It never ceases to amaze me how many people think success comes with no effort.
Maybe they know there’s effort involved, but at the littlest bump in the road they give up on their dreams.
Most entrepreneurs, especially those I work with, start their business to fulfill a dream and what they believe to be their life’s work.
Many have no idea what’s in store. The ups and downs, the good times and bad times, the ins and outs.
It Takes Work
The fact is, to succeed at anything takes an incredible commitment. You must have the willingness to stick it out. There are bound to be times you question your sanity as to why you thought you would succeed in the first place. I know I did… more than once.
In the nearly 20 years I’ve owned my business there were plenty of times I wondered what the heck I was thinking by starting a business. There were times when I wondered if I would be able to pay the mortgage. Other times I had to literally count my pennies if I wanted to go to the dollar movie. Today, it’s a completely different story.
To say I paid my dues is an understatement. There were many very early mornings, late nights, sixteen and eighteen hour days to learn my craft, build my business and create a sustainable business.
Not everyone realizes this. Many mistakenly believe that I just “figured it out.”
Watch Your Thoughts
Something that definitely helped me get through the uncertain times was filling my mind with possibility thinking by listening to inspirational speakers.
My taste in inspirational speakers rangers from Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, Gay Hendricks, Joel Osteen and virtually anyone who triggers that space in me that encourages me to live my life fully yet, with responsibility and accountability.
One of my very favorites is Joyce Meyer. Joyce is a powerful speaker and one of the most influential evangelical ministers ever.
A few months back I had the opportunity to see her live. I was in awe of the experience.
It was like being at a rock concert. Parking my car, in and of itself, was an experience. There were dozens of parking attendance directing people in the parking area.
Once inside the massive arena, we were directed to available seating in the 20,000 seat building.
The buzz of excitement could be felt throughout the building. There were product concessions, food concessions and security guards keeping people from blocking doorways and entries.
Just before the star attraction came on stage we were treated to a light show and high energy band.
This kind of experience is not uncommon for anyone who attends a Joyce Meyer conference. It’s beyond amazing.
But… it wasn’t always this way. When Joyce first got her calling to minister, little did she know what was in front of her.
For nearly 20 years there were multiple obstacles, she was ostracized by family members because women were not meant to be ministers, she was kicked out of the church she was attending, she and her husband Dave would drive all night from one location to another to speak to small groups of followers, and on many occasions would sleep in their car because they didn’t have the money to get a hotel room.
Fast forward to today. She has written over 70 books, conducts close to fifteen mega conferences annually, and reaches a potential audience of 3 billion people worldwide with her Enjoying Everyday Life® broadcast.
Time magazine selected Joyce as one of the most influential evangelical leaders in America.
Imagine if she would have quit?
- Did she ever feel like quitting? Likely she did.
- Did she ever get frustrated? Without a doubt.
- Did she ever question her sanity? She has actually talked extensively about this in her conferences.
So what kept her going?
Her calling to do her life’s work, her willingness to move through the tough times, her realization that her gifts WOULD make a difference for others.
What’s Your Calling?
It’s the same for any of us who have a calling; one that will be expressed through our businesses.
It has been said, “There is no such thing as failure in business. There’s only quitting.”
Will building a business be tough? Yes! If anyone tells you otherwise they are full of it.
As you move forward be sure to have a vision, have a plan and most of all, show up every day and do the footwork.
What are your thoughts on this? Does success simply “happen” or do you have to work at it? Comments welcome.
Wow! I can’t believe you mentioned Joyce Meyer. I’ve heard many women who honor the positive impact her teachings have had on their lives.
Your question “Does success ‘happen’ or do you have to work at it?” creates another question: How do you measure success?
Bottom line = success is not what you DO, but who you ARE
Building personal skill sets (e.g., communication) obviously takes work. Our favorite all-around success coach is Dani Johnson. Her teachings and First Steps to Success weekends have transformed our family and helped equip us to reach our goals. We still invest in ourselves and learn from others, too–including you. 🙂
Great article Kathleen! If the calling to help others breakthrough and create the lives of their dreams wasn’t so strong in me I would definitely be questioning my sanity. Some of my friends certainly have – in a good way. What helps me stick to it is celebrating the many daily, weekly or monthly successes that perhaps only I will ever know about. Those ‘one time only’ days when I reach a certain goal, really are only one day events – part of the grander journey that brings the fulfillment of doing what I came here to do. Giving equal weight to those other days that made that goal possible make it more fun for me and motivate me to keep going. Certainly getting the kind of help I need to make it happen is key! It makes me think of Samuel Goldwyn’s famous quote: “Give me a couple of years and I will make that actress an overnight success.”
Thanks Wendy. Yes, it really makes a difference when our calling is soooooo strong. Thanks for your comments.
Hi Kathleen, I made a comment when I emailed feedback on your blog, but wanted to add to it here. Recently, I have felt a bit like Joyce did, in being gently nudged/pulled/directed to a new direction in life that I don’t necessarily feel is a direction i want to go but sensing that it is God’s leading nonetheless. I wonder sometimes though if our calling to do God’s work will necessarily lead us into a business path that sustains us financially, so am not sure how a person reconciles the two? Your thoughts?
I believe God works in mysterious ways. I also know that our calling may have nothing to do with business, but if we completely trust the process, we will see the opportunities to be in good financial shape.
There are times a solution for something in right in front of someone, but because it wasn’t in their plan or on their vision board, they ignore it. For example, say someone gets a calling to do animal rescue. So they move in that direction, but they still have responsibilities such as children to feed, rent to pay, bills to pay.
At the same time they are following their calling, a job opportunity shows up, which is also exactly what they needed, but they say, “Oh no, not in my plan of my calling because it has nothing to do with animals.”
It could be they just missed something that would have allowed them to more fully follow their calling, but because it wasn’t directly linked to rescuing animals they ignored it.
Nothing in life is black and white.
WOW Kathleen, my two fave spiritual leaders are Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen. I’d go as far as to say they’ve molded me into the Spiritual person I am today and are responsible for my relationship with God.
I’ve never had the privilege of seeing Joyce Meyer live YET, but I have been to 4-5 LIVE events with Joel Osteen. The last time was a few years ago at the NEW Yankee Stadium in NYC.
– A bit of Divine Inspiration ~Joel blessed the stadium and the Yankees won the series that year! 😉 Joel’s events too, are Rock Concert Status.
– I’m so excited… Joel Osteen in coming back to New York City on June 7, 2014. I am already looking forward!
– One of my greatest dreams is to attend a Joyce Meyer event live!
– Thanks so much for sharing Kathleen!
Thanks for Sharing Roz.