I am just getting to the point in my life where I actually feel that I have a small amount of wisdom to share. As I enter my most recent entrepreneurial pursuit I look back on my string of entrepreneurial wreckage and try to learn a few lessons. I shouldn’t really toot my own horn too much because all of my pursuits have been plagued by several notable mistakes that I failed to learn the first time down the road.
First and foremost I have never really given any business pursuit my all. With real estate I never really got committed, I never really took much risk or got too dirty. I was paralyzed by fear, indiscretion, and uncertainty. In my real estate inspection career I didn’t even finish the classes and give it a go. With internet business I got side tracked and distracted. Bottom line in all cases I failed to deliver.
Closely associated with failing to deliver I tried to do it all on my own. This has been a reoccurring theme in my life in many other areas as well. I don’t really like help and I don’t want to be perceived as weak or incapable so I often don’t reach out for help. What this boils down to is that I don’t do one of the most important things that many successful people do, and that is build a team.
I currently have and amazing simple fix for each problem.
Problem one… Failure to deliver, discipline. No excuses just get it done because not much else really matters. I have made the decision to push on no matter what. It doesn’t matter if I am tired, depressed or in a bad mood, I ship. It doesn’t even have to be drastic progress. Anything will do as long as it is progress in the right direction.
Problem two… Failure to build a team. There is a two part approach here but the first step is what makes all the difference. I got my wife involved. I sold her on the dream and made it her dream too. I got her excited and now I have a partner who won’t let me fall down because she is in it for the wild ride too. In the past I wasn’t completely upfront with my business shenanigans because I felt that if I kept her in the dark it wouldn’t really matter if I failed.
Step two to the team building problem is going to be reaching out and embracing other people who are on the same path. Finding likeminded individuals and sharing knowledge, passion, motivation and all of the fireworks that go along with these unions. In person, one the internet, on the phone, whatever it takes.
“When the going gets tough, that’s just the way we like it.”