Statistics show that thousands of people are fired from their jobs every day. With that in mind, it’s no wonder more than 1,500 new businesses are started daily. The sad thing is that of the more than 1,500 businesses started daily, more than half of them will fail within five years. For every new business started, 1 in 3 will not make it past the 2-year mark and fewer than 1 in 2 will make it past the 4-year mark or more. What are your chances of survival?
Have you ever seen the real estate TV show where people stay on an island to see who will last until the end? Well, the show starts with them divided into teams, working together as a unit and learning to master skills that will help them survive on the island. Everyone is working very hard to make sure things work. For everyone involved, it’s important to make sure everyone likes you so you don’t get rejected. Does this sound familiar to you? I think this is eerily similar to a “job”. You want the boss to love you. You want your peers to love you. He does his best to please everyone so he can “stay” at his job and move up the employee ladder. You are trying to survive.
After a few episodes, the kindness wears off. You quickly see teamwork disappear. You start to see one or two people “team up” to form an alliance. The real survival mode has just started. This is where most people learn that “teamwork” doesn’t always work when it comes to survival. Sometimes you and the team disagree! I consider this to be the same as becoming an entrepreneur. It can be difficult to get other people to work with you to see your vision. It can be difficult to get others to participate. The time and cost associated with being an entrepreneur is mind-boggling. You’re constantly operating in survival mode because if you don’t, you just won’t eat, among other things. My question to you is will you survive?
People always want to know what makes me different from the next person. Why have I been able to accomplish what I have been able to do in such a short amount of time considering my background? I’ve been told that I have “it” or what one of my friends has referred to as a “yellow Lamborghini” because like a yellow Lamborghini, she feels that what I have is rare and you only see it occasionally. .if ever. Funny thing is, I don’t see myself in this light at all. Why? Because I am a survivor and I operate in survival mode.
The other day one of my consulting clients asked me how come I get up every day and do what I do. I told him that I operate in survival mode at least 95% of the time. (Note that I didn’t say 100% of the time because, like you, I’m human and flawed.) For me, survival mode is doing what I have to do, even when I don’t want to. It’s making sacrifices that sometimes I don’t want to make. It’s about taking risks that most people won’t take. It’s about making decisions that I’m not always sure are right. It is about living in the moment and doing what is necessary. It’s knowing that every day I need to take a few steps up to move in the direction of where I want to be instead of sideways. It’s about doing things today that others won’t do so that tomorrow you can have what others may not have. Entrepreneurship is just that: survival. You do what you need to do to make your business successful and what: SURVIVE THE STATISTICS!
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. To survive you need to prepare for the long term. If the statistics are against you, who is for you? The only person you know that you can count on 100% unconditionally is you. So get out there and make it happen!
