It’s All A Matter of Perspective

Remember when you were a kid – how certain places and things seemed to hold such a fascination for you? For example, my husband is the son of a man who made the military his career. Because of that, he spent the majority of his childhood moving from place to place. During this time his family was able to return to his grandparents’ farm only occasionally. His memories of returning to the farm stretch back to his earliest childhood, and because it was the closest thing to a “hometown” that he had, his memories of it are very vivid. One particular thing he recalls is how he loved climbing a very large pile of stones that comprised the base of his grandparents’ fireplace. In reality, the base was only about three feet high, but to a young child it must have seemed as formidable as Mt. Everest! As he got older and taller, climbing this “mountain” of stones became much less of a challenge. As an adult, he recalls the awe he experienced when he first encountered one of the first great challenges of his young life. He’s amused when he remembers how his own natural growth changed this impossible task into first an achievable goal and eventually into one that was so easily accomplished it was virtually effortless. So it is with our own business ventures. When we first begin, it is only natural that we experience a learning curve. Tasks that seem quite difficult to master in the beginning become much easier once we learn and grow in our own understanding of what it takes to achieve success. It is so easy to give up during this early phase – and many often do. In fact, statistics reveal that about 80% of the people who express a desire to own their own business will never actually do anything more than talk about it – they will do absolutely nothing to accomplish the goals that they claim they so desperately seek. Of the 20% that do begin a business, the great majority will give up before achieving any success. It doesn’t have to be this way if people keep everything in perspective. Realize that there will be challenges along the way. Take the “can do” attitude we all had as children and we can achieve so much more than we ever dreamed if we simply take it as a given that we will do whatever it takes, no matter how difficult, to accomplish our goals. If we climb the stone mountain to success one boulder at a time, we can’t possibly fail to reach the summit!