No matter how much you believe you want to be successful, it’s possible that you are unconsciously doing things that are sabotaging your chances to experience true success. It may be fear of success or fear of failure causing it, but you can nip it in the bud if you know how to recognize it, stop it and turn it around.
1. Learning without Implementing – At some point in the learning process you have to implement. That means you have to do the action you’ve learned in order to receive the benefits of learning something. You can become a career student, but you won’t earn a thing.
2. Not Finding a Mentor / Coach – Everyone needs someone who is positive and on their side but who also knows the steps to success. You can’t rely on your best friend or even your mother for this job. Find someone who is where you want to be and ask them if they’ll mentor you in exchange for some work, or hire a personal business coach who has experience in what you’re trying to do.
3. Focusing on the Wrong Things – It’s easy to go nuts and place your focus on what seems like the right thing at the time (the thing that keeps you busy), but busy work is not necessarily going to earn you a single dime. Do the money-making activities first and do one thing at a time. And remember that micromanaging is overrated.
4. Not Finishing Anything – If you are the type of person who has several projects going at the same time with nothing finished, then you have to stop this behavior. Pick one of the projects most close to being finished and finish it. It will feel good. Misguided perfectionism can make or break a good business.
5. Trying to Reinvent the Wheel – Other people have gone before you and designed and implemented perfection already in most cases. When it comes to certain business practices, it’s important that you don’t try to recreate something that won’t work. Likely someone tried that before and found it didn’t work.
A good example of this is marketing funnels in online marketing. So many people say they dislike them and refuse to use them. Well, these are tried-and-true practices that get results. If you want results, do what the successful people do.
6. Not Ridding Yourself of Self-Doubt – If you suffer from self-doubt, you may need professional help to get you through it. That help can come from a counselor, a coach or a mentor, but you have to find a way to get rid of that nagging feeling. Read the book Overcoming Imposter Syndrome by Elizabeth Harrin.
7. Being Lazy – Most people do not want to think of themselves as lazy, but in all honesty most people are. That’s why as a business owner it’s your job to make it easy for your customers to buy from you and use your services. Understanding that, you have to stop being lazy but you don’t have to be the energizer bunny either. Learn to work smart, not hard.
Don’t sabotage yourself or your success. Instead, take control and make good decisions for yourself and your business. Take steps daily to do what it takes to earn the type of money you want and need to earn.