Mindset for Entrepreneurs: Getting and Staying Motivated

I get it.

It can be hard to stay motivated, with our businesses and with life in general. At one point, we’ve all said to ourselves: “I can’t do this,” “it’s not worth it,” and “I feel like giving up.”

Whatever the “it” is that we feel like giving up on, whether it’s a project, a goal, or something else—you have to realize that all of those negative feelings are just a test. View it as the universe’s way of “weeding out” who can do what—of putting these thoughts in our heads and only letting those who can overcome them succeed.

You can succeed at whatever you want to do. You just have to find out how you can best overcome those “anti-success” feelings. Find what motivates you, and let that be your way out.

So how do you do that? That’s what this chapter is going to focus on.

Here's what to expect:

• What Motivates You?
• How to Give Your Ideas a Chance
• How One Project Killed My Motivation—and What I Learned From It
• A Tale of Two Vacations
• Five Motivation Hacks to Keep You Going

What Motivates You?

What motivates us is different from person to person, from situation to situation, and even from moment to moment. Maybe it’s a quotation. Maybe it’s a person. Maybe it’s just knowing that there are better things to come.

My biggest motivation is my family. I work hard every day to make sure I can be with my family and support them not only financially, but physically (by being present) and spiritually as well.

Way back in 2009, I asked my blog readers what motivates them to continue. Here’s what some of them told me:

A huge thing that helps me to motivate myself is saying, “If so many other people can do it, why can’t I? I can sooo do this! They’re people just like me.”

A better financial future for my family motivates me. I’ve been marketing online since 2006, learned a lot and I’m still learning. I want to be financially free soon.

Making other people feel better about themselves motivates me, and creating new products are the things that motivate me.

My mom throughout my childhood always used to say: “Nothing’s impossible except coming back from the dead.” I always use this as a way to follow through with my goals. Sometimes I’ll talk out loud and say things like . . . “you can do this, Oscar, you can do this.” 🙂 and get right back to work!

For me, money has never been a strong motivating factor. Success certainly can be one, but self-doubt can unfortunately be just as persuasive. So what gets me moving every day? My primary motivation is helping other people. I was laid off a couple of months ago, and probably wouldn’t get off of the couch were it not for my husband and others who depend on me. Knowing that they depend on me, and that it makes a difference to others how I spend my time, is the best motivation for me. And a little good music never hurts, either. 🙂

Knowing that I have advantages in life that a great portion of the world can’t enjoy makes me feel very responsible to make the most of my gifts. That and the horses, dog, and cats that have adopted me.

I try to motivate myself by always improving. Even if it’s just another five pounds on the barbell, an extra blog post, or another word of a foreign language, each little step keeps me going.

What motivates me are the kids I work with and the goal of not having to work full time when I become a parent. 🙂 Simple yet big goals!

I met my first income goal of $1,000 a month from passive/residual sources nearly a year ago, and that was a great milestone for me as a work-at-home mom. My current goal is to build my passive income to $4,000 a month. I’m not there yet, but watching my progress and reminding myself of my goal really helps. I have a progress bar to track my earnings, and I can’t wait util it reaches 100 percent!

As you can see, sources of motivation can take many forms, from big to small.

When you’re trying to build a business, motivation is a valuable resource that can sometimes go missing when you need it the most. Thankfully, I’ve been there and dealt with it, and I’m about to share a few things with you now about what I learned.

How to Give Your Ideas a Chance

There’s a sad truth that’s shared across many of our half-finished projects.

Here is a common experience:

You get incredibly excited about a new business idea or project. Maybe you’ve had it in the back of your head for a long time and something finally clicked inside of you to start working on it. Or, maybe it’s something you just thought of and you want to get it up and running as soon as possible.

At work, in the car, and even in your sleep, thoughts about your new idea race through your brain. You’re not only taking mental notes about the work you need to do but you’re also imagining what it would be like when other people experience your idea and benefit from your creativity and hard work.

You go full throttle with your idea. You work hard, make sacrifices, and get stuff done. Progress is being made and it’s incredibly exciting.

Then, for some reason, the fire dies and the excitement goes away. Work that you were once totally jazzed about now seems like a chore. “What’s possible” is replaced with “what am I doing?” and the progress begins to slow down and production eventually comes to a halt.

Your idea just sits there, half-finished (more or less).

Sound familiar?

If this hasn’t happened to you, you’re one of the “lucky ones.” But for most people this “crank then tank” experience is all too common. Although I’ve taken many of my ideas to launch, I have a slew of others that I’ve started but never followed through with.

More likely than not, some of your ideas are going to fail. But there are ways to improve your chances of success at seeing them through to fruition—if you know the self-defeating mental barriers to look out for. Here are five big ones.

Five Reasons Your Next Big Idea Might Fail

You’ve just come up with an idea, and it’s the BEST idea you’ve ever had. You spend all of your time thinking about it. You eat, sleep and breathe your new idea. After investing a good amount of time and effort, all of a sudden you lose interest, and stop. Does this sound familiar?

This is a common pattern experienced by many entrepreneurs, and it centers around a fear of failure. A lot of times this fear takes the form of one (or more) of the five following thoughts:

• “I’m not getting anywhere.”
• “I don’t know what to do next.”
• “I don’t care anymore. Why bother?”
• “Maybe my idea isn’t so great after all.”
• “That person is doing something similar already, and it’s way better.”

Here are some helpful ways to flyswat these thoughts from your head and get yourself back on track.

1. “I’m Not Getting Anywhere.”

You’ve put in hours of work, but it doesn’t feel like anything is getting done. Maybe things are going wrong, or you just don’t have anything to show for your efforts. Here is what you can do:

Break it down into mini-goals: Turn your goal into a bunch of smaller goals. This gives you the satisfaction of completion after each stage. As you complete each mini-goal you know that you’re one step closer to your main objective. Think about it: how crappy would Super Mario Brothers be if you had to play the game straight through without levels? We get a lot of satisfaction after completing each stage, knowing we’re one step closer to saving the princess and beating the game.

2. “I Don’t Know What to Do Next.”

You have a vision, and you know what your ultimate goal is—you just need to find a way to get there. There are a few things you can do to help you find some direction:

Write Stuff Down: Seeing things on paper organizes the thoughts in our head. Similar to mind mapping, you can visualize your ideas and easily branch off of them to see what your next step should be. In addition you can use a checklist. Writing your steps down in chronological order and checking them off as you go is like having your own personal recipe for success.

Research: Luckily we have tons of information available right at our fingertips. If you run into a problem, just Google it! Chances are, there is someone else in the world who has had a similar situation that has already been answered.

Ask for Help: There’s nothing wrong with asking for advice. Just be polite and ask. I’ve personally emailed and spoke with quite a few experts regarding a number of issues, including blogging and marketing on the internet, and each response has been more than helpful.

Again, Break it Down: You may be thinking in such a large scale that it takes away your focus from the next task. Scale down your thoughts and think in terms of smaller goals so you can easily find some direction. You wouldn’t just take a trip to Paris without knowing how to get to the airport first, would you? Here is a handy quote I like to remember:

“Cinch by the inch, hard by the yard.”

3. “I Don’t Care Anymore. Why Bother?”

For whatever reason, you’ve lost sight of why you are working so hard. When it comes to motivation, there are a number of ways to get it back:

Rewind: Go back to when you first came up with your idea. Why was it so exciting to you? It had to be exciting for a reason, right? Of course! Whether it’s for the potential millions of dollars you could earn, the freedom to spend time with your family in the future, or because your hard work is helping someone else, you should never forget the underlying reasons why you started in the first place.

Motivation Check: When I was a trumpet player in my high school marching band, we’d march up and down the street for hours. When we got tired or bored, the trumpet section leader would yell, “TRUMPETS! MOTIVATION CHECK!” and the rest of us would answer in unison with a previously agreed-upon response. Usually it was, “TRUMPETS RULE!” or something like that, but no matter how geeky it seemed, it hyped us up and got us going again. What’s your “Motivation Check?”

Display Your Favorite Quotes: On my wall, I have a few of my favorite motivational quotes printed and in plain sight. When I get stuck, they can be a quick and easy way to start working again. Here is my favorite: “The Harder I Work, The Luckier I Become.” —Anonymous

Read An Inspirational Book: One of my favorites is Yanik Silver’s Moonlighting on the Internet. Darren from Problogger, who is also a great inspiration for me, is actually in this book too. The stories are great and really motivational. I read them when I’m bored, and I’m usually back on the computer in no time.

Take A Break: It’s amazing how a short break from what you’re doing can make you more productive in the long run.

4. “Maybe My Idea Isn’t So Great After All.”

It’s really easy to believe that all of the work you are doing now will ultimately be for nothing. This is the thought that seems to pop into my head more so than any of the others. It’s definitely a downer, but here’s how you can rise above the occasion.

Think Positive Thoughts: Plain and simple. What good will come from thinking that your idea sucks? None whatsoever. After reading Michael Losier’s Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t, I really believe that both consciously and subconsciously people’s thoughts dictate the reality of their lives. Think positive thoughts, and positive things will happen to you.

“Reach the Hole”: This is a golf term I think to myself when I’m putting. If I don’t reach the hole, I don’t even give myself a chance to sink the putt. Make sense? If you sell yourself short, your idea will have no chance to succeed. Two words: pet rock.

5. “That Person Is Doing Something Similar Already, and It’s Way Better.”

If you find your idea isn’t the most unique in the world and there are others like it in operation today, there’s absolutely no need to worry. It’s actually a great sign! That means your idea was such a good idea, that others are using it to make money already. There’s a market for it, and you’re about to join in on the fun.

The Dry Cleaners: How many dry cleaning places are there in any major city? To give you a rough number, I a quick search of San Diego dry cleaners brings up 605 results. Now how could these dry cleaners all be running a business in San Diego? The answer is because it’s a good business! If you share an idea with someone that’s successful already, it’s a good sign that if you join that market, you could be successful too.

Make It Better: If you’re worried about why people will come and visit your website, use your services or buy your products, understand that people will come to you because you have something more to offer than your competition. Maybe it’s a certain product or bonus that only you offer. Maybe it’s the unique content in your niche blog. Maybe it’s the user experience or customer service that only you provide. If you’re exactly the same as the others, you’ll just disappear. If you offer something more or different, you’ll stand out.

So many projects and ideas are cut short not because of the quality of the actual idea, but because of these five defeating thoughts that cross our minds. True, there can be bad ideas—but you’ll never know if your idea’s good or not if you let the fear of failure prevent you from putting in the work.

Here’s one in particular that I’d like to dissect for you.

How One Project Killed My Motivation—and What I Learned From It

One skill that’s been incredibly important to my business is graphic creation and manipulation skills (i.e., Photoshop skills). I’ve saved a ton of time and money by being able to quickly create and manipulate an image on my own and use it right away as opposed to hiring someone and paying them to do it for me, which could take several days and a lot of back and forth.

Back in 2011, I had the bright idea to create a course that included tutorials that let you create different kinds of graphics. Whether it was a banner ad, a Twitter background, a Facebook cover image, or something else—you’d select the graphic you needed and my tutorials would walk you through, step-by-step, how to create it. I would even include some templates to make things even easier.

This was the basis of StepbyStepImages.com.

For three weeks I was so amped about my idea. I created mind maps, outlined tutorials, and started building the site. (You can still see my progress on the deserted website above.)

After three weeks I had created the perfect “shell.” It was sort of like a brand new house: empty, but ready to be furnished.

Then, it was time to furnish the site and create all of the tutorials. That’s when things started to slow down.

A Change in Course

I started by mind-mapping about 60 different graphic design tutorials. For each, I wanted two versions: one where I show how to create or edit the image in Photoshop, and then another where I show how to create or edit the image in Gimp, a free online image editing app. That’s 120 different screen recordings.

I started to screen record the first video and with edits, re-shoots, branding, and effects, it took about 30 minutes to complete a high-quality five-minute tutorial.

I didn’t expect it to take that long—and I still had 119 more to go.

That’s when things started to slow down. A lot. Something happened mentally, and I just wasn’t excited anymore. It was a feeling I almost had in an instant and my whole mindset about the project changed. I only created one more tutorial after that first one, and since then, nothing.

What Happened?

This sort of thing happens to me every so often, although lately I’ve been very good about completing big projects before moving on to the next. One example of this is my podcasting tutorial, which took over thirty hours to complete, and since then I have spent countless hours creating the books and courses that are now some of my best selling ideas.

With Step-by-Step Images, however, I just didn’t feel compelled to work on it anymore, and even after some time the drive to work on it never came back.

I’m sure there were a lot of factors involved, but here are some thoughts on what happened:

I Got Overwhelmed

Being overwhelmed with the work that lies ahead before an idea becomes a reality is probably the most common cause for dropped, unfinished projects.

The excitement in the beginning can cloud the truth about how much work actually needs to be done, and so halfway through when you finish the work you enjoyed doing, the rest of it seems like climbing Mt. Everest.

It’s tough, though, because everyone says to “just take action” and “go for it”—and to an extent I agree—but at the same time, some smart, initial planning and general reality checking needs to be done before diving into anything.

The best thing to do is to familiarize yourself with what work may lie ahead so that you’ll know what to expect. Unexpected things will happen, of course, but the more you learn about what you’re about to do the better chance you have to follow through.

How do you best familiarize yourself with stuff that’s new to you? Talk to other people and read about it.

Business Cards First

For some reason, when I was in high school, my friends and I all had business cards. It was “cool” to have a business card with your name on it and some of your skills listed. Of course, none of us had actual businesses! But we were cool because we had business cards, right?

For Step-by-Step Images, it seems I had adopted the mentality of business cards first, business second. When you think about it, that’s silly. Unfortunately, this is what a lot of people do. We get an idea but build everything around it before getting into the meat of what that idea is really all about.

If I had simply started with recording the tutorial videos, I would have learned just how much time each one would take and maybe I wouldn’t have wasted three weeks and a ton of energy on something I would eventually put aside.

If I had finished the tutorials first, you can be darn sure I’d have gotten everything I built in that first three weeks up and running fast. Validate the business idea first, and the rest will fall into place. The business cards will come when you’re ready.

How many “business cards first” ideas have you done that you’ve never finished?

All of It?

I didn’t need to create all 120 tutorials before launching Step-by-Step Images. And really, I shouldn’t have tried to. I could have started with fewer tutorials and still made paying customers happy, and they’d have been even happier down the road when new tutorials came out.

This is along the same lines as the advice Dane Maxwell shares in SPI Podcast episode 46:

Let’s say, for example, I’d started with just the Photoshop tutorials. I could have added the Gimp tutorials later as a value-add and made a big announcement about it. Right there, that would have cut away half of the tutorials I needed to build before launch.

Then, maybe I could have eliminated a couple of the larger categories, like banner ads, for which there were already many online tools to help people create them. I could then focus on fewer, stronger, and more unique tutorials that were in demand.

The lesson here is that thinking about every single feature and function of your product or service is smart, but you don’t need all of those things ready before you launch. What are the core things that people need and would be happy to pay for? Focus on those, and then add to it later. You’ll make a better product, and be motivated to get it done.

I Had Too Many “Outs”

When I started shooting tutorial videos for Step-by-Step Images, it was at the same time I had some other exciting projects going on. A niche site I’d built was gaining traction, starting to earn hundreds of dollars per month and was growing exponentially. A few weeks prior, I was contacted by a Hollywood producer about potentially working on a film as the Director of Web and Social Media, which I eventually agreed to do.

So what happens when you work on a project and it gets to a point where it becomes overwhelming and challenging? And you also have other more exciting things going on? You shift your focus to what’s exciting.

I remember a story someone once told me about personal training. Most personal trainers charge you per session. If you don’t make a scheduled session, you have to pay anyway, but they give you one or two “free passes” per month where they won’t charge you.

My buddy would always tell his personal trainers, “No free passes. If I don’t show up, charge me, no matter what!” He didn’t want any outs—that thing he could fall back on in case something didn’t work out. It’s risky to have outs, even though they are usually there to help you.

Why?

Because mentally if you know that safety net is there, you’ll likely start making excuses. Let’s say, for example, you were to wake up ten minutes before a session starts one day. If you have that freebie, you might say, “Well, I have a freebie, I’ll just fall back asleep.” If you didn’t have that freebie you’re more likely to jump out of bed and sprint out the door like you’re going to miss the bus. Next time, you’ll make sure to double check your alarm clock from that point forward.

In my situation, the other projects I had going on were my outs. I didn’t need to succeed with Step-by-Step Images because I already had all of this other stuff going on, and other things that were successful and generating an income.

It’s no wonder the one moment I sprint up to a hurdle, I turn around and walk away.

So what should I have done instead?

Firstly, I needed to stop thinking of my other projects as outs.

GreenExamAcademy.com, my first online business, was successful because I had no choice but for it to succeed. I’d just been laid off and had no other options, including getting another job in the architecture industry, which was impossible. Does this mean I should get rid of everything else I have going on? Of course not, but it means mentally I should treat them as separate projects and want each one to succeed separately just the same.

Secondly, I should have committed. Looking back, I can’t remember a time when I fully committed to the project. It was the idea I got so excited about I started working on it before truly thinking about it, and so when I got to that stopping point it actually wasn’t very hard for me to just move onto something else.

And lastly, I should have pre-sold the idea. If you promise delivery by a certain date you could take pre-orders for your project (potentially with an early-bird discount) and use that money as a resource to help you finish your project, or at least as motivation to get things done and done on time, or else you’re going to have a lot of very angry customers.

It’s always tough to admit to failure, but life is a learning process. I share these experiences in the hope that they’ll help you in some way.

Think about the projects you’re working on right now. Have you truly committed to them?

Do you have any outs that could take your focus away from what you should really be focusing on?

Remember, half-finished projects aren’t the same as eating half of a meal or finishing half of a marathon. You still get a benefit from each of those things, but the sad truth about your half-finished project is that in reality, it’s nothing. You can’t earn 50 percent on a project that’s only 50 percent complete. You earn nothing until that project is available to the end user.

Something else that can really throw a wrench in your productivity: leaving work behind and then returning to it. How to handle the post-vacation blues? That’s what we’ll talk about next.

A Tale of Two Vacations

In 2013, I went on an AMAZING vacation with my family that we’d planned for over a year: a seven-day Disney cruise to the Caribbean preceded by a day exploring Universal Islands of Adventures, where The Wizarding World of Harry Potter lives.

As I was planning this trip and making sure all of the details were taken care of—from passports to having the iPad charged for the long plane ride—there was one thing that was worrying me the most.

No, it wasn’t pirates taking over the ship (although Captain Hook did take over the ship for ten minutes during one of the deck shows). What worried me was wondering if the same thing would happen after this trip that happens after almost all of the vacations I’d taken in the past: 

Difficulty getting back into work mode.

Some people call it the post-vacation blues, and it’s a very real thing.

Getting back into the routine can seem like the toughest thing in the world to do, especially after a good vacation of rest and relaxation, but you’ve got to give yourself the best chance to get back into the thick of it. When earning a passive income, business can continue to run like normal, both during the vacation and for some time after, but eventually you’ll want to get back in the right mindset to be productive again, which is hard.

This was a topic I brought up in one of my mastermind groups a couple of days before I left for vacation, and I learned a few important things:

You should expect post-vacation blues to happen. It’s almost impossible to avoid, and getting back into work mode on day one after you return is not something you should expect to do.

A vacation may be X days long, but you should expect your total time off to be X + a few more days to get back into your routine back at home. It could be one day, or several days depending on your needs and your ability to shift from vacation to work mode, but you should plan for time off that’s longer than your vacation.

Before you go on vacation, leave yourself something exciting, but not too daunting, for after you get back. Small wins and just getting started can go a long way to get you back on track.

But don’t leave yourself too much to do when you get back. I made that mistake when I left for a different trip earlier that year—a three-day bachelor party that I’d planned for my best friend.

I didn’t write any posts ahead of time, and I knew that when I got back it was time for me to write my monthly income report. That particular month was my first six-figure month, and one that I knew was going to take a while to write.

I could have written it before I left, but instead I gave it to Future Pat, which was not a good decision. The post took four to five times longer to write, and published late.

I learned my lesson from that experience, and before the Disney vacation later that year, I scheduled two different podcast sessions to go live while I was gone and left myself with a fun article about post-vacation blues to write when I got back. Much easier to do, and I knew that after I hit the publish button, I’d be back into work mode like I had never left—or at least very close.

Before you learn how I made sure I was even more ready for the post-vacation blues after another big trip a few years later, check out this AskPat episode with Tom, who’s wondering how to stay motivated once he’s already achieved a level of success:

Post-Vacation, Take Two

In 2016, I came back from another amazing family vacation in Australia. And, you know what?

I came back more fired up than ever.

When I was in Australia, it was almost the new year, and I couldn’t stop thinking about 2017 and the projects I had already started to plan, from my Smart from Scratch course, to my second book, and even my fitness and health goals.

Knowing those tasks and goals were already laid out on the other side of my vacation was a huge help. It inspired me to, after a day of jet lag, get right into things. I also knew what my first steps were going to be, which was really important.

The last thing you want to do is start a new block of time (i.e. after a vacation), and say to yourself, “Okay, now what do I do?”

I made it a goal in 2017 to get rid of those moments, from the big moments, like after a vacation, to the small moments, like when I go into Monday knowing it’s my writing day. On those Mondays, as an example, the Google Doc is there and open, ready for me to start writing, sometimes with information or relevant comments in there from my team to help me get started.

We had a lot of fun in Australia! But not only was I able to have fun, I was able to feel good about taking that time off from work because I had planned ahead to make sure everything was in order when I returned.

I was even more prepared to handle the post-vacation blues after the 2016 Australia vacation than I was after the 2013 Disney Cruise.

A big reason was because I’d asked friends on Twitter what they do to get rid of post-vacation blues, and got some very good answers. Here are a few of them:

Organize the space I work in. Takes away the feeling of overwhelm and recharges me to take on what needs to be done.

— Candis Marko (@CandisMarko) October 1, 2013

I start with my very favorite part of work and do that first. Gets me fired up for rest.

— David Cooper (@DavidCCooper) October 1, 2013

I jump right in. If I fly home in the AM, often I go to the office same day. The longer I wait, the harder it is to get bk into it

— christine (@kharise) October 1, 2013

Take a buffer day http://t.co/viPwdw7xBc to get caught up on life so you’re not distracted, really helps me!

— TravelMoreRoads (@TravelMoreRoads) October 1, 2013

I limit the time I spend at work on 1st day back. It helps w/ the transition. 100% focus for 4hrs is better than distraction for 8

— John Corcoran (@JohnCorcoran) October 1, 2013

before and during vacation always pushes me to outsource and automate more. After vacation I always have a stronger business.

— Chocolate Lab Apps (@choclabapps) October 2, 2013

Hopefully by now you’ve got some good ideas for ways to keep yourself motivated when the going gets tough, whether you’re in the thick of a project, or coming off the heels of an amazing vacation and trying to get back into work mode. I have a few more ideas for you in case you still need a little more motivation inspiration.

Five Motivation Hacks to Keep You Going

It’s my hope that the following hacks will prevent you from giving up and help you keep going. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do—just don’t give up, because you could have something special in the works, you just don’t realize it yet.

1. Remember Why You’re Doing What You’re Doing

If my mind tells me to quit, I consciously remember the underlying reason why I put myself in that situation in the first place. This can be a hard thing to do, especially if you’re frustrated, or in pain. But, sometimes all it takes is a conscious effort of just remembering why we’re there to put it all back into perspective and keep us going.

2. Don’t Give Yourself a Back Door

Sometimes, we’re given an option to back out, which makes giving up much easier (and tempting). We should eliminate those options, so we have no choice but to follow through.

For example, many gyms will give you a free training session before you make your decision about setting up a long-term training plan. In addition, they give you the option of getting your money back for any training sessions that you don’t attend.

Like my friend who tells his trainers not to give him any free passes, you can make it harder to opt out. Why not buy three months’ worth of training sessions without taking the free training session, and without the option of ever getting your money back? That way, you won’t be tempted to skip any sessions, and you’ll have the motivation to go and get your money’s worth each and every time.

3. Tell Someone What You Plan To Do Next

By simply announcing what you plan to do next, you feel like you have an obligation to follow through. If you don’t, you might feel that you’re either letting a person or a group of people down, or they’ll see you as a failure (or both).

This is a technique that I’ve used a lot. For instance, I announced that I was writing an ebook before I had even started. This forced me to make sure it would get done. And yes, I got it done. Also, I used to announce what my next blog post will be, even though I didn’t know exactly what that blog post will include. That way, I was sure that it would indeed be written on time.

4. Give Yourself a Deadline

For many people, including myself, if there’s a due date for something, giving up is the last thing on my mind. It’s ingrained in our minds to think this way because of how we were taught in school. If you give up, you get an F. No one wants an F. (We’ll return to this idea in chapter 7.)

So, figure out a due date that will force you to work on your task and write it where you can see it. And, if you’re like me, you may end up with better results because you work better under pressure.

5. Find People With Similar Goals

Find people who share the same goals as you, and be there to support and motivate each other at all times.

When I’m with a person or group of people who want the same thing as I do, giving up doesn’t even cross my mind. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t want to let those people down, or because I’m competitive and don’t want them to get ahead of me—whatever it is, it works.

This is why it’s so much easier to go to the gym, stay on a diet, or build an online business if someone else is doing it with you. For me, that’s the people in my mastermind groups, plus the many people in my audience who inspire me every day. Find someone else, or a group of people with whom you can share your goals and hardships, and help each other out when you need some motivation.

I love my mastermind groups because being a part of them inspires me in multiple ways. A part of me wants to make sure I keep working hard so I don’t let these people down. Another part of me wants to work even harder, so I can keep up with them, or do better, if possible. It’s like a friendly competition, where we all just want to be successful together.

In chapter 6, we’ll talk more about the importance of networking and how to find your own mastermind group.