That is the mindset of the starving entrepreneur, which is not beneficial to their cause. Waiting for recognition and being happy with struggling is not noteworthy, it is quite ridiculous if you ask me. An entrepreneur must be willing to go get it, which means attack their mission with determination and force. Starving is quite the opposite of why most people pursue entrepreneurship in the first place, they do so to eat. Now do not get me wrong. Just starting out as an entrepreneur, you will go through a period of starvation. The objective at hand though is to find your first meal and then strategize as to how to replenish your servings. What the starving entrepreneur foolishly does though is operated as a homeless person does. Wandering around, hoping to get noticed in order to receive a helping hand. That mindset does nothing but show that you are weak and weakness, especially mentally does not translate well for your entrepreneurial journey.

Let me further explain the “helping hand” for better understanding. Yes, entrepreneurs do need help along their entrepreneurial journey but not pity help. Strategic alliances and relationships is the type of help for entrepreneurs that reinforces their entrepreneurial pursuits. On the other hand, the starving entrepreneur exhibits an image that displays a lack of guided direction. Nobody wants to invest in someone who is unsure of themselves but conversely have no problem showing sympathy and providing encouraging words. Two things which do not result in the elimination of starvation. The starving entrepreneur is nothing more than a wishful thinker, who does more wishing than performing. Wishing increases starvation because what you want you cannot have because you are unwilling to go after it with ferocious tenacity. Therefore, the starving entrepreneur continues to starve because they do not hunt their meal, they hope that it is delivered to them already prepared.

The starving entrepreneur starves because they allow themselves to starve. They operate in entrepreneurship with a submissive mindset, meaning they are not the masters of their own journey. The people around them and the environment around them dictates what they can and cannot do, no matter how much they deny it. The starving entrepreneur fears the pressure of a challenge and for the most part fears success. Success means that they have to step outside of their comfort zone and embrace the need to be a stalking hunter. Plain and simple if you do not eat then you starve. If you are unwilling to hunt then do not even consider entrepreneurship. The wilderness of entrepreneurship is full of carnivores and only the hungriest and most confident hunters rise to the top of the food chain.

The difference between the strong and the weak is not so much physical performance but rather mental fortitude. Your mental toughness can really make or break you as a person and especially as an entrepreneur. Your brain is the control center for your entire body so the messages it sends out resonates through your actions. So when faced with a challenging, high pressure situation, the thoughts in your brain translate into how you react. Those who are mentally weak react in a defeated manner which produces a defeated purpose. On the other hand those with great mental fortitude see past the obstacles and difficulties and remain steadfast . It is as simple as that. What separates people from one another is how they play the cards they were dealt to their best benefit.

Taking a look at the world we live in today, it may seem like the possibilities are limited but in reality the opportunities are endless. Everything is being shifted and redefined and only those with the presence of mind to see this will place themselves in the best position to produce benefits. This is due to their strong-willed mentality. A strong-minded person knows they will only go as far as they are willing to push themselves towards. A weak-minded person on the other hand just lets themselves get pushed to the side while complaining that things are not fair. The reality is that the world is not fair and once you recognize that fact the better you serve yourself. The mentality of wishing things were fair unfortunately hold you back because you will always find excuses as to why you cannot move ahead in life. Stop the pity party because it is not doing you any favors. Process the negative, analyze it and use what you learned as a platform to get ahead. The strong learn from what they see and teach themselves how to maneuver past what is not completely in their control.

That is how survival of the fittest works. It is about controlling yourself and influencing your surroundings to act in your favor. Those who are weak cannot comprehend this mindframe though because such behavior is foreign to their train of thought. If you want to survive in today’s world I advise you to condition your mental strength because the challenges will only get more complex and require you to think beyond average capacity.

In the game of life it seems like we are our own worst enemy. We fail ourselves and hold ourselves back because of our inability to check ourselves. It is hard to call yourself out because in doing so you will have to admit you are walking in bullshit. But why continue to walk in such circumstances when you are aware that it has a foul odor? That is what I asked myself when I wondered why I have not reached any of my success milestones. It is because I am not doing enough, I am simply BULLSHITTING! That means things must change and change immediately if I am to reach my high potential for success.

Looking at yourself, what are you doing that hinders your path towards success? Self-evaluation is the best analysis tool for such an occasion because if you cannot be real with yourself then you will never overcome your inability to produce success.
Follow these 3 steps in order to overcome your failure to succeed:

1. Be Real With Yourself. This is a very important first step. This is the realization process, meaning you have to realize that it is time to step up your game. We hate to be real with ourselves though so most people initially get stuck in this process. You cannot try to act like your faults are minimal during this phase or overlook them because it only mask the problems, not truly solves them. It is time to face the hard facts with yourself. Do not run from your problems but rather attack them head on with vigor.

2. Eliminate Distractions. One of the biggest obstacles we have as humans is being easily distracted. Distractions help strengthen our problems because they keep us blind as to what is really occurring. Whatever keeps you from being the person you truly want to be must be removed from your life. Rather it is people, places or things they must be eliminated if they hold you back. Most times success involves sacrifice to reach it, so hard decisions must be taken. Mediocrity is easy to obtain because it involves no real drive or commitment. Success on the other hand requires you to be committed for the long haul no matter how frustrating it can be.

3. Progressively Work Towards Changing. Do not expect success overnight, that is a fairytale. Trying to make such a transition so rapidly will make you lose confidence before you really gain it. Yes, you have to be aggressive but do so strategically and not without proper planning. Small steps make big challenges seem more attainable. This means progression is your greatest tool since it helps you whittle away your tough edges slowly but surely. Kingdoms are not built overnight and wars are not won in a day. Obtaining success is a progressive journey, which requires consistency in order to produce the wanted results. The transition towards success is a work in progress, stay running towards it and it will come.

In order to be successful you must start with a change within. No one is accountable for you but YOU! Get your act together, stop with the bullshit and live within the success you see and want for yourself.

Your limitations are produced from your inability to see beyond your current position. Better said; you have a lack of vision. In entrepreneurship a vision is very important, it is your underlying foundation. This is important because it helps limitations seem less menacing due to your ability to see clearly ahead. Limits are simply boundaries introduced by outside factors which seek to control your functioning in life. You give such boundaries strength when you comply with the restrictions that they impose upon you. When it is said that, “you can do whatever you set your mind to,” such a statement is actually true. How do you think a few people prosper while the majority remain stagnant? It is because those few people realize that there is no limitation to the ability of their mind nor the ambition of their drive.

Limitation is rooted in fear. Fear that doing something beyond your comfort zone will produce negative results. This is a pessimistic way of thinking and leads to a life full of regrets and questions. Why limit your ability to enjoy life when you only get one? That is foolish. Also, why pursue entrepreneurship when you have a limited ability to take risk? An equally foolish decision. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, a life journey, an opportunity to operate in free, limitless range. The mistake many people make though is coming into this lifestyle with restrictive mindsets. Restrictive mindsets are those which operate in limited capacity, unwilling to step outside their protective bubble. This restrictive mindset is a severe limitation that hinders real growth as an entrepreneur. This is not an entrepreneurial mindset but rather an employee mindset because you are still unable to truly think and act freely. That fear of “what if” still haunts your every thought of operating beyond the safety zone. What a miserable life to have.

Limitations are nothing more than distractions within your mind. Why limit yourself when the world is full of limitless possibilities? Entrepreneurship is the perfect launching pad to experience such limitless opportunities. Step outside of your comfort zone and free yourself to push your potential beyond its perceived limits.

So again I ask, “Why did you choose entrepreneurship?” Many people choose this lifestyle for the wrong reason and end up with negative results. This is because they are too focused on the rock star lifestyle without realizing the background work that preceded such results. That is the first critical mistake of aspiring entrepreneurs. Basing their path on another person’s path they never walked within. Entrepreneurship is like a high demand sport that facilitates many different calibers of players. That means different players posses different skill sets which affects their overall performance. You cannot compare Jeremy Lin to Lebron James because their individual skill sets are vastly different and so are their natural talents. Now, focusing on you, what makes you believe you have the skills and talent to enter into entrepreneurship?

This question has to be asked because unsuspecting people are blindly going into entrepreneurship without the proper knowledge of what it takes to be involved in its ambiguous environment. When your attentions are solely focused on the gain without acknowledging the sacrifice you weaken your starting position. We all want to get to the big picture but let’s not forget that steps must be taken along the way to reach that point. People forget the small steps because they are not the sexy, appealing side of entrepreneurship. By doing so you void out your potential for success and in turn increase your rate of headaches and frustration. You have to remember that entrepreneurship is beyond your wants, you have to services other’s needs and wants. So are you getting into entrepreneurship to solve people’s problems or to create a get rich quick scheme?

If you are chasing the later, then be prepared for short gains to be even shorter lived. Shortcuts only get you ahead for so long and with entrepreneurship they expose your willingness to cheat the marketplace and the consumers. This is not characterized as entrepreneurship; it will be seen as greed and deception, causing your reputation to be severely damaged. You see, entrepreneurship is a very delicate process. This is because the interaction between all parties involved is very fragile and can be easily fractured. Why is this so? Because entrepreneurship cannot develop and evolve without people. You need people to spread the word about you, you need people to purchase from you and you need people who will help you grow. If you are not thinking about this though being an entrepreneur will be very tough for you, making for a very stressful journey.

Know what you are getting into when pursuing entrepreneurship. The process of it all is more intricate than just making big money for providing products and services. If you are getting into entrepreneurship, do so because you have a passion to make a beneficial change for others. Be prepared to do a lot of grunt work before you arrive to the bright lights and even then you cannot slack or let up the tiniest bit. Summing it all up: have passion, constantly work hard and provide value and you should do fine as an entrepreneur.

That something is our own selves, which is due to self-doubt and fear. This doubt and fear stems from the conditioning by mainstream society upon us that we have been under since birth. What is deemed as too ambitious or impossible by the majority, becomes the standard which we hold ourselves to. That means our limitations are self-imposed because our mental creativity is constricted from being acted on because of the perception others may form about us. Beyond this sociological factor though is the reality that most of us are simply lazy. Too lazy to work hard and too lazy to go beyond what is expected of us. That is why ideas remain just that, ideas. Nothing more than vivid imaginations, with no real expectation of being tangible concepts.

If you are one of these people let me show you how to move past the day dreaming phase. Simply follow these three steps in order to move your ideas forward:

1) Write Down Your Ideas. Ideas that stay in your head remain there. You have to put your ideas on paper or in your computer in order to further illustrate your thoughts. This helps to cleanse the thinking process and to show you exactly what you clearly have to define. This process allows for you to begin adding substance to the initial starting point. By adding substance you transition from the dreaming phase into the brainstorming phase, which makes you more inclined to move forward and progress towards your wanted state.

2) Create Objectives/ Checkpoints. Objectives are important because they give you checkpoints to reach. This somewhat instills discipline because it makes you have a schedule to follow and deadlines to meet. I say somewhat though because the accountability of doing so falls solely upon yourself. There is no one telling you that you have to be productive or someone pushing you to do so, which can be a hindering setback. On the other hand though, this breaks down the bigger picture into smaller pieces, making it easier to manage. So with manageable pieces you are not forced to attack everything head on, which by doing so could easily defeat your motivation. Follow the necessary steps you outline in order to start transitioning the idea into reality.

3) Stick to the Plan. One of the hardest things about ideas is seeing them through. Doing the boring, mundane stuff becomes a struggle to do and starts to sap away your initial excitement. This is the most critical stage though because it demonstrates if you really have the fortitude to remain steadfast even trough your difficulties. Realistically speaking though, execution is the final step that many of many people are terrible at completing. It points back to the fact that we are by nature quite lazy. What sets successful people apart from average people though is their drive to move past this bad habit. You have to be accountable, focused and willing to work hard consistently. There is no other way around this fact.

Remember, everyone has ideas but only a very small percentage of people actually see them brought into fruition. Ideas are a dime a dozen, actual performance and production is slightly rarer.

It has been stated that the middle class suffered the deepest blow during the onslaught of the Great Recession. The working poor and poverty-stricken population of society felt the pain too but when you are already poor, hardships become a functional norm in your life. When you are part of the middle class on the other hand, you have become used to a relative ease of comfort. Once that comfort level suddenly disappears and becomes uncomfortable, the shock of readjusting can be very difficult to comprehend. The reality of the situation is that most middle class families’ “prosperity” was tied to bloated debt. The more debt that was taken on in turn converted into relatively easy accessible credit and cash. It was an addictive circle too appealing for most to steer clear from. As this illusion of prosperity came to light, there was a very dark cloud developing over the United States that has still not yet cleared. If the middle class is becoming extinct, the poor population is growing and the wealthy population is becoming even more exclusive, where does it leave the balance of our society?

It means we are no longer operating in a functional society. And when functionality becomes lost, confusion and anger begins to grow exponentially. That is why we have increasingly been hearing the term “class warfare” being used when it comes to the discussion of wealth and income. As tension and resentment boils over between the different classes of our nation; the ongoing gridlock on proposed solutions and constant bickering is resulting in dire consequences which will have lingering effects. One important question to ask:” if the remaining middle class and working poor are unable to consume, then where is growth supposed to be produced from?” This is a very hard question we are currently dealing with as our nation struggles to recover. Sure corporate profits are good for a few but at what price are they being produced: job cuts, low quality customer service, low quality products. Also we must note that minimum wage jobs still keep you in poverty but these are the type of jobs which have the most hiring potential. The rat race used to lead you to a comfortable life, now it is a race to the bottom.

As you read this, I do not know your current economic standing. What I do know is that you ultimately control what becomes of your life. You do not have to accept what is being created by the system: government, Corporate America and a misguided society. Right now is the perfect time to become a renegade, a rebel; someone who marches to the beat of their own drum. Understand this, the United States and global community are quickly being transformed to only be suitable for those who are well off and well-connected. Survival of the fittest is becoming the shared mindset, which can be a double-edged sword. But this is what it has come to due to the environment that exist formed from the current situation that is in play and developing. Competition and survival are two elements of human nature that are now highly fueled because the economic divide in our society has become glaringly aware for everyone to see. Remember though, with all these distractions and obstacles, your fate remains in your hands and is sealed by your actions.

The Super Bowl is undoubtedly the biggest sporting event in American sports. Athletes dream of one day competing in and winning the Super Bowl, cities rejoice at the opportunity to host the Super Bowl and companies spend big money to be promoted during the Super Bowl. Besides being an exhibition of the 2 best teams in the National Football League, it is a huge money generator. The Super Bowl is an event were the best of the best want to participate within and around it and have the opportunity to be associated with the brand. Besides money though the Super Bowl is about football right? So, what does it take for a person/ team to become of Super Bowl caliber?

The NFL is a collective group of talented individuals who are superior athletes. That means to make it to the final game, two teams must distinguish themselves from the other 30 teams who are in contention for the same aspirations. That is a very tough challenge, that drains you physically, emotionally and mentally. Through it all though you must remain composed and steer clear ahead towards the ultimate goal. As you watched the Super Bowl did you wonder about your own entrepreneurial endeavors or business organization? If so, can you positively, without a doubt say you are performing at a Super Bowl level? If the answer is no then you already know you have a lot of work to do in order to reach the heights of championship stature.

In the competitive consumer/business marketplace we are all competing for market share. Throughout this steady competition there are those who separate themselves from the rest by doing things a little better. Were others slack they remain consistent, they understand that the little things count. Under pressure and during crunch time they are ice-cold, too cool or better phrased, too focused to be affected by distractions. This is because they put in the hard work and consistent practice in order to make difficult situations appear minute in stature no matter how challenging the circumstance. In order to be of Super Bowl caliber you have to perform on a championship level day in and day out. No if, ands or buts can be used as a means to slack off or underperform. Those who are of Super Bowl caliber know such excuses are just weaknesses you choose to let control your actions.

Are you performing at a Super Bowl level? In the world we live in and operate in today, performing on an in-between level is no longer sufficient nor possible. Either you continuously operate and perform at a high level or do the complete opposite and produce meager results in return. We all say we want to be successful but what are we actually doing in order to walk within that wanted path? You have to stop talking about it and just be about it. Champions are not born, they are made so it is up to you to make yourself an entrepreneur, business leader or professional of Super Bowl caliber.

Some would say keep at it; you never know when your break will come. You have to be realistic with yourself when considering this matter. When you have done everything you could do, reassessed and tried again, what else could you possibly do? Quitting would make you seem like a failure and weak but staying along this course is doing more bad than good. The mistake many individuals make is trying to prove a point, being stubborn to a fault. By doing so they hinder themselves by remaining in a no-win situation. Of course the thought process that warrants this decision is wanting to say you defied the odds against you and placed yourself in the prestigious class of successful entrepreneurs. That is what all of us aspiring entrepreneurs hope to achieve while in the pursuit of this journey called entrepreneurship. When your efforts are not working though, you have to question whether your time and energy can be allocated in a new direction.

Maybe it is time to step away. Do not take it as defeat but rather an opportunity to make a fresh start. One of the reasons we became entrepreneurs was to leave the dreaded traditional workforce. If you have to reenter the structure again, why not do so with leverage? You may be very talented in a particular skill set and ventured to become your own boss in order to capitalize on those skills. Maybe you just could not gain significant market share or lacked other skills required to operate a functioning business. If such is the case, introduce your talents to an organization that could utilize your skills and place you in the position to excel. Entrepreneurship is like a wild-wild west and sometimes you have to further hone your skills or gain a greater understanding of the lay of the land before you reemerge to travel the chaotic terrain.

If you are in what seems like a no-win situation along your entrepreneurial journey then take a step back and analyze what is really occurring. Take a moment to clear your head and open your eyes. Walking back into the employee role does not necessarily mean you lost the war, just suffered a setback in battle. Begin to equip yourself with better understanding, more tools and greater resources in order to come back better prepared to produce success along your newfound entrepreneurial journey.

Potential is defined as existing in possibility, capable of development into actuality. That means we all have the possibility to do what we want to do; the obstacle that stands in our way though is capability. Capability is our ability to perform, which means what we are willing to see accomplished. As you read over the previous sentence can you confidently say that you are maximizing your potential in the best possible manner? Most likely the answer is no. I say this because so many of us have great ideas and wondrous plans but we rarely put forth the effort to see such goals executed. I say this is due to 3 things: laziness, mental weakness and fear of failure. That means our given potential is held back due to our own deficiencies rather than by opposing forces. We will make up excuses and conspiracies as to why we cannot exceed our present status because we ultimately hate to point out our own weaknesses. The unwillingness to self examine and make beneficial changes is what voids our potential to be great. So do not blame others when the blame lies with yourself.

So back to the original question at hand. Are you living up to your potential? In today’s world you have to take risk and chances because your potential involves taking a chance on yourself. If you are unwilling to take a chance on yourself then why should anyone else do so? Greatness is derived from overcoming challenges no matter how difficult. That is why only a small percentage of people truly live up to their potential. As you read this, today is the day to make a change for the better and realize the potential you hold within yourself. Once you begin to break down your own self reinforced barriers, moving past barriers placed by others will become easier and easier. Bottom line, live up to your potential, make no excuses.