’t matter if you have the best business ideas in the world.
If you don’t have grit, you are guaranteed to fail.
Regardless of your brilliance, you are going to have challenges. You are going to have setbacks. You are going to get discouraged. If you don’t know how to persevere, you won’t know how to deal
Sorry, but it’s true. A “gritty” entrepreneur is a successful entrepreneur.
Fortunately, you have control over this. Grit isn’t something that successful people are born with. It’s something they cultivate within themselves.
That’s what this post is about. The tips in this post will help you develop grit. It will show you what you need to do to maintain the right attitude that will push you towards success.
Here they are:
Be Willing To Fail
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” - C.S. Lewis
Believe it or not, you can’t win all the time. There will be several times throughout your entrepreneurial journey when you will fall short.You will make mistakes, and you will fail.
However, the issue isn’t whether or not you fail. The issue is how you view failure. You have to adopt the right mindset when it comes to failure. Failing isn’t a bad thing if you look at it the right way. Failure is something that can make you better. It can make you stronger.
Do you know of any wildly successful people that have never failed? Take a second and think about it.
I’ll wait.
See what I’m saying? Everyone who has made an impact on the world has failed multiple times.
Failure is an important part of success. It can work in your favor if you do a few things:
- View the failure as an opportunity to learn. What lesson does each failure hold? How can you use these lessons for your benefit?
- Look for inspiration. Read stories of those who have failed before they succeeded.
- Realize that failure is not always a game changer. Put it into perspective. Don’t give failure more power than it deserves.
Learning to deal with failure is imperative to having grit. If you have the right mindset, failure will propel you forward, not hold you back.
Develop Your Self Confidence
“The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you.” - William Jennings Bryan
Confidence is a key component in having grit. If you aren’t confident in your ability to succeed, you won’t have grit.
A large part of increasing your confidence lies in your self talk.
Everyone talks to themselves. Chances are, you do it all the time, and it’s not very nice. Learning to manage your self talk is a critical part of cultivating grit.
If you’re like me, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about the mistakes you have made. It’s easy to fall into the trap of dwelling on the things you have done wrong.
If you’re going to succeed, you need to be nicer to yourself. Instead of only thinking about what you have done wrong, look at the things you have done right. Write these things down.
Doing this will help you celebrate your wins and give you concrete examples of things you can be confident about.
Yes, I know it’s seems cheesy, but it will work! It’s hard to lose confidence when you take the time to focus on the things you have done well, isn’t it?
Set Short - Term Goals
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” - Tony Robbins
Many entrepreneurs are “big picture” thinkers. While this is a great strength, it can also create a challenge when it comes to cultivating grit.
Why?
Because you’re focusing primarily on the huge objectives you have to accomplish in order to become successful. You’re looking only at the entire elephant you have to eat rather than focusing on the smaller bites.
The reason this can become discouraging is because these larger goals cannot be accomplished overnight. They all take time, which means you have to go longer before experiencing a victory.
You should choose to focus primarily on your smaller, short - term goals. Fix your mind on the smaller pieces of the elephant.
When you accomplish these smaller tasks, you create small wins for yourself. It’s a great way to change your mindset. When you have smaller wins to celebrate, it releases more dopamine into your brain. This gives you that “I’m awesome” feeling.
An article in Psychology Today discusses the link between dopamine and perseverance. The more dopamine you give yourself by having smaller wins, the easier it will be to persevere through your challenges.
Also, having smaller wins makes it easier to catch yourself doing things right. It’s a no-brainer. Focus on your long-term goals, but don’t lose sight of the smaller tasks that will help you accomplish those goals.
Remember Your “Why”
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” - John F. Kennedy
One of the main reasons why we allow ourselves to remain discouraged is because we lose sight of our purpose. We forget why we’re doing this in the first place.
You started your business because you have a dream, right? However, realizing that dream takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. You might find yourself becoming overwhelmed by all of the things you have to get done.
Because of this, you focus so much on the problems and obstacles that you lose touch with your purpose. Remembering your “why” is not only useful for branding purposes, it’s also useful for keeping yourself motivated.
Build A Support Network
“The people we choose to surround ourselves with impacts the way we think, act and feel on a day-to-day basis.” - Gerard Adams
This is incredibly, insanely, massively important. Having grit means realizing that you can’t build your business on your own. You need the support of others.
It means that you need people in your corner who truly want to see you succeed.
Chances are, many other people will not understand what you’re trying to do. Tthey may not support you in the way you need.
Find ways to build a network of people who will be there to encourage and advise you on your entrepreneurial journey. It’s best to seek out other entrepreneurs because they are able to understand what you are going through.
Look for networking groups in your area where you can find other entrepreneurs. There are many ways to find like-minded people with goals that are similar to yours.
Conclusion
Being an entrepreneur is hard. It’s one of the hardest things a person can do. The life of an entrepreneur is full of challenges and hardships. That’s why having grit is a non-negotiable factor in your effort to build a successful business.
While the journey to entrepreneurial success is difficult, the rewards are worth it in the end. When you finally realize your dream, you will be glad that you kept moving forward despite your challenges.
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