Life is competitive. There is no dearth of people looking to go toe-to-toe with you in battle. From getting into college, to starting your own company, to wooing that boy or girl, nothing good comes easy! Conversely, a lot of bad comes easily because you let people crap all over you. Don’t let that happen.
The world is big enough for all of us to flourish! The market is large enough to make anybody comfortably wealthy. You just have to believe you will succeed.
YOUR STRONG MINDSET
There’s really only one belief I have whenever I start anything and that’s the belief I will succeed. You need to develop self-confidence because everything starts with your core beliefs. Once you develop a trust in yourself, everything you do will start falling in place. Here are some tips:
* Know That You Will Try Harder. Unless you are inventing something completely complicated, know that if you try harder, undoubtedly you will do better. You will dedicate more time to your endeavor while your competitors are sleeping or goofing off. You can tell when a blogger whips together a post half-hazardly. It’s so obvious. They will unlikely succeed for very long. You can tell when someone hasn’t practiced their music. The notes don’t sound crisp. Trying harder and success are beautifully correlated. You will not fail due to a lack of effort.
* Know That Failure Is Only Temporary. If you knew you could not fail, you’d likely try a lot more things would you not? Sure you would. I encourage all of us to stretch our goals a little further. You don’t have to do anything rash such as quit your job to try out for the NBA or Broadway, but you can take the first step to try out for a local league and off-Broadway production. Push yourself to attempt new things!
* Ask Yourself What’s The Worst That Could Happen. If you fail, so what. Nothing bad is going to happen unless you mortgaged your life away and bet it all on black. As you stretch your goals, constantly evaluate what you might give up. It’s kind of like stretching. If you stretch every day, soon you’ll be able to touch your toes.
* Know That The Market Is Big Enough For All Of Us. Every year, people are succeeding. Who knew Groupon could be worth $25 billion in just 2 years? Seriously, practically everyday there is someone out there killing it in whatever they do because they tried harder. I used to think only super smart or special people with connections can do really well. Now I know that’s not true at all. Nobody is special because everybody is special if you want to be!
TOUGHEN UP AND GO FOR IT
Pressure is your friend. A good example of pressure is this site right here, right now. I realize that many folks are observing how the Yakezie Network evolves. The thing is, we’ll grow the Yakezie Network however we want. The bigger the stage, the bigger the pressure and that’s fine. I’ve got to tell you though, that I find pressure very exciting. I’m the guy who loves the feeling of sinking the 3 foot putt with all the marbles on the line!
Formulating the Yakezie framework, coordinating with the team, building the network, coming up with synergistic ideas, and reaching out to potential partners takes a lot of work. Nothing good comes easy, but most things aren’t that hard. Being trapped in a Chilean mine for a month with no light, food, and very little water is hard. Surviving a tsunami in Fukushima during winter is hard. Losing loved ones in 9/11 is hard. Paying off debt, getting in shape, making a comfortable living on-line and creating several close relationships….. now that’s easy by comparison.
RECOMMENDATION FOR BUILDING WEALTH
Manage Your Finances In One Place: The best way to become financially independent and protect yourself is to get a handle on your finances by signing up with Personal Capital. They are a free online platform which aggregates all your financial accounts in one place so you can see where you can optimize. Before Personal Capital, I had to log into eight different systems to track 25+ difference accounts (brokerage, multiple banks, 401K, etc) to manage my finances. Now, I can just log into Personal Capital to see how my stock accounts are doing and how my net worth is progressing. I can also see how much I’m spending every month.
The best tool is their Portfolio Fee Analyzer which runs your investment portfolio through its software to see what you are paying. I found out I was paying $1,700 a year in portfolio fees I had no idea I was paying! There is no better financial tool online that has helped me more to achieve financial freedom.
It’s 2015 and the bull market continues. Make a decision to be wealthy by taking control of your finances!
Regards,
Sam
Great article Sam! I know there are a ton of people that are a part of this network, and they’re thinking, “With so many financial blogs, how on earth can I make any money at all?”
I had these thoughts, but luckily I have some leadership books under my belt. I know that success comes in waves, and one of those success waves could be coming your way without even knowing it! If we should quit, we’ll never experience it. So, I just kept writing and assumed that good things will eventually happen. I was right, my readership is on the rise again, and money-making opportunities keep flowing my way.
Just keep pressing on everyone! You can do it!! :)
Yes! I agree there’s room for those who work hard at the top. It’s the main reason I am unafraid to assist everyone who comes across my path. I keep saying “Let’s get rich together!” (If that’s what you want.) But whatever your goal is, you can make it! It will take hard work but just keep at it. And remember that life is a journey, not a destination, so smell the flowers along the way.
This is right on target Sam! Nothing comes easy, oh how that rings so true. I know that for me, when things are easy, I don’t grow or see any improvement. IT’s only through struggles and challenges that we grow as individuals and we get to see the joy of conquering our fears and goals.
I like that you went further than just saying “believe it and it will happen.” There are a lot of people out there who buy into that false logic. Unfortunately, you can “believe” all you want, but unless you take action, it’s never going to happen.
Thanks for an inspiring Friday article!
Thanks for the pep talk Sam! I am completely on board with hard work and trying harder. I don’t mind failing anymore. If you never fail, that means you never tried right?
The older I get, the more realize that believing in oneself, being determined, and being resilient, are all a tremendous help in achieving what you want. If it’s irrational (me trying to play in the NBA), it will be detrimental. If it’s within reason – even if a total stretch – it’s a great way to approach things.
Be genuine, realistic, yet confident in yourself and know that you’re worth it and can do what you put your mind and efforts toward. And the last part is key – efforts have to take place, not just ideas.
Thanks for the encouragement. I definitely needed to hear this today. You are absolutely right.
You’re right, Sam. I also needed to hear this today. Sometimes I question, but again, it is all mental.
I absolutely believe in the power of having the right mindset, but it’s not as easy as it seems. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I know that simply knowing that you should believe in yourself doesn’t actually make you believe in yourself. There is some underlying personality/character issues that have to be addressed – that’s why there are so many self-help junkies. because
I do believe Sam, though I would say it is definitely not easy. I think the best part of what you said is to try harder. Shiv Kheira said something that stuck home with me. He mentioned a wrestler who was practicing. When the wrestler thought about quitting, he thought about what his opponent was doing and he practiced more. Finally, when he was at the point of being exhausted and knowing his opponent was probably feeling the same, he took that time to practice even more. And that is the winning edge.
I’d add to this Sam, that we need to constantly be improving our skills, education, and ability. But all that is secondary to trying harder.
Thx for the wresting example. I’m going to remember that and how I need to imagine what the competition is doing so I can keep on going. I need all the motivation and energy I can get!
Inspiring pep talk. Funny I was embarrassed to fail so I didn’t try much. Now I try more because if I do fail, I have a great story. Weird how life works. Great point about it’s not true that only smart and connected people succeed. It’s the hard workers. My favorite recent story is Kobe Bryant. Top of his game, the Lakers had a tough loss, he came back in the opponent’s gym and practiced some more. Amazing work ethic? Psychological warfare? Maybe both, but that story show to me why the Black Mamba is so successful.
Failure stories are wonderful, bc we have all been there. It’s our continued search for victory which keeps most of us going!
This article is AWESOME! Over time, I have learned to view fear and anxiety as motivators. Whenever doubt creeps in, I use it to push me forward. Albert Ellis, a world renowned psychologist said that every difficult,y except death, is at worst, 100% inconvenient!
Great topic! I was reading HBR last night in Barnes and Nobel, and the entire edition was about Failure. I think failure is such a huge part of success, but so many people either fear failure too much to go forward, or don’t learn from failure. Thanks for the motivation!
Great advice. Sometimes it’s so hard to get back up again after dealing with failures and setbacks. The best part is looking back later on after going through tough times and feeling proud about everything you went through and overcame.
Spot on Sam! I use to believe that only super smart people became rich… at least until some of my friends became rich right in front of me. After that experience, now I believe too!
Right, it is always the average Joe you know who does well which makes one believe anybody can do well as a result. Everything is relative!
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We live in an age where anyone can gain wealth. By picking a plan and staying with it most people can get to the level they want to as long as their realistic. While most won’t become Bill Gates or Warren Buffet anyone can become an engineer, doctor or a successful entrepreneur. One must be tenacious in their pursuit.
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Awesome article Sam! I have found that believing in myself as I am older is the only way I can get something done.
A fantastic article with a great message, Sam. I’ve come to find that the biggest obstacle to my achieving what I hope to achieve is myself, and this is the sort of kick in the rump message I need to hear every so often to get off my duff and get some real work done. Thanks very much for sharing this!
interesting post. there are several variables that constantly change the equation – i.e. new bloggers, bloggers who quit mid way, demographic shifts, global vs. local reach of your website, all kinds of things. it’s important to remember that there is a fresh set of information consumers that rise day in day out, and we need to position ourselves well enough to capture a percentage of that when they hit the web looking for the information we offer.
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Sam, you are the eternal optimist and I agree with your post. Failure is only temporary and there is enough room for many to be successful. That’s why helping and supporting one another is so vital.
[…] to ensure we have built the best relationships possible that will stand trying times ahead.I’ve always believed since the beginning that the Yakezie Network would grow to be something special. How could our […]
You’re so right — I also used to believe that only super smart or extraordinarily talented people became ultra-successful (in whatever way a person might define success: Olympic athlete, Broadway singer, city mayor, millionaire, Harvard student). As I grew older, I saw many of my friends — who are “ordinary” smart and live well-balanced lives — gain admission to Harvard, Columbia and Yale and start successful companies. This was a huge wake-up call to me: that a person who’s not a genius and who balances work with fun can still be an immense success.
Great tips. I need to utilize “what’s the worst that could happen” to take more risks and not feel so stressed about things. Using past failures is a great source of motivation to overcome obstacles too and challenge ourselves to try harder and never give up. -Sydney
Great article, Sam! I totally agree that failure is only temporary. Always reach for the top, and try new things. If things don’t turn out as you expected it to, you can always be proud of yourself that you tried and gave your best shot.