Building a Business: What is Holding You Back in Taking Your Business to the Next Level?

You dream your dreams, you write down your goals, you start to set things into action. Then you run into some obstacles and you get frustrated. You start to lose confidence in your abilities. Has this ever happened to you? Of course, it has. It happens to everyone. It is the number one reason why businesses fail. It can be so easy to get caught up in the challenges and lose sight of the big dream. You will run into obstacles in any endeavor you start; the key is to learn how to jump over them instead of using them as an excuse for holding you back.

While people may come up with many excuses for not accomplishing their goals, there are only two emotions that govern all our actions. Those emotions are fear and pleasure. Everything we do is based off of these two emotions.

Think about it. Why do people get married? They are either in love with the person they are marrying and are getting pleasure from being with them, or they are afraid to be alone. Or they are afraid of not following a traditional family path.

Why do some mothers want to stay home with their children? They want the pleasure of watching their children grow and learn. They are also afraid of who their children will grow up to be if someone else (ie. Day Care) is raising them. They are afraid of missing out on their kid’s childhoods while they are still little.

Why are some people unwilling, or seemingly unable, to quit their current job to find the time to pursue a business venture or passion? Even if they don’t enjoy their job, they enjoy the pleasure of the income and security of their current job. They are afraid that if they quit their current job, they won’t make enough money or that if they quit and start a business, their business may not be successful.

Whenever you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen. If it isn’t happening for you, then deep down inside you haven’t decided that you want it bad enough. The fears you are experiencing in regards to taking your business to the next level are stronger than the pleasure you think you will obtain from growing your business.

What are your fears?

Here are some common fears. Fear of failure if your business idea isn’t a success. Fear of ridicule, embarrassment, or shame. Fear of taking time away from your kids and your family. Fear of being too busy. Fear of what people will say to you, if you follow a nontraditional path. Fear of being too successful. Believe it or not, this last fear is very common.

As humans, we will always be faced with fears. The key to overcoming them is to face them. A toddler who is learning how to walk may fall and get hurt. That child may be afraid to try again right away, but eventually he will. Everyone capable learns how to walk. The toddler sees the pleasure he will get by facing his fear of falling. He knows that if he wants to have freedom and independence, he needs to be able to move around like the adults around him.

If you want to grow your business bad enough, then you need to come up with all the compelling reasons why your business is going to be a success. You need to see and experience the pleasure you are going to have when your business is making you millions.

Write down in a journal all the pleasures you will receive after your business has taken off. Here are some of the things I wrote down in my journal. Freedom to work when I want, freedom to work from home, money to enjoy vacations and splurging on gifts for my family, the satisfaction of knowing I can accomplish what I set my mind to, the pleasure of hearing others compliment my achievements, pleasure of setting my work schedule around my family’s schedule.
What pleasures are you seeking?

After you’ve written down all the pleasures you can think of, close your eyes. Picture yourself enjoying all those pleasures. What do you see? Who are you with? What do you feel, smell? What does your smile look like? What is your family doing? Where are you vacationing? Where do you live? Picture and imagine as many details as you can. The more details you see, the more real it will become, and the more you will feel the desire to get to that place.

Now on an index card, make a list of the most compelling pleasures you have written down in your journal. Keep this index card somewhere close by where you can look at it EVERY DAY. As you read the index card each day, picture those pleasures like you just did in the previous exercise. The more often you repeat this exercise, the easier it will be for you to move past your fears, overcome them, and become a success!