IF You Belive In Your Plan Do WHATEVER It Takes

I was coaching someone at a Fortune 100 company recently when the conversation turned to what Seth Godin refers to as “the dip” (he has an excellent book about it.)  We were talking about the time we all confront in our careers where we have to push through to reach our goals.

This concept is a reality for everyone, except those completely comfortable living a mediocre life.  Pushing through can be challenging enough, but add to that others telling you it is not worth it, oh boy.  People have the propensity to hold others back and discourage them (rather than work to achieve their own goals) in a camouflaged way that seems like caring.  We will decide to believe or not to believe we can achieve our goal at the point of their input based on how strongly we believe in what we want and what we can do.

Further exacerbating the issue is the misconception that life is supposed to be easy.  We live in a culture that has a lot of media telling us life should be easy.  That we will obtain our goals without a hitch if we believe enough and we are on the right path.  Don’t get me wrong, right thinking is key in the process; however, if everyone in your path is not of the ‘right thinking’ mind, you will have challenges.  Sometimes big challenges involving money and/or support. This is “the dip” and it is where the rubber hits the road.

When you hit challenges it is all about perspective.  Challenges are your opportunity to be great.  Challenges are gifts that hone your capabilities and resources.  Challenges are teachable moments that provide you with perspectives and outlooks you might not otherwise have.  Do they suck?  Maybe…probably.  Are they worth it…definitely.

So what if you have to suck it up for a while.  Reaching goals requires pushing through, regardless of what others think. Enjoy the following story about an entrepreneur who did what it took to build her empire.   All of a sudden cleaning houses doesn’t seem so bad does it when the end game is $20 million.

http://littlepinkbook.com/little-pink-book/career/the-cupcake-queen