“We will either find a way, or make one!”
-Hannibal, 218 B.C.
All too often in conversations I have with people that are either interested in starting their own business or looking to expand their existing business, what I call the “dreaded ‘if’ factor” rears its ugly head.
The ‘if factor’ usually goes something like this:
“If I get that pay raise, I’ll be able to start buying some income producing real estate.”
“If we have a big holiday season, we’ll look at putting more money into marketing.”
“I don’t know if I can take the risk of starting a business now…maybe if I was 10 years younger I would think about doing something like that.”
It is at this point during the conversation that I wish I had a time machine. Besides the fact that it would be really fun to travel through time, I would really want to see what would happen when their ‘if’ conditional is fulfilled. Would this person really go forward with buying an investment property when they got a raise? Would the holiday season really be the deciding factor in whether or not this business owner spends more to grow their company?
Many people live their lives by a conditional function: if this, then that. The problem is that life throws a lot of unexpected events at you. You put yourself into reaction mode versus proactive mode when you rest your future actions on events or situations that are often beyond your reach of control or don’t even directly tie into your goals and dreams.
The most successful people that I have encountered have a strong sense of purpose and conviction and they rarely put conditionals on their goals and dreams. I have heard successful people say things such as:
“I will buy 10 investment houses next year, no matter what.”
“We are going to plow money into marketing, based on a strong plan, so that we can double our business next year.”
“I am going to start a company now, because there is a great opportunity.”
Whatever you do, don’t put conditionals on the level of success you want to achieve. Keep moving forward and, if there isn’t a way – MAKE ONE!
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