I remember a particular relaxing family holiday in Portugal. And yes it was very agreeable, thank you for asking. One afternoon I was lazing by the pool, as you do, and for want of something else to do began thinking about ideas for an article. As time goes on, it certainly seems harder trying to think of original and entertaining ideas to write about. But I digress.

Anyway, I was lying there sleepily gazing at my surroundings and longing for inspiration. Not that a hundred bloated pink bodies lying around a swimming pool in the mid-day sun are very inspirational.

I wasn’t one of them by the way, bloated and pink I mean. Well, I may have been a little bloated, but you have to partake of the local hospitality don’t you? It’s the polite thing to do isn’t it?

The Sunlight was flashing off the surface of the pool, interrupted by occasional ripples from the half-hearted strokes of a solitary swimmer. Then I had a thought! What is there, if anything, about water that could inspire us to achieve more in our lives?

I know, sad aren’t I?

When you think about it though, water is one of the greatest unstoppable forces of nature. It’s simply undefeatable. You just can’t get rid of the stuff! It never gives up, never shows any quarter. It just keeps coming back for more.

Throw it away and it’ll come back and rain on you. Try and imprison it behind the most technically advanced dam and you still have to let some of it escape for fear of it overcoming its captor and causing devastation.

The stuff has very few equals. Are you with me?

What a remarkable quality to have. If you could emulate anywhere near that sort of resolve, then how could you possibly fail at anything?

There is only one thing that’s ever certain in business. If you give in, you will definitely fail. You must be strong and self-disciplined, and come back fighting again and again just like the water. As long as you stick with it, you will eventually reap your rewards.

It’s easy to give in, but then it’s always easy to fail. It’s so very much harder to find your success. If it wasn’t, then everyone would be a success and nobody would be striving for anything. What a dismal prospect!

You have a choice. You can achieve success in your personal and business life if you really want to. But you have to be persistent and stick with it until all the pieces of your own personal jigsaw fit into place.

Just think about that, the next time you pour yourself a cool clear glass of water.

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: determination, perseverence, self-belief

You may have wandered off the safe path through the Internet business forest, or you may be wary about setting off in the first place. What’s stopping you from continuing? Is there really a Big Bad Wolf waiting to jump out and finish you off?

If you’re experiencing this sort of hesitancy, then a little regression therapy may be necessary. Think back to when you were a child. When you had little experience of success or failure. When you approached each new challenge with vigour and a sense of adventure.

I remember when my Dad taught me to ride a bike. If I fell off, I just got straight back on and tried again. The fact that I may fall again and again never entered my head. This was new, it was fun and I was spurred on by the prize for my endeavours; joining in with my elder brother and our mates who were already racing around on two wheels.

As children we charged forward with gay abandon into every new adventure. But as adults we hesitate and check our step. Why is that?

The answer’s simple!

The one thing that’s changed our perceptions of new and uncharted territories, like starting our own business, is fear. It may be fear of failure or fear of rejection. As Edmund Burke once said “No passion so effectively robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”

But is there anything wrong with failing once in a while?

Certainly not!

You never learn anything from doing things right all the time. Making mistakes is an essential part of the learning process. That being said, you must remember that you never learn much from a mistake the second time you make it.

Fear is an important emotion. Like the Big Bad Wolf, it provides a safety check to ensure we’ve thought through our actions and planned for likely outcomes. But you should never allow it to stop you from setting off on your next great adventure.

In his inaugural address of 1933, Franklin D Roosevelt famously said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Are the things we fear always realistic and tangible? I think not! We often tend to create our own ‘monsters under the bed’.

Take our arch nemesis the Big Bad Wolf for example. I mean, how could any hairy transvestite quadruped fool anyone into believing it was Grandma. And if it had despatched Grandma, wouldn’t there have been blood stains on the eiderdown?

But I digress!

These ‘monsters’ are barriers we create for ourselves that reside in our imagination rather than in reality. So, let’s get back on that path through the Internet business forest then, and stride bravely forward. If you’re fearful about starting out, or you’re fearful of taking the next step, don’t let that fear ruin your journey. Let it simply act as a reminder to check what’s round the next bend once in a while.

What! You’re still scared?

OK, take along the woodcutters axe for protection if you must.

By the way, he’s behind you!

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: fear, perseverence, self-belief