The Quest For Home Business Success
When most of us dive into our first home business venture, we
are filled with visions of wealth, comfort, security and
freedom. We have a general idea of where we'd like to end up
financially, and we work hard to get there. Some of us make it
there quickly, while others may take a little longer. But at
what point would we consider ourselves to be "successful?" Once
we're earning a million dollars a year? Once we can afford that
mansion we've had our eye on? Once we're wearing designer
clothing? Of course, success means different things to different
people.
Perhaps to you, success means earning a little extra money to
help with household extras. To me it might mean earning more. To
someone else, success might have nothing to do with money at
all. They might strive for professional or personal
accomplishments. The meaning of success can vary from person to
person, as can our beliefs about what it takes to truly be
successful.
I had an interesting experience last week. I submitted a request
for work at home success stories to be featured on my website,
and the response was quite surprising. Not one response. That's
right, zero! I submitted this request to several popular
work-at-home communities, and I purposely placed no restrictions
on what "success" meant. I was quite surprised by the lack of
response. Are there NO work at home successes out there? I don't
believe that for a minute; I know there are many, MANY people
working successfully from home. So why wouldn't they want to be
featured? What could prevent them from believing they qualify as
a "success story?"
Income - Many of us don't feel "successful" until we're raking
in massive amounts of money and can afford to buy whatever we
want without glancing at the price tag. While money is certainly
one measure of success, it isn't the only one. Most of us have
an idea of how much we'd like to be earning from our home
businesses, but does it mean we're not successful until we reach
that point? Of course not! We can be successful regardless of
how much we earn. Just because you are earning $500 a month
instead of $50,000 doesn't mean you're not a success. In order
to earn $50,000, you must first earn $500!
Status - If we haven't quite reached the "level" we're striving
for in our home businesses, we may not allow ourselves to feel
like a success. "Once I get 1,000 customers, then I'll be
successful," we say. Or once we get 100,000 subscribers to our
newsletter, or hire our first employees. Whatever status we're
trying to reach, we place requirements upon ourselves and won't
consider ourselves successful until we meet them. The problem
with this is that home businesses (or businesses in general) are
not static. We don't just "get there" and then call it good. We
will always be striving to gain more customers, recruit more
agents, sell more products, earn more money, set goals and reach
them. We will always be pushing ourselves to do more, be more.
This is a good thing!
Perfectionism - We are so much harder on ourselves than we are
on anyone else. Does one little thing keep you from feeling like
a success? Perhaps you're earning as much as you want to with
your home business, but there are also things you struggle with.
Like organization, finances, or coming up with new ideas and
seeing them through. Rather than thinking of yourself as
successful, you allow those little things you don't do perfectly
to hold you back. You berate yourself, "I would be successful if
it wasn't for my messy filing system!" or "Will I ever learn how
to do this right?" No one is perfect. We all have things we're
good at, and other things we're not so good at. Accept that
about yourself. It's really not important to do everything so
perfectly. We can only do our best and have fun with it.
Modesty - It's true that no one likes a braggart. Perhaps the
people who read my request didn't want to appear boastful or
conceited by submitting a success story. While modesty is a good
thing, is it possible to carry it too far? Does being modest
mean we can't take pride in our own accomplishments? Does it
mean we have to hide our success? No. There is a very big
difference between sharing our success and bragging about it.
Braggers try to make themselves appear better than others and
put themselves up on a pedestal, while people who share their
success in a genuine way strive to inspire others. By sharing
our successes, we encourage people to make their own success
stories! We demonstrate that it is indeed possible to be
successful working from home. What a gift that is!
You may be surprised to learn the actual definition of Success:
1) a favorable result; 2) the gaining of wealth, fame, etc. Most
of us use the second definition more often than the first. But
take a close look at that first definition. A favorable result.
How easy is it to attain a favorable result? Very! Just because
your results may not be as large as you'd like them to be
doesn't mean you're not successful. If you've attained ANY
favorable results, you are a Success!
The most important aspect of success is believing we deserve it.
So many of us struggle with worthiness issues. Some of us were
told as children that we'd never amount to anything; we
internalized that message and continue to carry it with us to
this day. Others might be afraid to try because we've never felt
quite "good enough." As soon as we start working toward our
goals, self-doubts come creeping in and our inner critic starts
harping at us: "Who are you kidding? You don't have what it
takes to be successful. Just give it up and get a real job!" So
we sabotage ourselves, create obstacles to block our way, and
continue our never-ending quest for success.
The truth is, we will only be as successful as we ALLOW
ourselves to be. The human mind has amazing power. Whatever we
consistently tell ourselves is what we will create in our lives.
If we don't believe we deserve success, we will avoid it (even
though we trick ourselves into believing we're working toward
it). If we tell ourselves we're not good enough, we will act in
ways that prevent good things from happening to us. The good
news is that this also works in reverse. If we tell ourselves
we're successful, we will be. If we keep affirming that we're
good enough, strong enough, capable enough, we will be. Think
about the significance of that. It means it's ALL WITHIN OUR
CONTROL. Whatever we want to be, we can.
Don't be afraid to embrace your success, no matter how small you
perceive it to be. Remember, any favorable result equals
Success!