“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.”
Guy Kawasaki
Entrepreneurial ventures are not easy, otherwise everyone would be taking the plunge. And in a day and age where 96% of businesses fail within 10 years, the odds are stacked heavily against entrepreneurs vying to build their dreams.
In my experience, the number one reason why entrepreneurs fail at succeeding in their goals is due to their mindset. Without the right mindset, adversity and unforeseen obstacles knock entrepreneurs so far off track they struggle to regain their posture.
The goal of this article is to help you bulletproof your mindset for your journey. The following points are part of the EBook “10 Rules of Entrepreneurship” that you can download free on the site.
Let’s begin!
1. Focus on the Journey
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” It’s a simple, but profound truth.
As you ride the entrepreneurial roller coaster, the fun comes from the twists and turns. It’s your maneuvering through the good, bad, and ugly. It’s not at the end of the ride.
I’ll admit, the destination feels great, but it’s fleeting. Indeed, the joy comes from the day-to-day hustle. It’s the journey that should be embraced, enjoyed, and in constant focus.
We tend to forget this at times. We let impatience cloud our judgments. We kick and scream when things don’t go our way, when they are simply part of the journey.
Focusing on the journey means continually engaging in actions directly related to the desired success, and being open to anything that comes your way.
In every endeavor, there are vital habits required to achieve success. They essentially become a major part of the journey from beginning to end. It’s important to focus on these and engrain them in the day-to-day operation.
Such habits compound through time and help you achieve exponential growth.
All in all, keep your focus on the journey, don’t become overly fixated on the destination, embrace the adversity you’ll experience along the way, and enjoy the ride!
2. Be Like Water
Bruce Lee said, “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip, and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”
What Bruce says encompasses a fundamental rule of entrepreneurship. He tells you to be pure, flexible, and prepared to surge with power or flow with grace when necessary.
Throughout your journey, you will have to pivot, adjust, change course, all at the drop of a dime in order to survive.
When you are malleable, you are ready for anything that comes your way in life or business.
Especially today, when we have a countless number of industries being disrupted. Some changing so rapidly it’s difficult for companies to keep up, let alone thrive.
We have startups appearing overnight and rivaling established companies, so much so they place them in danger of extinction.
You see, when you’re flexible and ready to form around anything that comes your way, you’re prepared for the long-haul.
“Be like water my friend.”
3. Keep Working “Until”
Jim Rohn asked an audience once, “How long should a baby try to learn how to walk? The answer, “until” they start walking.
It illustrates how entrepreneurs should face any endeavor. One of the toughest aspects of entrepreneurship is having the ability to keep working “until” the magic happens.
I’ve witnessed people giving up too early –throwing in the towel and saying “enough is enough!” But the truth is, “enough is never enough,” unless you’ve reached the other side.
You see, on the other side stands a person, you to be exact, who is looking at your younger-self with admiration. They are looking with a sense of pride, because you kept working “until.”
Your single greatest challenge will be continuing to work “until” you reach the other side.
It takes courage, belief, foresight, and faith. Not only that you’ll make it, but that everything will work out as it should.
Make no mistake, you’re up against a host of demons. One of which is impatience. But don’t let them eat you alive, and slay them as they come.
Your goal is waking up years from now with every aspect of your dream alive and well.
Just remember, every great endeavor takes time and anything worth fighting for is worth waiting for, so keep working “until.”
Final Thoughts
As we mentioned, 96% of businesses fail within 10 years. And I truly believe it’s in large part to the mentality of the entrepreneur.
Keep focused on the right things, such as the journey and love the process, all of it. Be flexible throughout and ready for anything that comes your way. And finally, don’t give up “until” you make it to the other side.
