Snap out of it. Get unstuck

You started something; a venture you have had on your idea shelf for quite some time. You have made a lot of sacrifices to build it – late nights, fun outings with your friends, your hard earned savings and more. You have done this tirelessly but your idea just has not taken off as you thought it would. You had envisioned people running to you, eager and excited but the traffic has been a trickle and the enthusiasts are few and far between. It doesn’t help that your friend who started a venture of their own has had much better luck than you and is thriving. You feel hopeless and unmotivated so you just stop.

You stop trying, you stop fighting, you even stop believing in you. A part of you still carries the flicker of desire and hope for your dreams but most of you only now see a brick wall where you once saw golden gates of opportunity.

Well let me tell you a story about someone we all know, who fell and rose again

His name is Steve. Steve found what he loved early in life. He and his friend started a company which experienced a lot of success. As the company grew they hired someone to run the company with Steve. Things were good at first but then their ideas diverged at some point and disagreements were rampant. Steve and the new guy just did not have the same vision for the future and in a very public and embarrassing turn of events, Steve got fired from a company that he started.

His sweat, his time, his ideas and there he was kicked out of something that he had seen grow to be successful. Imagine the devastation he felt. He was down for some time and stuck in a rot. He was tempted to run away from it all but deep inside him, he still had a love for what he did. He mustered all the energy and courage he could and decided to start over.

He went on to create other companies and in a few years, found himself back at the helm of the company he had been fired from. The lesson learned in his own words

“I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters”

So learn from our friend Steve Jobs. He may be of late but his story is very much relevant and always will be to any entrepreneur taking the jump into uncertainty in pursuit of their dreams. What you need to do is to sit down and think through your fears, face them, come up with a plan to address them and snap out of your rut.

If you truly believe in your idea, don’t let it die. Give it the fighting chance it deserves. You will be amazed how often people succeed not because they are the best at something but simply because they stayed the course. So instead of getting stuck and staying stuck, look for ways to reinvent your ideas or your approach. Keep tweaking your actions so they only get better with each try and after each setback. Your success will require you to be patient and passionate about where you desire to be.

Get unstuck with these tips and make your dream a reality!

  • Take a moment to identify what you think is going wrong or what went wrong
  • Write down what options you have to make things better. You have the chance to create your own future.
  • Devise a plan of immediate action
  • Adjust your expectations
  • Get back to work

Comments

  1. Hi Belle,

    “Keep tweaking your actions”!

    I took time out to go through some of your postings and found a cool phrase. I hope you will permit me to use it in some of my creative works.

    Extend my greetings to the entire family.

    LG,
    Arnold

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