“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” – John Assarraf

If you’re going into business for yourself, you’re going to be uncomfortable. Make no mistake about. All too often people wear rose-tinted glasses and only look at what could happen if they had a thriving business.
They see the fast cars, big houses, total freedom and all the other trappings of success. But they don’t see the struggle, the pain, the discomfort and the toll that failure exerts on you.
Oh, you’re going to be uncomfortable alright. And that’s an understatement.
To achieve success, you MUST become comfortable with being uncomfortable. You must be willing to embrace pain and hardship. You must have the discipline to stay on course and do the needful.
Of course, it will take time to develop your threshold for discomfort, but it can be done and you should proactively do it. The more discomfort you can withstand, the more battle-hardened you’ll be… and nothing can stop you from succeeding.

1. Start even when you don’t feel like it
Scared to set a goal and chase your dream? Do it anyway. Give yourself a fighting chance by believing in yourself. The first step is to start. If you won’t even do that, nothing can help you.
It’s fine to be scared… but start anyway.

2. Avoid procrastination
What? You have a lot of work? Excellent. You’ll need to work to progress. Don’t fiddle around with tasks that make you look busy.
No! Work on the tasks you know you hate. Almost always, these are the ones that will matter most in your business. Get these tasks over and done with first thing in the day.
The more you delay, the more overwhelming they will seem. Once again, avoid thinking and just start.

3. Push yourself
Runners build speed and stamina by always trying to beat their personal bests. It is NOT a comfortable feeling to try and run faster and faster over time. Your heart will be pounding and you’ll be gasping. Yet, if you don’t push yourself, you’ll not shave off precious seconds from your timing.
In the same vein, keep pushing yourself to increase your output in a given period of time. For example, if you’re a writer who writes 4 pages an hour, try to do 5 pages or even 6 pages.
You might need to become a faster typist or use dictation software to speed things up. Go ahead and use them. The end justifies the means. What matters is that you force yourself to level up and become more productive.

4. Work longer
So simple and straightforward, yet so difficult to execute. Instead of going for an hour break for lunch, cut it down to 30 minutes. Or better still, pack a sandwich that you can eat at your desk for 15 minutes.
Not only will you consume less calories, but you’ll feel less sluggish because you haven’t indulged in a heavy meal. Now you can get back to work sooner and feel better.

5. Set bigger goals
The bigger your goals, the more focused you’ll have to be. You’ll need to expend more effort. Break down the big goals into smaller achievable milestones and give yourself a deadline for each milestone. Now see if you can beat the deadline by working faster.

6. Shock yourself
Take icy cold showers in the morning. You’ll probably hate to do it, but by going ahead with it anyway, you’ll develop your ‘muscle’ for handling discomfort.
The same can apply to not using social media, or eating clean or avoiding alcohol. Whatever serves you well but brings you discomfort is a good challenge to take on. Over time, you’ll discover that you can win at anything you set your mind to.

7. Aim for the 6/7 schedule
This means working for 6 days a week and taking the 7th day off. Your day off could be any day. It doesn’t have to be a Sunday.
What’s important is that you maintain the momentum. We live in a world where people emphasize the benefits of working less. Working 4 hours a week is like the ultimate achievement.
Really? What are you going to do with the rest of your time? What can you do in 4 hours anyway?
No. You need to work longer, smarter and harder. That’s how you win.
In order to get comfortable while being in discomfort, you must embrace the pain and know you’re doing it for a greater cause – your success. So, you’ll keep going and keep challenging yourself.
As the weeks turn into months, you’ll strengthen your resolve. You’ll discover new strength and determination within you. The pain doesn’t scare you. In fact, it excites you because you know you can handle the challenge.
Now you’re ready to win, and win you will.

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The term ‘time management’ is often tossed around in self-help seminars and websites. Yet, if you stopped to think about it, you can NEVER manage time no matter what you do. The clock is going to keep ticking anyway.
Time waits for no man… and there’s no way you can manage it. Don’t let them tell you otherwise.
The only thing you can manage is yourself. So, if you want to get the most of your time before it slips away, you’ll need to manage yourself as productively as possible. You have no control over time… but you have 100% control over yourself, and that’s a good thing.

1. Have a daily plan
A solid daily routine with a good workflow will mean that you know exactly what you need to do daily. Over time, your actions will become habit and you’ll be even faster. Remember, you’re always fighting the clock.

2. First things first
In any business or endeavor, there will be tasks that you must complete. If you want to be a dancer, you must practice dancing. If you want to be a runner, you need to run daily.
If you want to be a writer, you must write. If you’re an entrepreneur, you MUST focus on the income-generating activities that shape the future of your business.
Complete the tasks that matter first. Do not procrastinate. Time is not your friend and it’s not waiting for you. It’s best you start running to catch up with it.

3. Eliminate distractions
No matter what you do, you’ll not get more time. What you can do though, is to free up the time that you do have. By eliminating distractions such as social media, excessive TV watching, spending time at the bar and so on, you’ll have more time to work on your business.
This time you spend working on your goals will yield rewards many times over in future.

4. Timebox your tasks
Have a few fixed time slots where you’ll do specific activities. For example, 8 am to 12 pm, you’ll work on your most important tasks. From 1 pm to 2 pm, you’ll work on administrative tasks. From 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm, you might choose to exercise.
By timeboxing your tasks, you’ll be more organized.

5. Have buffers
Notice in the example above that you only started exercising at 2.30 pm but you ended your administrative work at 2 pm?
That extra 30 minutes in between is known as buffer time. It’s there to account for situations where you exceed your time slot and so on. You might need time to change into your workout clothes and so on. Have time buffer blocks interspersed throughout your day so that your day doesn’t seem rushed and chaotic.

6. Batch your tasks
Do similar tasks at the same time. For example, if you’re running advertisements for multiple products, you’ll want to work on the creatives for your ads all at once.
Once that’s done, you can create all the ads and campaigns on the platform of your choice.
In another time block, you’ll analyze the statistics to see how you’re performing.
By batching your tasks, you’ll get more done in a shorter time. Your mind will not need to switch between tasks.

7. Automation and delegation
Use software, tools or devices to automate tasks and free up your time. Work that’s necessary but which doesn’t need your direct involvement and input can be outsourced to others.
By leveraging other people’s efforts and time, you’ll free up more time for yourself and can focus on the tasks that mean the most to your business.
The 7 tips above will immediately make you more aware of how you spend your time daily. In fact, time is like a currency… and if you invest it wisely, you’ll reap dividends many times over.
Your success in business or any undertaking in life will be directly impacted by how you allocate your time and what you use it on. So, spend it wisely.
“Either run the day or the day runs you.” – Jim Rohn

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“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” – Meister Eckhart

It’s time to face the hard truth – you’re going to make mistakes.
No matter how smart you are or how strong you are, or how experienced you are, when you’re pursuing a new goal that you’re not familiar with, you WILL make mistakes.
We ALL will. It’s just part and parcel of the learning experience. Below, you’ll find 7 common mistakes that beginner entrepreneurs make. These mistakes MUST be fixed because they’re the cornerstones for building a solid, thriving business – in any niche/field.

1. No goals
You MUST have a goal… and you must know why you’re starting a business. What is motivating you to become an entrepreneur?
It’s imperative to know what you wish to achieve and why you want to achieve it. Many people decide to start a business for all the wrong reasons.
Maybe they see a friend or neighbor with a successful business and decide to ‘give it a try too’. Invariably, they find out real soon that the entrepreneurial journey is not a cake walk… and they quit.
They never really wanted to become an entrepreneur. It just seemed like a ‘cool idea’. Well, it doesn’t work that way.
You must have a goal, a strong why and a burning desire. Without these 3, you’ll not make it. You just won’t. Period.

2. No clarity
Once you have a goal, you’ll need clarity. How will you measure your success? For example, you may have a goal to start your own successful toy website.
That’s good… but do you know how much you want to earn? Do you know what toys you’ll sell? Will you be the vendor or will you be an affiliate?
So many questions – and you need to know the answers. The more answers you have, the more clarity you’ll have and that will help you when pursuing your targets, goals, etc.

3. No plan
Now that you have a goal and clarity, you need a plan. Like Dale Carnegie said, “An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing.”
You’ll need to know how you’ll get started and what you need to do to grow your business. There is a plethora of scenarios here because of the sheer variety of business models.
However, the fundamental truth remains – you must have a plan of action. Even if you’re unsure of where things may lead, having a plan helps. You can always make changes to the plan later as more details become available.
But when you’re starting out, you need a roadmap.

4. No milestones
Experienced mountaineers will tell you that you climb a mountain one step at a time.
The goal is to always put one foot in front of the other and keep your eyes on a target a short distance away. Because if you looked at the peak and how much further you had to go, you’d lose heart and feel like quitting.
In the same vein, building a successful business is like scaling a mountain. Success is at the peak, and it’s a slow climb up.
If you keep looking at the one big goal of making 6 or 7 figures a month, it’s easy to get discouraged. But if you focus on improving your current performance constantly, you’ll ultimately reach your goal.
Having milestones that you can aim for will help to keep you focused and motivated. For example, if your current monthly profits are around 10k, your next milestone may be 25k… and after that, 50k. Then 75k, 100k… and so on.
All these milestones will lead to your ultimate goal of a million dollars a month in profit, if that’s your goal.
So break down your large goals into less intimidating milestones and focus on hitting those constantly.

5. No routine
Author John Maxwell has a quote, “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
He’s absolutely right. Too many beginner entrepreneurs try to wing it. Routine and discipline are anathema to them and they feel like such practices restrict them.
In reality, a good routine actually helps prevent stress and gives you more free time. You must have structure and a daily winning routine to follow. This will establish positive habits in your life which are conducive to winning and success.
Analyze your daily activities and understand that time and energy are like currency, and you must use them wisely. Everything you do should be taking you towards your goals. Eliminate time-wasting activities, energy sapping people and unnecessary distractions.
Create a routine that works well for you and follow it daily.

6. Not tracking
It’s easy to go off course if you don’t constantly check your bearings. That’s why pilots constantly check their coordinates even if the plane is on autopilot.
You need to do that too. Keep a journal or use an app to track your progress. Are you getting your tasks done on time?
Are your profits rising or dipping? Are there any areas in your business you can improve?
By tracking your time, tasks, and progress, you’ll have your finger constantly on the pulse of your business. You won’t veer off course, and you’ll always know where you currently stand and where you need to go.

7. Quitting too soon
Last but not least, NEVER ever quit. The journey to entrepreneurial success is NOT linear. It’s more of a roller coaster ride with wonderful highs and miserable lows.
That’s just the way it is. The price you pay for enduring the ride will be the success that’s ultimately yours. This is a journey that will demand everything from you.
It’s an exacting mistress who demands a price and insists that you pay it. It doesn’t tolerate fools and has no empathy for quitters.
But if you stay the course, she’ll smile on you and you’ll see the success your heart desires. So, never quit.
Change your route, change your approach, change your tactics – but don’t change your destination. Keep going.
Avoid these 7 mistakes and you’ll build a thriving business with bedrock certainty.

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Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy of constantly finding opportunities to make improvements in your business practices and systems. The idea is that by constantly seeking change for the better regardless of how minuscule the improvements are, over time, you’ll skyrocket your productivity and achieve more.
This is a very sound concept and can be applied to any business, and even to other areas of life. Like author, Robin Sharma says, “Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.”
Below you’ll find 7 kaizen principles that you can establish in your life to improve your business, health, relationships and so on. Always remember that the devil is in the details. Even 1 small improvement can make a world of difference.

1. Be proactive
The first step to improving is wanting to improve. If you’re not actively looking to improve, you’ll not test or try out new things. As a result, you’ll be in a state of stagnation and after a while, your results will hit a ceiling.
Spend 5-10 minutes a day brainstorming different ways to improve your processes, systems, work day, etc.

2. It never stops
The second principle is that kaizen never stops and it never ends. If you’re not progressing, you’re regressing. You may not like it, but that’s life.
If you don’t work your muscles, they’ll become weak. If you don’t pay attention to your business, profits will decline and you’ll go out of business.
If you don’t seek constant improvements, your methods will become outdated and you’ll be courting failure.
So, practice kaizen daily!

3. Eliminate what’s not working
Some practices may have worked well in the past, but as time progresses, these practices may no longer work, no matter how attached you are to them. Always be ready to sacrifice the sacred cows in your business if they’re threatening to drag it down.
Kaizen is not always about finding new improvements, but sometimes, it’s also about eliminating stuff which are clogging up the machinery in your business. Be ready to embrace change and don’t be too attached to anything.

4. Look for cost savings
Always find ways to reduce your costs. This is especially true as you scale up your business. Very often, big businesses have bloated costs which don’t get reduced because of the red tape within the companies.
With Kaizen, you’ll find ways to reduce your fixed and variable costs. There are two ways to increase your bottom-line in business – increase your profit and/or reduce your costs. The latter tends to be easier.

5. Question yourself
Everything should have a place and purpose in your business. Sometimes you may be so used to doing something that you’re in a rut and you do it mindlessly without asking yourself why you’re doing it.
For example, if you used to build sales pages for your online business when you were first starting out, you may still be spending hours for days on end creating attractive pages.
However, your business may be at a level where it’s generating enough profit for you to hire someone else to build the page for you. So why are you doing it?
Kaizen will make you ask yourself why. Now you may realize that you should outsource the sales page creation to a qualified person. This will free up time for you to work on the sales copy which is much more important to your business.

6. Don’t expect miracles
Kaizen is a ‘trial and error’ process. When making improvements, not all will work. You must be ready for this. Sometimes an idea may seem good in theory, but fails miserably in practice. Don’t expect every improvement you initiate to yield fruit.
But don’t stop improving.

7. Correct when necessary
Don’t take it personally when the improvements fail. Cut them out and go back to doing things the way you used to… and find new improvements to test. Sooner or later, you will come up with newer and better ways to do things.
This is why it’s best to make small, incremental changes rather than sweeping overnight changes. If something goes wrong when the change is small, it will be easier to fix it. Aim small, miss small.
Apply these 7 principles daily to your business and watch how your business thrives over time and becomes a smooth, well-oiled profit generating machine. You’ll also be less stressed out because you’ll have more free time from your increased productivity.
Kaizen is an awesome philosophy you should practice for life. Start today!

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Here’s something most people are unaware of – feeling like you’ve achieved something worthy during your day is usually enough to give you a sense of happiness and satisfaction.
It doesn’t mean that you need grand gestures or huge wins to accomplish ‘big things’. Forget the big wins and focus on the small wins daily.
Just completing the tasks you need to do instead of procrastinating will motivate you because you’ve stayed on course and did not drop the ball. Here are 5 techniques you can apply to achieve more daily.

1. Plan your tomorrow today
It’s an excellent habit to spend about 15 to 20 minutes every evening (or when you’re done with your daily work) planning what you’ll do the following day. Have a to-do list with 3-4 crucial tasks that MUST be completed.
This list will act as a roadmap for the next day. The moment you wake up, you can get started on your day productively, rather than spending time in planning mode.

2. Eat That Frog!
In his book, “Eat That Frog!”, Brian Tracy emphasizes a very useful technique to eliminate procrastination. He says that you should complete the most difficult tasks of the day – FIRST!
Very often, these are the tasks which you’ll be dreading and which will mean the most to your business.
The goal is to start work on them as soon as you can. Try not to think about it and just get started. Very often, thinking leads to indecision and your mind starts conjuring up excuses and very plausible reasons to avoid doing the activities you’re supposed to do.
So get started without thinking and finish up whatever you dread doing. Once you complete these tasks, you’ll immediately feel a sense of relief mixed with joy at having accomplished something worthy for that day.

3. Exercise daily
Exercise is crucial no matter what type of job or profession you’re in. One should never be too busy to spend at least 20 to 30 minutes a day exercising. Your body will release endorphins that make you feel happier.
Not only that, but exercise will boost your energy levels too. You’ll feel like your life is more balanced, and subconsciously you know that you’re living a more productive life.
Very often, feeling successful is about knowing that you’re doing the right things and progressing in life. While you do not need to spend hours at the gym like a professional bodybuilder, a 30-minute walk or swim will more than suffice to give your body the movement/activity it needs daily.

4. Challenge yourself every day
Motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, has a quote – “Progress equals happiness.”
He hit the nail on the head with this one. In order to progress in life, you must step outside the comfort zone and do a little bit more than you’re accustomed to. You don’t need to go overboard, but by pushing yourself just a little bit more each day, you’ll be forcing yourself to progress.
When you see that you’re gradually improving, you’ll be motivated to keep going and strive for greater heights. Success is a habit… and this is how you train yourself to seek success daily. Inch by inch, you’ll get better.
In a month or two, you’ll definitely see improvement. In 6 months, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.

5. Accountability
You must hold yourself accountable every single day.
Did you do what you needed to? Were you distracted and wasted time along the way? Did you check off the tasks on your to-do list?
There’s a quote – “You either make yourself accountable or you will be made accountable by your circumstances.”
So, monitor your progress closely and be proactive about winning the day. If you can do that, your day will be productive and a success.
Initially, adopting these 5 techniques might be a challenge because they’re new to you. But as the days go by, you’ll discover that they are extremely helpful and actually help you to progress while reducing anxiety and freeing up more time for you to do what you love.
Apply these techniques daily and reap the rewards.

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“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”. – Winston Churchill

Failure and all the repercussions that come with it such as financial loss, embarrassment, etc. can be an extremely bitter pill to swallow. Yet, failure is crucial to your success, because it’s not the opposite of success but an integral part of it.
Success and failure are 2 sides of the same coin.
How you cope with failure is the only thing that matters. In fact, the difference between those who win and those who don’t comes down to their ability to cope with failure and keep going.
It’s easy to get discouraged and quit. It takes everything to pick yourself up and keep going. That’s what moulds winners. They’re forged in the flames of failure and come out stronger and more experienced.

1. Be prepared
With any business venture, there will be risk involved. It’s crucial that you not risk your entire business by betting the farm. Always manage your risk.
Managing cash flow intelligently is crucial when you’re running a business. You don’t want a situation where you lose your business and your house at the same time. You must have contingency plans in place.
You need to adopt a mindset where you expect the best, but you’re ready for the worst. All this preparation takes place before you risk anything. In the event you encounter failure, you’ll be better equipped to deal with it.

2. Self-reflect
No matter how bleak the situation may be, it’s important to assess your losses (if there are any). Ask yourself what you can do to salvage the situation. Throwing in the towel is NOT an option.
It’s helpful to keep a journal and record down what went wrong, how it could have been avoided and so on. While hindsight is 20/20, we mustn’t forget that we are now armed with this hindsight for the next attempt.
So, your future endeavors will be wiser and you’ll know what to avoid. This insight you’ll gain from self-reflection is priceless.

3. Don’t let inertia set in
While failure can send you reeling, you should never let it get you down for more than 2-3 days. If you keep replaying scenarios in your head about what you should have done or could have done and you take your failure personally, you’ll become depressed.
From there, it’s a dangerous and slippery slope down to quitting and despair.
Never take failure personally and ignore anyone who gloats or tries to tell you that they told you so.
Rest assured, there will be a few people who crawl out of the woodwork to console you while trying to hint that you should have been wiser. The truth is that it’s easy for a pencil to remain sharp and look good if it doesn’t do any writing.
You, however, are a winner and even after you’re blunt from the toll of work and failure, you’ll need to sharpen yourself and get back to winning.
The longer you stay in the doldrums, the harder it will be to come out of it. It’s immensely difficult to get started once inertia sets in.
Forget the self-help books and motivational talks. Get moving. Work on the next step in your business. Action will dispel fear and create change in your life.
That’s the best way to recover from failure.

4. Don’t let it all slide
Very often, when people are in sadness or grief, they stop exercising and doing the things they love. They let their feelings dictate their actions. This is a cardinal error.
Taking a break from what you do because you don’t feel like it will NOT make you feel better. It’ll make you feel worse because now your life has come to a standstill.
If you’ve failed in your business, don’t stop going to the gym or bringing your family out or doing any of the other things you do. Keep doing them.
You may not be in the mood, but do them ANYWAY. Go through the motions. As the days go by, you’ll feel better and the fire within you will return.

5. Try again
Once you disassociate yourself from failure, you’ll realize that it’s an event and not a person. With different variables, the outcome for the same event will be different. You just need to find out which variables need to be in place for success to be the outcome.
If you’ve kept moving, inertia would not have set in and you’ll still be ready to try again… and that’s what you must do.
Change your course of action, but don’t change the destination.
Ultimately, overcoming failure is all about managing your feelings and keeping them in check… while you grit your teeth and plod along on your way to success.
Like the Japanese proverb goes, “Fall down 7 times, get up 8.”
Keep going.

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Success leaves clues. If you looked at some of the most successful people on the planet, you’d realize that most of them have a few common traits. It doesn’t matter what field they’re in or where they started from… they still follow the 5 principles of success below.
If you’re planning to start your own business or take your business to the next level, you’d do well to adhere to the principles below.

1. Have a solid plan
Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th President of the United States) once said, “Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.”
What he means is that you must plan out your goals and your journey to achieve them.
What will you do? What resources will you need?
You need to plan it all out. However, life has a way of throwing us curve balls.
You can’t predict what will happen and might have to alter your plans… BUT… you still must have a plan going into battle.
And yes, achieving your goals will be a battle indeed. So make sure you have a solid plan and make changes to it accordingly when you need to.

2. Serve others
Zig Ziglar once said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
This is especially true in business when you need to sell something to make a profit. If your products alleviate a problem, solve a need or satisfy a desire, you can bet you’ll sell tons of them and generate a hefty profit.
It all begins with keeping other people in mind. By helping others (and charging them for it), you’ll have a thriving business.

3. Always do your best
The most successful people always go the extra mile. They work harder, they train longer and they constantly strive to exceed expectations. They know that’s the formula to success.
Like motivational guru, Jim Rohn, said, “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.”
And that’s what the best of the best do. They’re always trying to get better.

4. Keep the main thing the main thing
If you want success in life, it’s crucial you focus on what matters. Your energy goes where your attention goes – and you only have so much energy each day. High performance individuals are often highly focused.
You’ll seldom find them to be couch potatoes watching TV all day. You’ll not see them frittering hours away Tweeting or ranting on Facebook. They have other more important work to do.
If you want to be successful, you need to focus on activities that will lead to you being successful. It’s that straightforward.

5. 100% accountability
Successful people hold themselves accountable for everything they do. They believe that they’re 100% responsible for their own life… and they’ll not give up ownership of their future to the government or other individuals.
An entitlement mindset is the last thing you’ll ever find with most high achievers. They know the world owes them nothing. So they approach their goals with a hunger and drive that’s lacking in the millions of people who expect success to be handed to them on a platter.
The 5 principles above are just the tip of the iceberg, but they’re as good a place as any to start. Grasp the fundamentals, and slowly improve your life and business by eliminating procrastination, adopting better habits and setting bigger goals.

“Achievers – whether in business, sports, or the arts — are committed to continual improvement.” – Jack Canfield

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If you’re feeling discouraged, that’s good news.
You’re probably thinking, “Wait, what?!!”
Discouragement usually affects those who are unhappy with their situation and trying to improve their lives. It doesn’t affect the lazy, the unmotivated and those who are indifferent.
No… it usually affects the driven individuals who desire more in their lives. People feel discouraged when they encounter failure. Or if misconceptions which have been drilled into them from an early age rear their ugly heads.
So, if you’re feeling discouraged, you’re on the right track. When you’re down, you may feel like you’ve failed. You may feel like it’s not in your destiny to win. Or that you’re not good enough.
All these feelings are an illusion. Let’s squash the most common misconceptions which hold people back…

1. You need a college degree
This is one of the biggest misconceptions which discourages people. A lack of education will never be able to hold a driven individual down. If you stopped to think about it, formal education merely teaches you to memorize a ton of pointless facts that serve no real purpose in life.
As an entrepreneur, you can carve out your own place in the world. Forget the jobs which require paper qualifications. Work at any job that will hire you and then work on your business consistently when you have time.
Many of the richest and most successful people on the planet dropped out of school.

2. You need money
To some extent, this is true. To start a business, you’ll need money. But this money can be saved and if you hustle, you can find people who will invest in your business. As long as you persist, you can overcome this financial challenge.
Many of the most successful entrepreneurs started out from humble backgrounds and built their businesses from scratch. A lack of money should never discourage you.

3. The government is holding you back
The government can raise taxes, create more red tape and do a myriad of other inane things to disrupt most entrepreneurs’ lives. This has been going on for decades and it’ll never end.
But there will ALWAYS be options for you to beat the system. If you looked at the biggest companies in the world, they usually pay minimal taxes (legally), outsource labour to cheaper countries and so on.
And they make billions.
You may not have their funds or lobbying power, but know this – you are in control of your life and your business. There will be millionaires made regardless of which government is in power. If they can do it, so can you.

4. It’s going to take too much time
It will take time, but what else will you do anyway?
If it takes you 10 years to build a 7-figure business, that may seem like a long time. And it is. But what if you do not start because it’s going to take you a decade.
Well, 10 years from now, you’ll probably still be stuck at the same job you’re currently at, and your salary will probably be the same. Nothing would have changed.
The time will pass… and you might as well get started now and have something to show for it anyway. Winning takes time. You have to accept that and not be discouraged by it.

5. Everyone else is doing better than you
In his book, Theory of the Leisure Class, Thorstein Veblen used a term “conspicuous consumption”.
Never has there been a time when this has been more prevalent… and social media has encouraged it. Instagram is filled with pictures of people living their best lives.
They’re either in mansions, relaxing by poolside resorts, in front of fast cars, or working out at the gym and so on. Or they’re buying expensive watches, drinking pricey wine or engaged in other theatrical lifestyle fantasies.
There is an illusion of success that’s in your face constantly… and it can be extremely discouraging.
It’s almost as if everyone else has their life in order EXCEPT you who is struggling to build a business, manage your finances, keep your family together and you haven’t had a vacation in 2 years!
Here’s what you need to know – it’s all an illusion.
The pictures you see on social media is just a highlight reel. Many of them are broke, struggling and live vacuous dissatisfied lives.
In fact, this is generally the norm. People want others to think well of them. So, all the preening and posing for likes and engagement is an unrealistic ideal to live up to.
Real-life, especially when you’re in the trenches working towards your goals, is often dirty and grimy. You don’t have time to pose for photos or seek external validation. Focus on your goals and what truly matters.
The best way to overcome these misconceptions is to know in your heart that if you wish to succeed, NOTHING can stop you. Your desire for success should be greater than anything which might threaten to discourage you.
Once you get in touch with your innermost desires and you believe you can succeed, you’ll be impervious to the distractions and misconceptions which try to discourage you.
You’ll know deep in your heart that you have what it takes and you’ll keep going. It’s just a matter of time until you succeed.

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As ironic as it seems, most people would succeed in their endeavors if they’d only get out of their own way.
Despite their desire for success, they usually engage in activities which detract them from their goals – because their mindset is not geared for success.
Old negative beliefs linger around and fester in their mind when they’re trying to progress. These detrimental thoughts play havoc with their moods and discourage them.
In this article, we’ll look at 5 ways to reframe your thoughts so that you don’t sabotage your success.

1. Telling yourself you deserve success
The brutal truth is that there are many people with less education and abilities than you who have gone on to accumulate immense wealth.
Yet, so many people falsely believe that they need a degree, capital, connections and an endless list of conditions to be in their favor before they have a fighting chance of success.
Tell yourself that you’re worthy of success. There’s no reason why you can’t succeed if you give it your best. Ignore all other excuses.

2. You have a choice
Work is tiring. There’s just no denying that.
In his book Deep Work, author Cal Newport said, “This is an economy that will reward people who are comfortable doing hard concentration on things that matter.”
You can’t get away from the fact that you’ll be required to work hard in order to succeed. Even if you work smart, you still have to diligently expend mental energy and effort working on your goals.
Most people will feel an aversion to the work because it’s boring and tiring. So what do they do?
They procrastinate. To avoid this problem, you must understand that you have a choice. Tell yourself, “I get to do this work because my goals matter!”
When you realize that you are choosing to do the work, you overcome the mental hurdle where you feel like your arm is being twisted and you NEED to work. It’s a simple way to reframe your thoughts, but it makes a world of difference.

3. “It’s just 5 minutes!”
Another useful technique to overcome procrastination is to trick your mind into thinking that you’re not going to be tortured. Procrastination is actually a sign of your mind protecting you.
It views the work you need to do as uncomfortable and energy-consuming. Your mind is right… and it will conjure up very convincing excuses to get you to procrastinate the work so you spare yourself the ‘pain’.
One easy way to overcome this problem is to tell yourself that you’ll just do the work for 5 minutes. This is a short enough duration for it not to be laborious. Your mind will be less likely to resist.
What’s amazing is that once you start working, all resistance will disappear. You always face the most opposition from your mind BEFORE you begin the task… but once you start and get into the flow of things, generally, you’ll keep going.

4. Aim big
Set huge goals that you have no idea how to achieve. You must think big to win big.
Like former racing car driver, Mario Andretti, once said, “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.”
Forget about being realistic. Even you don’t know what’s possible or what you’re capable of. So don’t hold back.
If your goals don’t scare you a little, they aren’t big enough. Don’t panic and clutch your pearls trying to figure out how you’ll achieve them. Just set big goals for now.
Once that is done, you can chunk down the big goals into smaller goals until you have manageable targets to meet. Then it’s just a matter of hitting one target after another and another until you reach your big goal.
It will take you time and effort no doubt, but you’ll get there. What’s most important is that you gave yourself the chance to set a lofty goal that you can ultimately reach.

5. It’s all a game
Winners in life always treat the process as a game. While failure is bitter, they don’t use it to judge themselves. They understand that you may win today and lose tomorrow.
What matters is that you play the game… and if you keep at it long enough, you’ll get better at it and eventually win. Even teenage boys know that when you repeatedly play the same video game, you’ll get better at it and finally beat the ‘big boss’ in the end.
In the same vein, when you don’t internalize failure or allow yourself to get too attached to the outcome, you’ll dare to do more and challenge yourself.
Failure and success will both serve as feedback for you. Treat the process likes a game where you just want to keep going and winning, no matter how many times you lose. With this mindset and approach, the sky is the limit and you’ll achieve unimaginable success in time to come.

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“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” – J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Our lives are a reflection of our beliefs. Most of us know this, and yet, we cling on to old negative beliefs – even when they hold us back.
Discarding them and creating new beliefs seems to be a Herculean task.
These beliefs (which are usually assumptions and misconceptions) color our world views and justify our actions.
Yet, if we stopped to think about it and ask ourselves, “Where did we get these beliefs from?” … we’d realize that most of them were ingrained in us by our parents, teachers and other ‘well-meaning and sensible’ adults when we were young.
In most cases, these self-limiting and defeatist beliefs will impede your progress when you decide to become an entrepreneur. You’ll be setting yourself up for failure from the get-go.
Let’s look at some of the most common beliefs that are injurious to your goals…

1. Money makes money
This is probably the biggest fallacy of the lot. This misconception creates a catch-22 situation. You want to get into business to improve your financial standing… but you need money to get into business – and that’s money you don’t currently have.
So you’re doomed.
But is this reasoning valid? Do you really need money to start?
A quick look at some of the biggest business successes on the planet will show you that most of them invariably began from humble beginnings. They started off small and slowly built their way up.
In the same vein, nothing is stopping you from starting off small and climbing the ladder of business success. It’s resourcefulness and not resources that you need.
Do not count yourself out just because you lack the finances. Rest assured that enthusiasm, confidence, passion and hard work will help you find the resources you need and you’ll be able to employ them to forward your business.

2. Following instead of leading
The world loves a winner and tends to put them up on pedestals. The media gives them coverage. Books are written about them and so on.
Parents, teachers, etc. often tell us to model successful people and read biographies. The goal is to be like these larger than life people who define the epitome of success.
Millions of people dream of being the next Michael Jordan or the next Elon Musk. Or the next pop star… and so on.
And yet, if you asked Michael Jordan who he wanted to be, he’d most probably say that he wanted to be Michael Jordan.
Herein lies a contradiction – the leaders of the world (whichever field they may be in) are almost always trailblazers who march to the beat of their own drum. They’re so focused on being the best they can be that they don’t have time to try and be like someone else.
Using a role model to inspire you is a start… but if you want to truly see success, you’ll need to lead rather than follow. You’ll need to put yourself in the limelight and be willing to be seen by the masses, rather than quietly skulking in the shadows.
You’ll get the accolades and recognition, but you’ll also get brickbats and hate. This is par for the course. Just remember, leaders lead. You must lead if you want massive success.

3. Expecting overnight success
A lack of patience has sounded the death knell on more goals/dreams than any other cause.
The current society we live in encourages impatience.
Instant notifications, text messaging, microwaves, instant meals, entire 22-episode seasons of Netflix shows presented all at once, etc. have made us believe that anything can be gotten fast.
We want results and we want them now. Preferably yesterday.
Life, however, has quite a different set up. Any worthy goal will take you time to achieve. Usually, it will take you longer than you believe.
Like Jeff Bezos said, “All overnight success takes about 10 years.”
You can’t shrink the journey to fit into a 90-minute Hollywood movie. There is no rousing soundtrack to inspire you. Success is an ugly, dirty fight where you’ll have to claw your way to the top.
It has ALWAYS been that way.
So, if you start on an entrepreneurial journey and are expecting overnight riches without struggle, you’ll be in for a rude shock. It’s just a matter of time before you discover pitfalls, hurdles, pain, struggles and a myriad of other problems that you’ll need to constantly overcome.
You may wonder, “Why is this happening to me? Why is it so hard?”
The truth is that it doesn’t just happen to you. It happens to every entrepreneur who wishes to level up. This is the turbulence you need to get past until you reach cruising altitude.
And it will take you time. So, if you lack patience, it’s time to tell yourself that you’re in for the long haul.
Now that you’re aware of these 3 negative beliefs, you can take steps to fix them and be on your way to success.

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