When I first began my trip down entrepreneurial lane, I was petrified…literally… as a piece of wood is stiff, that was me.  FEAR was my buddy, my companion ball and chain and I carried it through vast desert lands it seemed and it got heavier by the day.  I knew I didn’t want it in my life, and yet I wasn’t willing to seek what was needed in order to obtain freedom from it. What I did know was that “someday” I wanted to help others, educate, inspire people, create outrageous success for numerous charities but I had no idea where or how to begin.

There was a myriad of negative messages, excuses and lots of pain through my formative years.  Knowing how to re-learn what I had been taught was an integral part of becoming successful. More importantly, I needed to find better solutions for living my life.

Let me list out for you what my ball and chains were and see if you struggle with similar mental inertia. If these don’t resonate with you then congratulate yourself because you’re off to a GREAT start!

1. I couldn’t recognize or clearly define exactly what I wanted in my personal life or my business life.

2. I found creative avoidance techniques to make me feel I was doing something whether I had a cause to or not.

3. I avoided reading specific material as if it would completely change my way of thinking.  I wanted to do it myself, therefore, acquiring specialized knowledge in a specific field wasn’t on my mind.

4. I was pretty good at “passing the buck” instead of facing issues squarely, (Also backed by excuses).

5. I had a habit of relying upon those excuses instead of creating definite plans for a solution of my situation or going to God.

6. I had an array of wavering principals instead of standing firm on them.

7. I was pretty good at accepting unfavorable circumstances as being unavoidable… that way I could feel sorry for myself.

8. I believed I needed someone else to point me in the right direction instead of believing I could (with God) establish my own direction with careful thought and planning.

9. I was usually ready to quit at the first sign of defeat because of my fears.

10. I used the excuse that my business partner wasn’t there to help me get organized with a business plan when I could have looked for help from others.

11. I made a habit of neglecting opportunity when it presented itself out of fear, and ignoring red flags when a situation needed to be taken care of.

12. I sat for hours just wishing something were real instead of willing it, through faith that it could be real if I made it happen.

13. I searched for all the short-cuts trying to GET without GIVING.

14. I was deathly afraid of criticism, or putting plans into action, because of what other people would think, do, or say. This is a BIG one for most people. Can you say P-R-I-D-E?

So how did I kick these habits?

I CHOSE TO DO THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I WAS ALREADY DOING!

1. I first asked God to help me define my purpose. This took constant prayer and submitting my pride to him in order to receive an answer.

2.I needed to understand the reason that I should pursue this purpose. I wanted to understand God’s laws of love and abundance and share it with everyone I knew. This drew me into persevering in learning and growing to be equipped to fulfill that purpose.

3. I had to believe in my own ability to carry out a plan to get organized, stop doing the creative avoidance tactics and start moving ahead.

4. I needed to gain more knowledge so that I could observe what my purpose looked like and how to acquire it, which meant reading specialized knowledge of others.

5. I formed a group of like-minded people to gain understanding and cooperation.

6. I quit blaming others and decided that I was responsible for how others treated me. Let me say that one again……I stopped BLAMING and took responsibility for how others treated me.

7. By reaching out to others who had strong principles and rock solid foundations I came to understand from them that “as a man thinketh so he is”. Know this character, I wanted only to absorb life-giving words, and I made the attitude of gratitude habitual so I could re-train myself to live as abundantly as God intended.

The steps I took to change my world all had to start somewhere and it was on my knees saying these words:

“God, forgive me for my pride. I want to see myself as Jesus sees me, beautifully and wonderfully made, able to do greater things through faith. Perseverance creates the impossible. Teach me your ways and show me what that looks like to you so I can do your will. Show me how to live in abundance.”

The great news is, HE DID.

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