For the last few years I chose to be broke and miserable. After all… isn’t that what struggling entrepreneurs are meant to be? At least the broke part with a sprinkling of overworked and exhausted.
The truth is success is not as easy as everyone makes out. Well - to be accurate - I would say the principles are easy but the hard part is following through. It’s getting ourselves to do what has to be done to achieve our dreams.
Most people give up on their dreams at the slightest setback. Things get a little bit too hard or a little bit too real and suddenly settling for mediocrity doesn’t sound so bad. For myself it was asking the question “What’s so bad about having a job anyway?”
What habits do you have?
I’ve recently started reading The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey (thanks again Linda) and I must say I wish I’d read it a long time ago. Whether my head would have been in the right place to understand it is another thing but it definitely contains valuable insights and I’ve only just finished the first habit!
The first habit is all about being proactive and not reactive. It points out that we have a choice of how we behave in all circumstances. Whether we choose to focus on what we can control or what we can’t.
What being proactive means to me
Being proactive means deciding what you want in your life and making it happen. We can’t just sit back and let life happen to us. We can’t complain about the economy or other people getting in the way of what we really want.
Now I could write a big book of excuses for why my life isn’t perfect but I have to accept that no one else is to blame. It’s all on me to get what I want and be the person I want to be.
Being vs having
Another point is effective people choose to focus on being the person they want to be rather than having the things they want to have. Rather than wanting to have a million dollars they ask themselves what kind of person would they need to be to become a millionaire. Again they focus on what they can do internally rather than trying to change things happening externally.
This is why so many lotto winners have millions of dollars yet manage to lose it in record time. They were not ready to be millionaires. They continued to focus on having more stuff until the money was gone.
Empowering or scary?
To be honest it’s a little scary when we realize we have this complete power over our lives. We suddenly become aware that everything we’ve achieved (or not achieved) up until this point is a result of the choices we’ve made. Or maybe our choice to procrastinate over doing what we know we really should be.
But then when we take this on board and really internalize the fact that our choices shape our destiny it should be incredibly empowering. To know that we’ve responsable for our own success. And that no one else can ever hold us back.
What you do next
Have a look at the choices you are making in your life and whether they’re really going to lead you to your dreams. Are you letting excuses hold you back? Are you doing what really needs to be done?
And paint a picture of your ideal life and what it would be like. Are you being the person that deserves this life? What kind of changes do you have to make to become this person?
It may not be easy (I certainly don’t find it easy) but accepting you are responsible for you life is what gives you the life you want. So what’s really holding you back? I think you’ll find the answer is “me!” *gulp*
You can grab the book from Amazon here
