Many times when people think about starting a business, they cherish the idea of the freedom and control it would bring, but are often overcome by fear. ‘How will I find customers?’, ‘How do I find the money I need?’, ‘Will anyone really buy what I’m selling?’ are typical of the questions we run through our minds as a wave of fear spills over us leaving us grateful for the job we loathe.
Many of us believe ‘it takes money to make money’, yet many of the greatest success stories are people that had little or no money at the beginning of their journey. We convince ourselves that we need ever increasing amounts of education, but Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, didn’t complete college, Sir Richard Branson never went. Many of the businesses you pass by L.A. freeways are owned by people who possess only high school diplomas.
So what is it? What makes some people successful and others not? We believe it boils down to three main things:
They have a clear idea what they want to make or do to start their business.
They believe they can figure out anything.
They understand, actually or intuitively, how the mind works.
First, to have a clear idea what your business should be, focus on what you love. Learn all about it: how it’s made, bought and sold. Study businesses that do what you love. Talk to them about how they got started. If possible, work with some of these companies to get paid to learn the craft.
Second, whether you believe it or not, you can figure out anything related to your business, if you’re willing to seek and accept help. Not good at hiring? Get a good human resources consultant. Hate dealing with numbers and billing? A good bookkeeper and accounting software can minimize the amount of time you need to spend. The point is, if you take honest stock of your strengths and interests you will be able to find others with the expertise you don’t have but need to operate your business.
Finally, know how your mind works. Your mind is divided into the conscious and the subconscious. The conscious part, if you’re lucky, directs your activities, makes decisions, and interacts with people. It is your connection with the world, rooted in time and driven by events.
Your subconscious is where you hold your true opinions about the world and yourself. It is the place where dreams begin and problems are solved. Your subconscious mind sees everything, even things you are not aware of. It sees the plans you’re making, so it knows what your conscious mind thinks should be done. It also sees the problems that are blocking you. But it has something else, the ability to make connections to everything you know, have experienced and believe. The subconscious mind is literally a supercomputer at our personal disposal if we simply learn how to use it.
How do you tap this hidden resource? One that is works even when you sleep? It may be easier than you think. The key is to learning how to feed your subconscious mind.
For example, Thomas Edison used to write down, in a brief statement, a problem he was having. Then he would take a nap. Clasped in his hand closest to the edge of the couch was a key. When he finally achieved deep sleep, his hand would relax and the key would fall to the floor. The clanging would rouse him and he would sit up and write down the thoughts in his head. He would nearly always have a solution to his problem. But something else would also happen. He would get potential solutions to other problems that we’re rattling around inside his mind as well as new ideas for completely unrelated things.
You can feed your subconscious by making your dreams and plans evident in the real world. If you’re starting a business, writing even a basic business plan gives your subconscious mind a framework to hang ideas on. Writing down and prioritizing problems as they occur, without unduly focusing on them, places them in your subconscious mind so it can begin working on them.
Understanding that we really solve our problems with our subconscious mind should make clear that planning is important. Planning provides activities for our conscious mind to work with. They provide opportunity for us to build self esteem by achieving goals. And most importantly, they provide our subconscious mind with the information we want it to work on.
Try an experiment. Keep a small notebook and pen with you at all times. List your problems on one page of the book. Whenever an idea surfaces, write it down on a different page. Compare what is in your book with your list of problems and over time you will find that you are solving your own problems without even working at it.
Doing what you love, having faith you’ll figure out how to deal with challenges and knowing how to solve problems without working hard are three qualities that can make you successful. When practiced properly, they become self reinforcing and bring an even bigger benefit: peace, prosperity and clarity.
Peter and Lydia Mehit have been helping entrepreneurs and small to medium size business design, fund and optimize their businesses since 2004. You can reach them at 909-336-8284.
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