Every week I constantly come across people who want to follow my entrepreneurial footsteps.
Although I don’t think I have accomplished much for my age, I am always open to helping other people out.
But one thing that I have been realizing is that most of you won’t succeed because you just don’t have your head screwed on tight enough.
Here is why I think you won’t succeed:
Reality Check #1: Learn how to manage money
I recently hung out with a few young adults who are looking to grow their career. They are sharp, smart, and hard working. The problem is they don’t know how to manage their money. They’ve maxed out their credit cards and don’t have much money in their bank accounts, yet they’ll spend $150 on luxuries services.
If luxury services make you happy, by all means get them. But you shouldn’t be spending money on things like that when you have large amounts of debt. I personally didn’t indulge in luxury items until I was making over 6 figures in income.
Now I am not trying to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do with your money because at the end of the day it is your life and you should do whatever will make you happy. But if you want to succeed in business you need to learn how to manage money. If you can’t pay your bills on time, pay employees or learn how to collect checks you’ll run into a lot of cash issues. Without money you won’t be in business for long.
Reality Check #2: Don’t take opportunities for granted
Just last month I got a hair cut from a great hair stylist who seems to have more clients than she can deal with it. She wanted to expand her business and open up a decent size salon. So I offered to meet up with her and potentially invest in her idea if she could come up with a plan that made sense.
To make a long story short, I met up with her and she came unprepared. In addition to that I offered her a second chance by telling her to get back to me with a plan, but I still haven’t heard anything from her…
If she didn’t take the opportunity for granted she probably would have had the money she wanted to create the salon of her dreams. I already knew she was a good hair stylist from my friends and I knew that she would have clients as she already has more than she can deal with.
No matter whom you meet or what people offer you, don’t ever take things for granted. You never know who can help you out and what they can do for you.
Reality Check #3: Ideas are a dime a dozen
Every week I literally get a handful of people who want feedback on their business idea. These are ideas that people are passionate about, but they never execute.
For example, 6 months ago I had a gentlemen come to me who wanted to create a cloud based storage service for people who watch pornographic content. Think of it as a Dropbox, but for porn.
Although the idea sounded great, he never did anything with it. If you want to succeed, you have to execute. Things like ideas don’t matter, execution does. This is the reason why companies like Facebook, Twitter and Groupon are doing so well because they are able to execute.
Don’t waste your time telling hundreds of people your business ideas, just get out there and do it.
Reality Check #4: Communicate, communicate, and communicate some more
My generation loves to text message and use Facebook. But what they suck at compared to the other generations is responding to emails and answering phone calls.
In my experience the number one reason people miss out on an opportunity is because they are horrible at communicating. And more importantly they are horrible at communicating through the normal channels most business folks are used to… email and phone.
Make sure you are on top of things and you respond to people in a timely fashion. It will make you look great and it will help you keep your clients happy.
Reality Check #5: Emotions and business don’t mix
If you know me, you know that I am not an emotional person. Most things are either black or white to me and I always do what is best for my business even if it hurts “feelings.”
For the past few months I have been hanging out with people who are my age. I’ve realize they have a lot of unchecked emotions and drama in their lives. This in turn has made me more emotional which has started to effect my business decisions. I have started to slowly cut these emotion filled people out of my life.
If you want to succeed in the business world you have to learn how to make decisions based off of logic and not emotion. It’s not always going to be easy, but it’s what you have to do to make wise decisions. If for some reason you aren’t able to think straight: don’t make any decisions. Sleep on your emotions until you have a logical answer or get some guidance from a peer.
Reality Check #6: F may come before W, but Work comes before Fun
Who doesn’t want to have fun? right? I know I do, but you need to learn to only have fun after all of your work is done. For example I haven’t taken a vacation in 10 years because I need to continually work on my start-up.
Don’t get me wrong, I have fun, but I always put work ahead of having fun. It sounds easy when you are making a decent chunk of change, but at the beginning it ends up being a bit difficult because you won’t be making heaps of cash.
If you can learn to put work ahead of having fun, you’ll do well in life… especially if you are a hard worker. You just have to be patient as you won’t see the benefits of this in the short run.
Conclusion
Just because I’ve stated why you won’t succeed it doesn’t mean you can’t change. Everyone, including me, has flaws. Don’t get depressed or feel hopeless, do something about it!
If you are wiling to change you can succeed. You just have to learn how to spot the roadblocks in your life and solve them. And if for some reasonyou aren’t able to solve them, don’t be afraid to get help from others.
1. Repeatedly successful people respond instantly! When an investment isn’t working out, they sell. When they see an opportunity, they make the call. If an important relationship is cooling down, they take time to renew it. When technology or a new competitor or a change in the economic situation requires an adjustment, they are the first and quickest to respond.
2. They work hard! Yes, they play hard, too! They get up early, they rarely complain, they expect performance from others, but they expect extraordinary performance from themselves. Repeated, high-level success starts with a recognition that hard work pays off.
3. They are incredibly curious and eager to learn. They study, ask questions and read—constantly! An interesting point, however: While most of them did well in school, the difference is that they apply or take advantage of what they learn. Repeated success is not about memorizing facts, it’s about being able to take information and create, build, or apply it in new and important ways. Successful people want to learn everything about everything!
4. They network. They know lots of people, and they know lots of different kinds of people. They listen to friends, neighbors, co- workers and bartenders. They don’t have to be “the life of the party,” in fact many are quiet, even shy, but they value people and they value relationships. Successful people have a Rolodex full of people who value their friendship and return their calls.
5. They work on themselves and never quit! While the “over-night wonders” become arrogant and quickly disappear, really successful people work on their personality, their leadership skills, management skills, and every other detail of life. When a relationship or business deal goes sour, they assume they can learn from it and they expect to do better next time. Successful people don’t tolerate flaws; they fix them!
6. They are extraordinarily creative. They go around asking, “Why not?” They see new combinations, new possibilities, new opportunities and challenges where others see problems or limitations. They wake up in the middle of the night yelling, “I’ve got it!” They ask for advice, try things out, consult experts and amateurs, always looking for a better, faster, cheaper solution. Successful people create stuff!
7. They are self-reliant and take responsibility. Incredibly successful people don’t worry about blame, and they don’t waste time complaining. They make decisions and move on.…Extremely successful people take the initiative and accept the responsibilities of success.
8. They are usually relaxed and keep their perspective. Even in times of stress or turmoil, highly successful people keep their balance, they know the value of timing, humor, and patience. They rarely panic or make decisions on impulse. Unusually successful people breath easily, ask the right questions, and make sound decisions, even in a crisis.
9. Extremely successful people live in the present moment. They know that “Now” is the only time they can control. They have a “gift” for looking people in the eye, listening to what is being said, enjoying a meal or fine wine, music or playing with a child. They never seem rushed, and they get a lot done! They take full advantage of each day. Successful people don’t waste time, they use it!
10. They “look over the horizon” to see the future. They observe trends, notice changes, see shifts, and hear the nuances that others miss. A basketball player wearing Nikes is trivial, the neighbor kid wearing them is interesting, your own teenager demanding them is an investment opportunity! Extremely successful people live in the present, with one eye on the future!
