I was asked this question yesterday in a team meeting where I shared three critical factors of entrepreneurial success that Brian Tracy shared with me at a seminar.
His answer to why most entrepreneurs fail was: They give up
It is as simple as that. The successful ones just NEVER stop! They have a pigheaded determination to achieve the goal they set out to achieve.
Brian Tracy shared a really powerful analogy with everyone at Jay Abraham's seminar. What he said is that entrepreneurship is similar to flying.
a) You need a destination - where do you want to go?
b) You need to take off - just get started and take action!
c) You constantly need to adjust course
Did you know that a plan is always off course? 99% of the time it is making constant adjustments to ensure that it gets to the desired destination.
Entrepreneurship is not that different. The problem is that that most people don't have the stomach for the constant ups and downs. It is an emotional roller-coaster!
This is how most entrepreneurs view things:
In order to get from A to B, most entrepreneurs will say that they experience a constant series of ups and downs.
It is a never ending struggle and somewhere along the way most entrepreneurs drop out of the race. They simply give up, pack up, and go home.
However, the successful ones just keep on going. What helps them along the way? They view the world differently.
Here is how successful entrepreneurs view things:
Successful entrepreneurs think of climbing a new mountain and to climb a mountain you hardly ever choose a straight path.
Instead, you have to feel out the terrain and constantly make little adjustments. One second you are moving towards the left and the next you make a small adjustment and continue towards the right. But you are constantly moving forward, learning, and getting closer to the top.
So, the "ups and downs" have become course corrections. There are no "downs" in the eyes of successful entrepreneurs. These are simply learning opportunities on an exciting journey towards the top.
"They give up". A good phrase that differentiate that who fail and success.The great tips to success is whenever downs and ups in the path, achieve the goal that was set up in a plan before is the critical mission. Thanks for the post that lighten up my day's Mike.
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It is so true that persistence form the very foundation of most successful entrepreneur. However, there is a very fine line between being persistent and being stubborn, especially when it comes to holding on to an idea that never seems to take off no matter how long you have waited or how hard you have tried.
I believe true persistence lies in doing trial and error on your ideas, until you finally strike the gold. Sooner or later, you will find that one idea that will take off, provided you haven't given up by then.
When opportunity knocks, you still have to get up off your behind and answer the door! How many times have I seen entrepreneurs so bent on one idea that they ignore obvious opportunities that suit their skills and aptitudes left, right and centre... true entrepreneurship means being open to applying your creativity, drive and passion to real opportunities even if they lay outside of your current scope.
Even though much is said and written about goals and plans being necessary for success as an entrepreneur, few people learn the mechanics of successful goal setting and planning. It’s not the plan but the planning that is important, and the goal setting process allows them to develop the confidence to take risks and fail. Successful entrepreneurs are not only goal driven and goal oriented; they have learned to execute the process of strategic and tactical goal setting and planning. Visualizing goals, writing them down and putting together a detailed plan for achievement provides the confidence and motivation to prevail. More than just business or operational plans, they have goals and plans for all the important roles in their life. They have learned early that if they aren’t working their own plan they are probably part of someone else’s goals or plans. They chart their own destiny, embrace risk-taking leadership positions, make adjustments as required and prevail over a course of time.
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[...] one’s head above water can sometimes be a daunting task. Here’s a good article on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur. 0 [...]
[...] one’s head above water can sometimes be a daunting task. Here’s a good article on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur. This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 3:00 pmand is filed under [...]