One thing that stands in the way of success is the inability to believe in ourselves.
We’ve touched on this in the attitude sections, but there’s more to it than just having a positive attitude. You must believe in yourself.
“So how do I do THAT?” You might be asking me right about now. “I’m really not good at very much… So-and-so at my office doesn’t struggle with anything. That’s why s/he succeeds!” I’m sorry—when did the whine-fest start? Who’s bringing the cheese to go with the whine?
Everyone struggles with *something,” whether or not you know what that something is. If you struggle with your self-esteem, then you’re probably comparing yourself to other people and using a measuring stick that’s not even remotely relevant to you as you bash yourself and your own abilities.
The first thing you need to do is sit down with a piece of paper and start to write down the things you are genuinely good at. I mean things like “I brush my teeth twice a day,” and “I’m organized.” For every skill or task that you OWN (and it doesn’t matter what it is), take note. Exclude nothing: there is a way to put those abilities to good use and a way to make it your own personal success story.
Now that you’ve done that, think about things you *love* to do. Make another column on your paper and begin to list things you really enjoy and could do every day for the rest of your life—and not dread going to work. Draw lines between the different things in your two columns that might go together.
On my paper, I’d write “I’m good at organizing things” in one column and “I like to write.” They don’t seem to go together, but what if I began writing about getting organized? What if I started an email list with tips on how to get organized and wrote notes to encourage my subscribers? And then what if I started to talk to companies who would custom-make things for my subscribers to help keep them organized and began seeing profit from all of this?
Would you call that “success?” I would—and there’s a lady in North Carolina who’s done just that. Just ask any of the 250,000 “Flybabies” if the FLYlady is good for them! This woman has created a niche for herself and is success personified.
So are you beginning to see how some creative thinking and listing your skills and passions can come together for success? I hope you’re learning to think outside the box in this exercise because that’s what it takes.
So the moral of this story is that you CAN do this. You CAN succeed at this and you DO have what it takes to be successful. Go work on your lists and remember to think outside the box!
