subject: Dear Up-And-Coming Entrepreneur - Be Patient - Some Things Just Take Time! [print this page] Dear Up-And-Coming Entrepreneur - Be Patient - Some Things Just Take Time!
One of Warren Buffett's many famous quotes is the following: "Some things just take time. Regardless of talent or effort, it isn't possible to produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant."
Respecting "the process" of success is important; maybe you will find your success in 6 months, and maybe it will be 6 years. Staying committed - regardless of the length of your process - is key. And it truly is your process: don't get caught up comparing yourself to others.
While I'm not advocating anyone should take it easy - or just coast - I think the key is to know that there is an inherent learning curve to anything, and respecting that process is critical. Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad Poor Dad fame often says that financial freedom is a 3-5 year process. Truly it's a marathon, not a sprint. If you haven't made your millions by age 25, it's okay: stick with the game my friend...
A very relevant idea from Anthony Robbins: "We often overestimate what we can accomplish in the short-term, and underestimate what we can accomplish in the long-term." How often have you been so upset that you missed a monthly goal, lost a deal, were rejected by prospective clients, that you quit for a while - a day, a week, a month, or longer?
If you are so frustrated with your short-term results that you take yourself out of the proverbial "game" by quitting, you will stop progressing down your personal success path, thus robbing yourself of the benefits that success is bringing you further down the road. It's often said that "the bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless we fail to make the turn." Life is full of curveballs - and all entrepreneurs face them.
Personally, I've lost money, lost time, had countless projects and initiatives not go the way I wanted them to. And it's just as frustrating every time it happens!
I think one of the most important lessons I've ever learned about dealing with the inevitable failures of entrepreneurship came from learning about "The Stockdale Paradox" in Jim Collins' best-selling book From Good to Great. This concept comes from Admiral Jim Stockdale, a survivor of the Vietnam War, and specifically numerous torture bouts as a Prisoner of War in the Hanoi-Hilton POW camp.
When author Jim Collins asked Admiral Stockdale how he survived years and years of torture, Admiral Stockdale essentially said that people who were Optimists had the hardest time of all. They would always try to keep their hopes up by hoping they would back with their families by the next major holiday. Yet Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving would all come and go, and the Optimists were still be Prisoners of War. Eventually their spirits were broken, and - without hope - they had nothing to live for.
Admiral Stockdale then explained that the key to not only surviving - but thriving - as a POW was what came to be known as "The Stockdale Paradox". Basically to accept the cold hard facts exactly as they are, regardless how pleasant or painful they were. And at the same time maintaining faith that - in the end - they would prevail.
The implications of this are huge. Imagine Admiral Stockdale coming up to you and telling you that the cold, hard facts of the situation were this: you're probably going to tortured repeatedly today, and that this torture will result in lots of bleeding and significant pain. You would probably have to let a few small secrets out to survive. Yet to always also remember that some day, in some way, YES you would return home to your family.
What would it do for you as a Young Entrepreneur if you followed the "Stockdale Paradox"? What if you went months and months without making any money, you endured countless failures, countless rejections from prospects and investors saying "no"... and you accepted this fully, yet still maintained rock-solid faith that some day, in some way, you would still achieve your entrepreneurial goals? Do you think that would help you to stick with "the process"?...to make the "bend in the road"?...to keeping moving along your success path, regardless of how others are doing?...to make it through the short-term so that you could enjoy harvesting the rewards of the long term?
As Warren Buffet says: "Some things just take time." Onwards and Upwards, my friend.
Timothy J. Francis, BPE, CBM, is an award-winning Entrepreneur from Canada. In addition to his own businesses, he writes, speaks, and teaches up-and-coming Young Entrepreneurs through the Young DollarMakers organization, to educate and inspire them to meet their goals.
For a fun and inspiring video about success and failure as an entrepreneur, watch this video on the Young DollarMakers blog.
