Entrepreneurs and small business owners are a different breed for sure. When faced with the knowledge that over 85% of their peers will fail in the first year, they do it anyway. The secret is that the 15% who succeed believed wholeheartedly in themselves, their business, and their team. They know they can do it, and they persist through the tough times and celebrate the victories along the way.
The people who fail don’t necessarily fail due to a lack of skill. Instead, they fail because of a lack of belief. They quit too soon. Most of the time, the most successful people are not the ones who know the most, but instead the ones who didn’t know it could not be done, so they did it anyway. They persevered and kept pushing forward even when everyone else around them told them they were crazy.
Did Steve Jobs know we all needed a computer in our pocket, or did Mark Zuckerberg know Facebook would become the most visited social network on the planet? Nope, they just had a belief they could change their world, and in turn, it changed ours.
The best part about this fundamental of success is that you have complete control over it and can make it your everyday attitude. It requires no special skill. You just have to act as if you are a successful business owner and persistently work towards your vision of success daily. The best way to do that is to remove the most powerful negative force in the universe from your vocabulary, “I can’t.” Also, remove the near-fatal cousins of “I can’t” in “I wish” and “I’ll try.”
“I can’t” vs. “I will”
Let me share with you a quick exercise to illustrate the power of “I can’t.” First, write down a list of all of the things you constantly tell yourself you can’t do. I can’t lose 10 lbs. I can’t win that school contract. I can’t afford the top-of-the-line heat press, etc.
Then, think about how those make you feel by reading them aloud. You feel disconnected and hopeless to do those things. Now replace those with “I won’t.” Read those aloud and see how you feel. Now you feel in control but most likely ashamed knowing that you are choosing those actions.
Finally, replace “I won’t” with “I will.” Again, read them aloud and notice how you feel. You now are empowered to do those things regardless of if you know how you are going to or not. If you can always say “I will” when the timing is right, the answer of “how” will come to you.
