This article is coming from the heart, when I say learn to let go of your ego. It was my ego that actually hindered my success for years. If I can help just one other budding entrepreneur to let go of their ego and move forward, then I will be happy. So what about the ego? It was three particular areas that caused me grief. One - I believed that I had to do everything in the business - in order to "claim the fame". Two - that I had to be the wisest and most brilliant person and come up with all the ideas. Three - That I had to know everything... crazy I know!
In my mind I thought "I'm not allowed to be wrong... you don't see the successful entrepreneurs getting it wrong do you?" Actually, I soon learned that they do. Look at Thomas Edison, for example, when inventing the light bulb he had something like 1000 "ways of not to do it" until he found the right way. If he hadn't admitted that he was wrong those times, we would all still be sitting in darkness!
So, I wanted to give permission to all you budding entrepreneurs to let go of the ego - because as soon as you do, success soon follows and it is the most freeing thing you can do. Here are 3 things to think about:
1. DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) - For some reason, I had it in my head that the truly successful entrepreneurs did everything on their own. I believe I thought this because when you hear about their successes, you just hear their names not a list of helpers. What I realised, after much research, they have teams that help them out. Delegation is the key - do the things you want and find the best people for the rest. A great book to read is "The E-Myth" by Michael Gerber.
LESSON ONE: Delegate, Delegate and delegate - if you want to replicate a successful entrepreneur, learn to give the jobs you aren't the best at - to someone that is, so you can have all your energy for your ideas.
2. It has to be MY original idea for me to be successful - I used to get quite defensive if someone suggested an idea that improved on mine. That, my friends, is the ego rearing its ugly head. As soon as I embraced anyone's suggestions on improving my idea, I realised just how good an idea could develop. If I hadn't taken in the ideas or suggestions that people suggested when developing my business proposals, I wouldn't have got anywhere. Many successful people will admit they only replicated the ideas of other successful entrepreneurs.
LESSON TWO: Be open to new ideas, suggestions and criticism. Ask yourself, how could I use this information to improve on what I already have?
3. If my original idea doesn't work, then it will never work, and I won't be successful. - Having a mindset, whereby you give up when it doesn't turn out how you planned, will always end in feeling deflated. However if you learn from what didn't work, adapt it to your idea and think outside the square - often, with commitment and persistence, you may find a bigger and better idea than you originally thought. And this idea would have never come around until the mistakes were made. The Popsicle, along with the Slinky and Silly putty - all began as ideas for something else that didn't work!
LESSON THREE: Commitment to a goal of success is key - allow your idea to evolve through failures and obstacles. The journey is the key, as long as you are persistent and allow your idea to change, sometimes many times, on its way to success.
Don't worry about how you are going to get there, just be determined to reach your goal of success, whatever that means to you. I was able to let go of the way I was going to get to my destination, and it was amazing what opportunities turned up. When you let go of the resistance of the ego, there will be a flood of ideas, suggestions and money making vehicles that will take you to where you want to go. Just know where it is you want to head, research your 'vehicles' that will take you there and enjoy the scenery on the way!
In my mind I thought "I'm not allowed to be wrong... you don't see the successful entrepreneurs getting it wrong do you?" Actually, I soon learned that they do. Look at Thomas Edison, for example, when inventing the light bulb he had something like 1000 "ways of not to do it" until he found the right way. If he hadn't admitted that he was wrong those times, we would all still be sitting in darkness!
So, I wanted to give permission to all you budding entrepreneurs to let go of the ego - because as soon as you do, success soon follows and it is the most freeing thing you can do. Here are 3 things to think about:
1. DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) - For some reason, I had it in my head that the truly successful entrepreneurs did everything on their own. I believe I thought this because when you hear about their successes, you just hear their names not a list of helpers. What I realised, after much research, they have teams that help them out. Delegation is the key - do the things you want and find the best people for the rest. A great book to read is "The E-Myth" by Michael Gerber.
LESSON ONE: Delegate, Delegate and delegate - if you want to replicate a successful entrepreneur, learn to give the jobs you aren't the best at - to someone that is, so you can have all your energy for your ideas.
2. It has to be MY original idea for me to be successful - I used to get quite defensive if someone suggested an idea that improved on mine. That, my friends, is the ego rearing its ugly head. As soon as I embraced anyone's suggestions on improving my idea, I realised just how good an idea could develop. If I hadn't taken in the ideas or suggestions that people suggested when developing my business proposals, I wouldn't have got anywhere. Many successful people will admit they only replicated the ideas of other successful entrepreneurs.
LESSON TWO: Be open to new ideas, suggestions and criticism. Ask yourself, how could I use this information to improve on what I already have?
3. If my original idea doesn't work, then it will never work, and I won't be successful. - Having a mindset, whereby you give up when it doesn't turn out how you planned, will always end in feeling deflated. However if you learn from what didn't work, adapt it to your idea and think outside the square - often, with commitment and persistence, you may find a bigger and better idea than you originally thought. And this idea would have never come around until the mistakes were made. The Popsicle, along with the Slinky and Silly putty - all began as ideas for something else that didn't work!
LESSON THREE: Commitment to a goal of success is key - allow your idea to evolve through failures and obstacles. The journey is the key, as long as you are persistent and allow your idea to change, sometimes many times, on its way to success.
Don't worry about how you are going to get there, just be determined to reach your goal of success, whatever that means to you. I was able to let go of the way I was going to get to my destination, and it was amazing what opportunities turned up. When you let go of the resistance of the ego, there will be a flood of ideas, suggestions and money making vehicles that will take you to where you want to go. Just know where it is you want to head, research your 'vehicles' that will take you there and enjoy the scenery on the way!
About the Author:
Hayley Weatherburn is a Life Coach who works in her own personal development home based business. Hayley is passionate in supporting others succeed in their lifestyle goals whether it through coaching or her opportunity for entrepreneurs. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
No comments:
Post a Comment