solopreneur success
Boils Down to This One Trait
The other day I had lunch with a new business connection and within minutes the chat turned maddening. So the lady asks me “What are your big picture intentions for your business and life?” Which I have to say was better than the stale “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” – that one has ALWAYS grated on my nerves!
Anyhoo, I proceeded to breakdown my planned business growth for the next few years, which includes take home revenue in the seven figures. Yes, I said SEVEN figures!
I could literally see her body language shift as she grew increasingly uncomfortable as I yammered on. She, like so many, considers my dream of making millions in the next few years as, well….unattainable.
With an unintentionally patronizing head tilt (you know the one I’m talking about), she nervously chuckled and says “Don’t we all sweetie! What REALISTIC goals do you have?” Yeah, she basically just bitch slapped the hell out of my dreams.
Strangely, in that same moment, a rush of clarity came over me.
Poor thing,
she’s what I call a “Jaded Dreamer”.
You know the type. They have dreams BUT they don’t actually believe in them. In fact, they believe dreams are just an outlet for wishing for all those impossible things we want. FUCK THAT! I honestly feel bad for them!
I am way too damn smart, driven and fantastic to apologize for my ambitious dreams or water them down for those folks that don’t believe in their own.
I’ll be damned if I am going to shoot for only that which OTHERS think I can have or give me permission to have. I’ll be damned if I’m going to forbid myself anything too lofty. I believe in myself and my skills too much for all that crazy talk.
Can you relate?
Now don’t get me wrong…
My dreams have evolved, morphed and led me down paths that were all wrong for me, BUT without them I would have wasted far more time wandering around blind, settling for only what others told me existed instead of what I knew was out there.
To those “jaded dreamers” like the woman I had lunch with I would love to know…
What the hell happened that made you
stop believing in your dreams?!
It’s usually closely correlated to how you personally perceive success and failure.
Let me ask you this – How many things can you look back at NOW with an abundance of clarity that only offered confusion and struggle for years?!
I bet if you get real you’ll see that you’ve actually gotten more clarity from your failures than you have from your successes. The truth is…
We overcome far more when we fail, but it’s all in our mindset.
Instead of holding yourself back because of the tough times, here’s a wild idea, why not believe in yourself because of the tough times? Try it and see how it fits!
Profess your dreams loudly and proudly and make NO apologies for how ambitious they are! And no matter what, NEVER…
Water down your dreams for the sake of someone else!
To all you “jaded dreamers” – with a heaping serving of tough love –
who the hell died and left you a dream approver?!
So here’s the thing:
How can I be so certain my dream of SEVEN figures is not only attainable but will in fact happen within a few short years?
My dirty little secret is….
I’m already living off my last lofty dream. Take that dream crushers!
If I listened to all the “jaded dreamers” that told me I could never bring in enough revenue to free me from my miserable day job, WELL…
…I wouldn’t be enjoying my brisk 10 second commute to my office, I wouldn’t be basking in the luxury of not working with assholes anymore nor would I be able to sleep in or decide on a whim to leave town or take whatever days I want off. I wouldn’t be enjoying any of the freedom my life now has.
I’d be certifiably bitter, unhappy and jaded as all hell.
Instead, I fancy myself
a “Rational Realist”! And I live to fulfill my loftiest goals!
Truth is, I couldn’t have reaped the rewards of my lofty dream of self employment if I didn’t first and foremost believe in that dream.
And that’s the BIG PROBLEM with many solopreneurs looking to build or grow a business.
Like the “jaded dreamer” I had lunch with, they don’t believe in their dream of building a successful business.
Since they focus on their failures, they never get around to starting.
They say things like:
“I don’t have any marketing or writing skills…”
“I’m not even sure where to start…”
“I’m not ready yet, maybe when…”
But no one who has attained their lofty goals says shit like this. Well, not for more than a brief wallow…we all have those moments.
In fact, look at the most successful entrepreneurs out there, they rarely make goals UNLESS they are lofty and ambitious. Go big or go home, baby!
This is because they believe in themselves and their skills. Instead of getting jaded by their failures, they stay focused on attaining their dreams. Lofty dreams at that.
They focus on the ONLY thing that really matters…
taking the
NEXT steps
Now my question to you is, do you believe in YOUR OWN lofty dream of self employment?!
The longer you delay working towards your entrepreneurial dreams, the farther you are from the freedom of self employment and living the lifestyle deserve!
We all have a little “Jaded Dreamer” in us, and that’s ok…
But, if there is only one thing you do after reading this:
Embrace your lofty dreams from this point forward! If you don’t believe in your dreams, you will NEVER attain them. That’s a promise!
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