How to stick to your business goals for the long-term
By, Esther Spina
Business Mindset & Leadership Coach
for Ambitious Businesswomen & Female Entrepreneurs
Inspired by Chapter 11 of my Amazon Best-Selling Book,
What It Takes and Why You Want to Be One,
LIVE A PERSISTENT LIFE!
What do Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and the man Forbes magazine is named after have in common?
All of them faced a significant amount of trauma, rejection, or betrayal in their lives but kept on reaching for the top in spite of it. They were true pioneers in business who refused to let their past heartbreaks define them.
One of the challenges of being an ambitious woman or female entrepreneur is not getting discouraged and throwing the towel in when the going gets tough.
When it seems like all the pressure is on your shoulders to succeed and you’re almost ready to give up, that’s exactly the time to develop persistence.
Learn to look at challenges as a time to test your tenacity.
What does persistence mean in business?
It means that you keep going even when the path is rocky or unclear. It means that you don’t give up or give in, even when you’re worn out and there’s no finish line in sight
Persistence means that you keep going no matter what.
In this blog, I’ll give you 3 ways to stay persistent in business to empower you to succeed as a woman in business through the inevitable pitfalls and hurdles.
per·sist·ence
firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
1. Use Perceived Failures and Adversity as a Launchpad for Growth
The world’s most successful businesswomen will tell you that their failures shaped their success more than anything.
When something doesn’t work out as you’d planned it forces you to get creative, to think outside the box, and to innovate solutions you may not have thought of before. This helps you grow in bigger, unexpected ways.
If you learn to stop taking perceived failures personally, or as a sign that your business idea or goal is doomed to fail, you gain valuable insights to succeed.
From every missed opportunity or setback there is something to be learned to help you get to the next level. All of these challenges help you refine what you want and where you want to go as a woman in business.
Successful entrepreneurs and business women use rejection as fuel to motivate them instead of proof that they weren’t in the right career or industry. By maintaining confidence in their vision they rose to the top of their fields by staying persistent.
2. Silence Your Inner Critic & Stay Focused On Your Goals
In my book, I mention that self-esteem, procrastination, and fear of failure are all ways that we let our inner critic overpower our ambition as businesswomen.
When you feel doubtful or pessimistic about your business goals, it eventually takes a toll on your confidence. And the low self-esteem that results in slowly sabotages your success.
Procrastination is another way to cope with fear. By delaying taking action, you don’t have to face that lingering fear of failure. But, when you delay taking the necessary steps to succeed in your business goals, it’s easy for time to pass you by and for you to completely lose sight of your dreams.
Instead, face your fears head-on. Ask yourself what the worst thing is that could happen then put a contingency plan in place. List all the obstacles you can think of that could arise and how you would handle them if they did. This way your fears become a tangible thing that you can address to limit the overwhelm and allows you to keep moving forward.
No one has all the answers at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey or career in business. You just have to dive in and be willing to learn and adapt as you go.
Perfectionism will keep you stuck at the starting gate paralyzed in fear and the best antidote is to just do SOMETHING. Any move is a step forward to learn from.
3. Refuse to Quit and Keep Going No Matter What
In my book, I mention that Oprah Winfrey was told she wasn’t “fit for TV” as a news anchor, what if she had given up then? She would have left billions of dollars on the table as the host of her own show. And think of all the other women she has healed and inspired in her career.
Being let go by the news station may have been the best thing that ever happened to Oprah, who is now one of the most successful businesswomen of all time. The rejection showed her that she could do it on her own and that she didn’t need anyone else’s approval.
I know you’ve all heard the statistics that almost half of all small businesses fail in the first year. It can be overwhelming to think of branching out on your own or starting a new career path. However, did you know that 90% of billionaires are self-made?
Think back to the times you’ve been rejected in the past — do you ever look back and think you would have actually been miserable if you had gotten that job or opportunity you thought you wanted? Many times not getting what you want is a wonderful blessing in disguise.
If you think about it, you are never really rejected, just redirected to something better!
If you are an ambitious career woman with lofty goals it is completely normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes, or uncertain of your next steps. It’s important to take breaks when needed so that the constant drive towards your goals doesn’t wear you down.
The important thing is not to stop moving forward one day at a time. And often taking a vacation or a weekend off is just what you need to do to refresh your mindset during trying times. This gives you a chance to release stress and recalibrate so you don’t burn out and give up on what you’re striving towards.
Want to hear more about how other female entrepreneurs and businesswomen overcame their greatest defeats to achieve the ultimate success?
For a limited time, you can get my book with inspiring stories of overcoming against all odds,
The Ambitious Woman, What It Takes and Why You Want to Be One,
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