Monday Message – COURAGE

COURAGE

If you are like me, at the start of any major undertaking, I feel this little twinge of panic and the question, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?, bounds into my head.

For those of you old enough, you may remember there was a character on SNL television by the name of Stuart Smalley.  Stuart was a big believer in positive affirmations.  A positive affirmation is something you state in the present that may or may not be true now but might be in the future.  For example, when I first started my company, HPISolutions, I had absolutely no sales experience. I was, after all, in operations management for almost 24 years.  I was used to commanding actions and activities and eliciting people to join me in the mission.  I was not used to contacting total strangers and trying to convince them to “buy what I was selling.”  Probably explains why I got hung up on often in the early days.

Well, Stuart used positive affirmations as a way to bolster his courage by saying, “I’m smart enough, I’m strong enough, and gosh darn it, people like me.”  Of course, this was a spoof on SNL, but positive affirmations really do work.  My affirmation was, “I am a GREAT SALESMAN.”  Nothing was further from the truth in those days.  I wrote it on a post-it note, stuck it on my mirror at home and in my car, kept repeating it, and over time, I became what I said I was.

Like everything else in life, attitude counts big towards success.  Overcoming fear, having the courage to move forward, despite the unknowns, depends greatly on your attitude.  Remember the children’s story about the little train?  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can… and he did.

We are getting closer to the launch of my first book, The Eccentric Entrepreneur, and I hope you will include yourself as one of the first to purchase and review the book on Amazon.  I think you will find value in the stories and concepts about being in your own business.

Have a Great Week

Jerry