Contributed post
We often feel there’s a huge difference between successful and unsuccessful people, whereby “successful people” do things a little differently to those that struggle to reach the pinnacle of success.
In fact, have you ever noticed how there are some people who no matter how hard they work they always seem to be struggling, they might have credible plans, but these plans rarely materialise or amount to anything?
The reason for this, is not due to a lack of intelligence or ability, it’s often that they are lacking in one of these three areas:
PLANNING
If you have a business, or are just starting out in business, then there are two ways you can get caught out when it comes to planning. First, is paralysis by analysis where you spend so long planning every intricate detail and possibility that you never get started. Second, you jump into something, blindly, without considering all the angles and putting together a solid plan of action.
It can be helpful, for instance, to check out resources such as bpmonline.com/l/bpm/definition/business-process-automation for inspiration on business processes, in addition to writing a standard business plan and cashflow forecast.
Indeed, there’s a saying by Benjamin Franklin that states if you fail to plan then you plan to fail.
TAKE ACTION
In addition to having a good plan, it’s very important you put that plan into action and move in the direction of your goals… even if you can’t see the entire path, just take the first few steps, and the path will unfold. If you look at anybody that has achieved major success, they didn’t always know how they were going to achieve it to begin with, they just started taking small steps and piece by piece they found their way.
In this sense, you must not fear failure as failure is a feedback mechanism that can be very helpful for course correction; yet so many people fear failure as something suggesting they have done something wrong – when in fact, the more you fail the more you are trying, and learning, meaning the more likely you are to succeed in the end.
INVEST RATHER THAN SPEND
The final differentiator is that successful people tend to invest their money rather than spend it. Some people emotionally treat money like it burns a hole in their pocket, or like a hot potato which they cannot keep hold of.
Successful people understand the power of delayed gratification and invest their money in resources that can provide for them in perpetuity – similar to planting a tree that produces fruit each year, rather than just picking the apples and eating them in the moment.
Therefore, mastering this aspect of delayed gratification and investing rather than spending is one of the most significant keys to success in your financial life. This is particularly true if you are a freelancer, as it’s important to adopt a squirrel like mentality in the sense that you go out and gather as many nuts or acorns as you can, when you can, in order to stock-up for the tougher times.