Believe it and achieve it – well, not quite!

Many folks have heard about having a positive attitude but is that all there is to being successful?  The old addage 'Believe it and achieve it' seems to have been kicked around a little too much in my view. And if it were strictly true then many more people would achieve success in their chosen endeavour.

But having said that, having a fair bit of simple belief and motivation can carry you a long way. Your reasons for what you're up to mean a heck of a lot, especially when you're self-employed or running a small business.

And in few other areas is your belief and motivation tested more than when you run a business or you're self-employed.

When you run a business you have to absolutely believe that what you are doing is going to work, And that you will be able to make a success of your activities.

But have a think about this:

If you've ever been in any kind of sales role you will understand that believing in the product that you are selling is vital. You also have to have confidence and belief in your ability to make sales.

Without any of these key components you will not likely succeed because selling is very much about belief and confidence (more than skill much of the time).

But there is a huge difference between working in sales role and being self-employed.

That difference is that when you work for someone else you normally have a boss who will help you and support you and usually guide you in the right direction.

When you're on your own you simply don't have that, you are the boss, you have to find your own motivation, belief and encouragement.

And that's where many people who start their own business fall down.

When things get tough, and they undoubtedly will, unless you have strong motivation and absolute belief in your enterprise you will almost certainly start to flounder (and in all probability).

So, what can you do to try and ensure that you believe in what you're doing and have faith in your business and/or abilities?

One of the most important things to realise very early on is the reason or reasons why you're doing this in the first place. This is fundamentally your motive, from which motivation comes. Without this motivation you are at a disadvantage to begin with.

Now your motive doesn't have to be anything high and mighty. It could be as simple as “I don't want to work for anyone else”. But whatever reason you have for doing what you do it needs to be very clear in your mind. Because in the tough times this should spur you on to take action despite how you feel at the time.

Personally I have a number of reasons for having a business, one of them is that I really don't want to work for anyone else. Another is that I love having the freedom to steer my own career rather than having to rely on someone else's pay or promotion structure.

I like being the captain of my own ship, so to speak.  And last summer I was able to just have a few hours off to watch our oldest daughter compete in her school sports day. I was only one of three parents there but it was great not having to ask for permission.

But do I struggle? Are there times when my motivation and belief aren't so great? Do I sometimes think that maybe I should just get a job?

The simple answer is yes, like everyone else I have times of doubt. I don't want to scare you off if you want to be self-employed but it really is like an emotional roller coaster at times.

But when I get a big hug my three-year-old daughter or a welcome-home kiss from my partner I'm reminded that there are very good reasons/motives for putting up with the stress that being your own boss can sometimes bring.

And these reminders give me the motivation to work hard, to focus and to have belief that what I'm doing is worthwhile.

And the key element here is knowing what it is that drives you. Without this there will be little motivation and you will struggle to truly believe in what you're doing. And those reasons need to be your reasons, you won't find much motivation and faith in someone else's.

So, if you want to “believe it and achieve it” it you need to start with the reasons why you would want to achieve in the first place.

For a little more on belief and achievement read my piece called "you have to make change happen, not just hope for it"