This post is inspired by a friend of mine who I served with in the military, he is in the process of setting up a Close Protection company, but he isn’t in the right frame of mind because despite his enthusiasm and work going into the venture, he is still making plans for promotion within his day job.
Don’t get me wrong here you absolutely have to be careful when you have a full time job and setting up another business at the same time, you have to make sure nothing you do gets you fired early etc, but why make plans for years down the line if you really think you are going to make it? I have said the same thing to my friend, but here’s my take on it all;
- Belief
A lot of people play on the big dream and by that I mean they fall in love with the fantasy of owning their own business or having a popular website in which they would be discovered, the reality to all this is that it’s extremely long hours and often very anit-social (in terms of real life and friends).You really do have to put the work in there is no way round it at all, absolutely none.
That said once you get your head round the fact that you will have to sacrifice the little luxuries in your life for the next X amount of months you’re on the right road to actually getting things done, but you really just have to actually believe you can do it.
Take this site for example, I know it’s going to take the readers and myself to where we want to be, I don’t doubt this for a second, not once do I think ‘I can’t do it” I constantly tell myself what I will do when X happens etc and live like I am already there, you need to believe you will make it.
- Planning
You’ve all heard the saying failing to prepare if preparing to fail right? Well what about if you plan to do too much in your current situation ie at work, if you plan your life’s future around your work, promotion, moving departments etc you will attract that move in your life.
Sure keep your paid job in mind because it’s going to pay the bills till your business takes off, it’s the way I am doing it, but I don’t make any plans at work in regards to promotion, doing loads of overtime and volunteering for courses etc, why? Because all that time is being spent planning the future of this site and working towards it to get it there are fast as possible.
- Leap
I meet so many people, with so many good idea who simply never follow them through, all they need is a little shove to force them into action but unless they get that shove, they will never take that leap. I have just put in 70% of my holiday entitlement for the end of next month so I can work with the competition winner in order to get the case study produced and launched as quick as possible.
Now this is a bit risky because it’s the start of the year and actually doesn’t leave me with much holiday left at all, but I’m so confident and believe that this site will make it, I have taken that leap to actually go for it, rather than talk about it for the next ten years.
What does everyone think?
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I could have given my answer to the title question without even reading this post (which is excellent and spot on by the way)
I absolutely believe in my abilities and that I will achieve the success I want in life. There’s no doubt in my mind.
You have to set your course and have 100% belief that you can do it. Otherwise you’ll always shy away from opportunities that get thrown up in front of you
.-= Ben´s last blog ..Friday’s Personal Development Homework =-.
Yeah man, be ready to adapt but know that you will hit your target
Great post, James and one with a message that bears repeating.
We are our strongest allies and our strongest enemies. If you aren’t sure of yourself and of your abilities to get what you want out of life, it’s very hard to convince anyone else to be with you or help you along the journey. If you are your strongest supporter and believe that no matter what happens that you will succeed, then very little will stand in your way, plus you will attract like-minded people that will help you along the way.
It’s a very hard thing to do, but sometimes you have to burn that boat knowing that there is no return. You have to make a success of it going forward. While I don’t advocate just quitting your day job willy-nilly, there are instances where it is warranted. Good luck to your friend and I’m looking forward to seeing what you are producing during your vacation days.
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Are You A Pushover? Boost Your Power of Assertiveness Today =-.
Hey Karen,
I can’t wait till my three weeks off, I’m going to use it to work with the competition winner and get it all written up ready to package up. I love the support you have for this site Karen, means a lot
James,
I’m still guilty of this myself, so I can’t blame anyone else. In my recent post, I showed that my affiliate site is ranking #9 on Bing (first page). That’s after about seven days of existance for the site.
But do I really believe that I can make real money from it and that my life will be entirely changed? Seems really hard, but the proof is in front of my face. With a bit of hard work, I should be able to rank that page a bit better and yes, that could mean money in my account from online sales!
I believe in myself but allow myself to not let me thoughts wander too much. That kind of sucks because I need to let myself go and believe in it a 100%. Thanks for the reminder James! Can’t wait to see where you’ll be taking this site
.-= Moon Hussain´s last blog ..Are You Embarrassed Of Saying “Passive Income” Out Loud? =-.
Hey Moon,
You can absolutely do it, as I said on twitter to you, You’re already doing it, think of how much you have done already when most haven’t done a single thing not even got a website never mind several
I believe that it’s not really our beliefs in ourselves that holds us back. It’s money! For many people, if they don’t see instant gratification, they will never believe in it. They don’t have the time or the energy or the money to invest years of hard work into a concept that may or may not pan out. But if you have loads of money, taking that risk is much, much easier.
Of course, doubt plays a huge role too. We always doubt the unforeseen. Because not everything you really believe in, and push yourself 100% will work. You have to face it, failure will happen more times than success. It’s not just believing that you can do it, it’s overcoming obstacles and sometimes being a little lucky at the same time.
I know I can do it. But time and money are NOT on my side!
Brother I know what you’re saying and I understand it, BUT. Thinking that money is holding you back should be flipped on its head to work harder, it’s the way I operate anyway. I’m not disagreeing really but for me I work harder to make sure I will have the money and time
This is a great post. Very introspective. It reminds me of Tim Ferris and “The Four Hour Work Week”. Great work.
.-= @WaltWard3´s last blog ..WaltWard3: @TheInfoPreneur Exactly, building content first, learning from others such as yourself, structuring my brand and the designers programing… =-.
Hey man, thanks for the support, the 4 hr week, well maybe oneday but for the time being it takes hours and hours of work
Excellent post James. You really do have to believe that you can do it and have faith.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to make a difference to your finances in 2010 =-.
Hey matthew thanks man, how you getting on?
I’m doing well thanks James. Working on my e-book at the moment. Just about finished the first section which is all very exciting. Downside is that there’s 13 more to go. Had hoped to launch next week, but it’s probably got a few more weeks to go.
How are you doing?
.-= Matthew Needham: The Big Red Tomato Company´s last blog ..How to Invest In Property =-.
13 more sections or ebooks? Yeah I’m awesome thanks for asking brother, I need to get down to your way so we can meet up and do some brainstorming man, got your first video ready for you too
James,
You’re spot on with your message here. Self belief is such an important factor in moving forward. Having a belief in your potential followed by the necessary action will give you the results you are looking for. It becomes a vicious circle.
A great post and thank you for sharing it.
Regards
Paul
.-= Paul´s last blog ..The story so far =-.
anytime brother thanks for the support
“…I have taken that leap to actually go for it…”
I think this is the most vital step. If something totally resonates with you, you just got to make that jump ! And true belief is essential; if you don’t believe in your website and you don’t put the hours in, then people won’t either. I’d even say that believe and passion are most important assets you can have, no matter which business you start !
belief and passion are the true ingrediants to success
You can’t serve two masters well.
As long as he is working his business to build his business, though, he should be alright. If he’s about it to because he “wants to be an entrepreneur” I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
But he’s the only one who can say for sure.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..7 Excellent Tips for Handling Content Robbers (’cause you cain’t shoot ‘em) =-.
Yeah there is an element of that brother for sure
I just so believe in all that you have said, James. That’s what keeps me going myself. Keeping the fire burning till I get there
. You really inspire me. Whenever I get to your blog, I get motivated all over again even when I’m deepest down 
. You are a great man, James 
. Keep up the good work and I know you will definitely get there 
.
.-= Shirley´s last blog ..Send Your Blog Posts And Any Other Feed To Twitter – TwitterFeed =-.
Shirley make sure you get there too!
Just doing something, anything, and believing full force that you CAN and WILL do it is better than anything else. Worry about what happens AFTER the fact and for right now just go after it. Period.
Nothing else left to say except good post dude!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Lets Help Each Other: Monthly Experience (February – March) =-.
Thanks brother keep up the good work Eric
Its all the passion…This post also can have an additional section on focus – people are not patient enough …they work for 1 year and if they dont get any results (monetary results for many) they quit or change niche…focus is crucial…without questioning you should firmly believe in it…and well said…dont lose track of your days job…
my friend asked me this question – I told him to concentrate on his days job and make money in business equivalent to his promotion which is very easy…say he makes 70k now. In case of promotion he’s going to make 80k. He can try making that 10k in business during first year…time is well balanced across days job and business…this will keep them motivated and it is easy too
.-= infopediaonlinehere´s last blog ..Environment variables in Windows 7 =-.
James
There really is no competition. What’s with the competition bit? The competition your overthinking has already made it. Your not going to overtake them nor outdo them.
The system is worldwide and free for all to have, we are our own competition. No matter what you set your goals to. If it’s to MMO and quit your JOB then do it. Don’t compete. Your self-made, bottom line. Your post title says it all. Still don’t believe you can do it? Don’t have to convince me , convince yourself………isn’t that what your saying!
Peace, holler on your time off if ya need anything… I’ll be in and out. Not too much because I’m convinced and will be working on MINE!
Lee
.-= Lees Shizzle´s last blog ..How I Plan to Keep From Getting Bored with Blogging Basics =-.
Lee it sounds like you’re agreeing and disagreeing with me all in the same comment. Competition forces you to work harder but the competition is in your head, you make the competition, What I mean is you make the competition up to force you to work harder and that competition is actually yourself.
Reading the title got me a bit wound up before I even read the post because I thought, you’re know what, you’re wrong. I know I can do it and I am! But then I read the post and I relaxed and smiled
Because you’re right, all talk and no action is like the proverbial chocolate tea pot.
Great post, thanks James!
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..What do you do when your bottle threatens to pop? =-.
Hey Eleanor yeah it’s like having a porsche with no gear box, you really have to take action and actually do something in the right direction. Thanks dude How’s Wales? Have you had much rain?
Don’t talk to me about rain. I’m sick of having wet feet. I feel like a duck! The only bonus to all the rain is warm evenings in PJs
Aside from the rain, this little corner of Wales is very good
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..What do you do when your bottle threatens to pop? =-.
Ha ha you sound like someone else I know lol
You know it is hard to keep that belief up that you can do it when things seem to stagnate or stop altogether. When it feels like you are being overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough time, it is extremely hard to dig down and BELIEVE that you can still do it. Keep us motivated James…
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..Our Fighting Men, Our Peace of Mind. =-.
brother you can absolutely do it as can everyone else, just look at you, you are doing it, some many others are talking the talk but none have websites and their own piece of internet retail space!
Hi James,
Great post. I agree that belief is hugely important. Like Henry Ford said: “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, either will be true”.
However, I think one of the main things that holds a lot people back is the fear of failure. I wrote about this with respect to one of my hobbies, climbing, recently (check this out http://www.adrianswinscoe.com/blog/lessons-from-the-climbing-wall-about-growing-your-business/). For me, the key to my success in climbing this year is to fail a lot. That way I will know that I am pushing myself and trying hard.
Adrian
.-= Adrian Swinscoe´s last blog ..Leadership and Your Team: Open book or closed book? =-.
Yeah you’re absolutely right fear of failing is the biggest factor in failing. I liken it to a novice climber who is scared of falling and drops off the wall only to grab the rope, but then instantly feels better because they are holding that rope instead of the wall that will actually get them to the top. Easy ways out prove easy escapes
I also think it is good to visualize yourself accomplishing the goals you are aiming for. Visualization motivates me and gives me the right mindset, even when I’m aiming for a small goal.
We should remember though to be as realistic as possible and to also visualize the not so positive things we may encounter.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..Learning About Web Accessibility Through Everyday Tasks =-.
Hey Julius, yeah completely agree visualization is really good for you I do it all the time
Belief was the biggest issue for me – the cynic didn’t help for me either! There is a lot of crap talked about positive think and surrounding yourself with visualisation boards and the “right” people – which put me off for years.
In the end it came down to the fact that I was seeing it starting to work – but I still didn’t believe I could make it work – which was just too illogical for my logical brain – so I believed – does this make any sense at all?
.-= Lis Sowerbutts´s last blog ..Passive Income Online’s Keyword Academy Case Study =-.
Hey Lis,
Yeah that makes total sense, even when some see results they still don’t really believe it can continue, but you are proving, especially to yourself you are doing it
Hey James,
Thanks for the reminder. Taking the leap is really a necessity, it requires courage and determination.
.-= harvestwages´s last blog ..5 traps that seduces great minds =-.
hey man yeah you have to be brave but if you want it you need to go and get it
I can relate to your friends trepidation. I got laid off way too early. My business plans and growth were no where near where I needed them to be. And although my plans are still in play, the limited income has definitely slowed the process.
.-= Ms. Freeman´s last blog ..Why I Created a Squidoo Page =-.
Do you need any income to work on your site or is it a case of income for your house hold which reduces the time you can work on the site?
There is nothing you set you mind to achieve that you cannot get.
All you have to do is follow the laid down process to achieve it. And you also have to realize that getting what you want takes some time but from my experience, the more you practise, the faster you achieve your dreams