How to Stay Motivated

Well, It's certainly been awhile. I did plan on taking a couple of weeks break over Christmas, but things get busy, habits get broken, and here we are again, off my posting target! Oh well. These things happen.

I wanted to talk a little bit about motivation today. It's something that I've had to really work on lately. You see, it's very easy to be motivated at the start of a venture: everything is new and exciting. All the talk is positive, there are all sorts of nifty projections that show how much money you'll make. Obstacles seem trivial and far off. In short, it seems like nothing can go wrong. Just follow the plan, and away you go.

Unfortunately, life doesn't often work that way, and neither does business. Sure, things start off ok, and the first time you hit a bump, it's no big deal. The next bump still isn't too bad. But by the 5th or 6th bump, when things are starting to look like they might not stay together, and you're wondering just what you've gotten yourself into, it gets a little harder to stay positive. In fact, most of us by this point are using words that would make our mothers ashamed of us and generally making fools of ourselves by snapping at every little thing.

Hey, it happens. It sucks. But that's when you need to keep at it the most. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to quit now. Assuming you've done your research ahead of time and come up with a solid plan, this is no time to be bailing out. Sure, it will likely be a long time yet before you see any results (maybe weeks, months or even years), but as soon as you quit, that's it. You're done, and you will never see success.

So, how do you stay motivated? I think it is a little different for everybody. For me, when I hit this point, it's time to go back and look at my goals. Why am I doing this in the first place? What is the purpose of this business venture? Do I really want to succeed? I don't always feel any better, but that's how I regain my focus, and then it's time to push ahead. Yes, it's hard, yes, I want to quit. But I'm focused, and I'm staying on target. Eventually, I'll hit a few little gold nuggets along the way, and things will be great again. I know if I stick with my plan, I will see success. I always have, and there's no real reason to believe that I ever won't.

Stay focused. Stay motivated. You'll make it.

Dad