Let go of the past

If we wish to succeed we need to let go of the past. If we hold on to the difficulties and problems we experienced in the past, we can never move forward. Struggle, failures, disappointments are inevitable but if we shift our perspective and think of them as blessings which spur us to do better next time, then life becomes easier to handle. Difficulties happen to teach us specific lessons so accept them and learn from them and move on.

Entrepreneurs are risk takers

Entrepreneurs are risk takers – some of these succeed, some of them do not. But there is nothing wrong in that. They are as human as the next person, they are as likely to take mistakes as you and me. But making mistakes or failing a few times is not failure. As long as they get over their problems and keep trying, they are fine. It is only those who quit when troubles beset them, who are the real failures. Those who go on despite failures make it to the finishing line at some time or the other.

Success cannot be achieved overnight. It takes a lot of hard work, determination, patience, courage, patience to achieve your dreams. And there are obstacles on the way to success – plenty of them. View these obstacles and failures as the stepping stones to success, use the pain and disappointment of failure as a motivator that pushes you to work harder and better.

Inspire others

Inspire others with your stories of your struggles and fight in your journey to success. Tell them about your experiences and how your failures spurred you to greater heights. Become an example to others and teach them how to turn negatives to positives and how to use failures to learn and move forward towards success.

It is normal for people to make mistakes

It is normal for people to make mistakes. And it is normal behavior to react to the mistakes we made. But how we deal with the mistakes we make, is what differentiates one person from another. Where we can be better than the next person is to learn from our mistakes and go beyond them to better things.

When you make your first mistake in business, you feel stressed out and worried. You cannot sleep. But do not let that get you down. Do not allow your anxiety to make you feel depressed and unhappy. You are not alone, every successful person has made at least one mistake sometime in their life and it has taught them many useful life lessons. You have not done anything thousands of others have not done before you. So cheer up and stop feeling upset.

Treat it as a learning experience

The sensible thing to do is not to cry over your mistake, but to treat it as a learning experience. See what went wrong, figure out how to avoid these problems the next time round and move on. Accepting and acknowledging your mistake is the first step in learning. Your mistakes and how you react to them makes you the person you are – if you learn from them and make better decisions next time, it makes you a wiser and bigger person. If you do not accept your mistakes you cannot move forward. You stagnate in every way, in your personal and professional lives. You need to have the guts and strength of mind to swallow your pride and figure out where you have gone wrong. This will help you evolve. Do not make excuses or keep arguing about your mistakes – just internalize them and grow beyond them.

Do not pass on the blame for your mistakes onto someone else. You are responsible and accountable for your actions. Accept this fact of life. It will help you to improve on yourself and will earn you respect from those around you.

The life of an entrepreneur is not easy

The life of an entrepreneur is not easy. There are many challenges and obstacles on the way which have to be overcome. But don’t get discouraged, difficulties do not last forever. Be optimistic, work hard even if the results are not what you expected them to be. Look at your glass as half full, not half empty and try and overcome your problems. Do not stop, keep moving, and keep walking forward irrespective of the obstacles on the way.

Free yourself of restraints

Struggle means to free yourself of restraints- so free yourself from the shackles of difficulties and problems that pull you down. Keep trying, do not ever give up. Your hard work and effort will pay off and one day you will be successful.

Develop a sense of humor. Learn to laugh at yourself, at your mistakes. When others make fun of your weaknesses and mistakes, laugh at yourself along with them. Firstly they will stop mocking you and secondly you will learn what your mistakes are and can correct them.

Do not allow the past to cloud your present

Do not allow the past to cloud your present. Leave it behind, forget about past mistakes, they will drag you down so do not think or whine about the, Learn from them and let them go. Live and work in the present.

Failures are a part of your journey to success. You learn from them. You need failures to tell you how to avoid the same mistakes in future. Failures give you experience and wisdom. Failures and struggles don’t last forever. They come, teach you valuable lessons and go away. So keep trying and use your failures to teach you how to succeed. 

“Set it and forget it” approach to business

According to the “set it and forget it” approach, introduced by Ron Popeil, the belief is that if you are involved to some extent in setting up a business, it will run its course; you can forget about it and let it progress on its own. A lot of people follow this system either because they think it is true or because they are scared to pursue their dreams and goals and make excuses to do nothing much.

But this approach does not let you work towards a strong primary objective – your goal keeps shifting, your employees get confused and derailed thus leading to lower efficiency and lower growth. You need to have fixed, long term goals to do well in the business world.

Life blood of your company

Your employees are the life blood of your company. Their hard work, dedication, commitment will take your company to greater heights. If they don’t put in sufficient effort or are not very good at their job, your business will suffer – even if you are working very hard. Hence get together a team of passionate, dedicated professionals who will live up to your expectations, who will work with you towards the common business goal and motivate you while you motivate them. This creates an environment where everybody contributes to growth.

Retrain your employees

Update yourself, retrain your employees, get in the latest technology, do new things so that your company continues to grow and develop. Do not stop when your first goal is reached. Reach higher, create new goals and new challenges. Understand the changing perspective of customers, suppliers, investors, share-holders, employees and even your competitors and adapt your business to keep pace with all stakeholders so that your company can benefit.

So do not sit back once the business is up and running. Keep on top of the business, keep running and emerge a winner.

Convictions and principles

What does a lighthouse do? For ships out at sea they provide a guiding light in the dark or in a storm so that they can sail to safe harbors. It keeps them on their course and helps them survive the hardships at sea. Just as the lighthouse guides sailors, your principles guide you during your bad times and take you towards your harbor.

When entrepreneurs start off on their own business, it is only their convictions and principles that carry them through difficult times – they are their support as those around them may not support them in their entrepreneurial efforts. Thus they need to have well thought out and definite principles as the guiding force for their new company.

Attain your goals

Your principles play a big role in helping you attain your goals in business. They define you and your business. They ensure that you do not stray from your ideals or your target and they help you reach milestones in the business. They help you fulfil your dreams and take your ideas to success. Your guiding light steers you in a dedicated manner.

Your principles also keep you disciplined. Since your goals are clearly marked, you know what next steps to take so that all your actions are in keeping with the image of the company and with your principles. They help you take important business decisions with regard to finances, personnel or marketing.

Ethics and principles

Principles ensure you do not make mistakes. They stop you from taking shortcuts even when they appear tempting and easy. Your code of ethics and principles keep you focused on the right and honorable way of doing things. They keep you from being dishonest like breaking rules or giving a bribe or evading tax or not taking care of employees and cheating them of their dues.

Everybody needs strong principles and a code of conduct to keep them on the straight and narrow. It brings you respect and an efficient and honest workforce. Let your principles be the guiding light that will always point you in the right direction.