What is the Secret to Success?

What is the Secret to Success?

While I love the movie the “Secret”, this isn’t about that…

There is no shortage of information today, we’re addicted to it, right?

The latest video to watch, the newest tactic, the “secret” or “underground” or “just released” thing that we latch onto to figure out how to “make it” or be “successful”…

I’d like to challenge myself and YOU today…

Turn off facebook, youtube, twitter, whatever.. and just keep doing the work.  Steven Pressfield has written a book on this, literally titled “Do the Work”

It’s always good to educate yourself, always good to know what is going on.. but it can be our form of procrastination, our form of delaying judgement on our work.  It’s easier to say “I’m tweaking the website” or “getting ready to launch”…and such.  Why?  We can’t be judged when it’s “under construction” right?  We can’t be rejected, or be judged on how many views something has or do we have sales??

This can be a TOXIC and lifelong habit to fall into.

In my food world, while I certainly feel sensitive to criticism, but I HAVE to ship every day.  When someone orders a Spicy Shrimp Pasta, I have to produce it!  I can’t wait and say I’m not ready to launch…my guests are hungry!  Of course we have a plan in that we’ve made this dish many times before, but still, the need is there to ship.

What is holding you back?

What feelings go through you before you approach “shipping” or launching or creating that website.

In todays world, there are a TON of free resources, information and strategies to get going.

BUT…what is your blockage?

Is it over analysis?

Can you make one small step every day (or at least just TODAY) to get started?

One thing I have seen many times when I have procrastinated on something I’m worried about, or need to do, is that it’s never as hard, stressful or takes as long, as we think it will.  NEVER.

Usually my own thoughts make it way more than it ends up being, and what a feeling when I look in my rear view and realize I got that THING done, and now I’m On to the Next One (sorry, had to).

So my secret to success seems to be just doing it.  Yes, like Nike…  but seriously just doing the grunt work that isn’t so exciting sometimes, but gets the job done. Just get it going, get up each day, “stop watching fu*king LOST” (thanks Gary V) and put in an hour or two or three every day to get your goal accomplished.

IF you’re working on the side to build a business, you have some unique challenges..but that’s what you have to deal with!  Figure out how to add in opportunites to move yourself forward, yes, it will be a bitch sometimes.  And??  Who do you want to cry to?  No one, just deal  with it, and move it forward.  Jump in and play the game.

Set yourself some HARD deadlines, ones you will not voilate.  Yes, violate.  I’m one of those, when I have a deadline, I will not miss it, but… I may wait until the last minute.  Not a good habit, and one I’m beating most of the time, but it can still creep in as a habit.  We’re human, we all can have those moments.  But it’s your win ratio that makes the difference.

Even the people you may see as super acheivers, have those issues, those doubtful moments, those days when it just seems so hard.  I think the difference may be that they don’t give into that TEMPTATION to wither, to give in, to say…”man, lemme just take a nap”… they plod forward like a tired guy in the snow, just putting one foot in front of the other, until eventually they get to their goal, or at LEAST get enough done that they can feel good about it.  Kind of like working out, if the moment you started to sweat, you gave up, what would you get done?  You HAVE to push through the fact that it’s difficult, and realize the end result is WAY worth the output of energy.  You’ll be happy in the end, and that success will push you to do better the next time.  You’ll remember the work, be proud of the hard moments, and realize that it wasn’t maybe as “bad” as you thought it was going to be.   Most things just cannot be earned without the hard work being put in.

Can you share with us some struggles you’ve had as a growing entrepreneur?

What projects have you put on hold that perhaps we can help you unearth and rise again?

Success stories of things you’ve launched that were dormant for a while?  Or were you able to go from a – z without any snags?

Comments?

Talk soon.

Tony