If you dream of being a successful entrepreneur, there’s a lot to be done. After all, successful leaders and businesses don’t just pop up overnight. It takes years of effort, and a little bit of luck, in order to get to where you want to be in life. Gurus and the self-help industry have of course written hundreds of thousands of pages on how to best go about finding success; however, many of their books boil down to the same few points.
Here are a few steps to take in order to become the successful entrepreneur you dream to be.
Set concrete goals
To become successful faster, you first need a road map for your career. Setting goals requires specificity in planning, as well as figuring out a realistic timeframe that you can complete each goal with. First, start by outlining your ultimate goal, then break that goal down into the smaller steps you’ll need to take in order to reach it. Apply a timeframe to each of those goals, and get to work! You’ll be achieving your goal in no time at all with a smart, actionable plan.
Establish a routine, and stick to it
Many creatives swear by routine, whether it’s Apple’s Steve Jobs adopting a minimalist sense of style each day or David Lynch beginning each morning with meditation and a cup of black coffee. Routine allows you to spend your brain’s energy focusing on different, more important tasks, instead of deciding whether or not you want to wear that shirt or not or what you’ll have for breakfast.
If meditation isn’t up your alley, you may want to start your day with some prayer and reflection on a few Bible verses. The New Living Bible is full of verses that can provide you with relevant ideas to think about and contemplate as you go about your day. Just having something consistent and inspirational each morning can be incredibly helpful in setting the tone and pace for your day.
Find a mentor
Mentorship can prove vital for any entrepreneur. Finding the right mentor can help you learn from the path that somebody else took, getting advice along the way that helps you frame your successes and challenges in a new light. It’s important to pick someone who has some similarities to you so that you know that their path is relevant in some ways to what you’re trying to achieve.
For example, if you’re interested in asset management as an entrepreneur and are from Canada or attended Yale, it might be worth connecting with someone like Mark Wiseman. Wiseman attended Yale as a Fulbright Scholar and has held a variety of positions in the world of investing and management, including at BlackRock and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. If his career trajectory is interesting to you, connecting with him online could be exactly what you need to level up as an entrepreneur.
Learn how to say “no”
While every entrepreneur’s journey is unique, one thing is certain: you’ll be faced with many decisions throughout your life. At first blush, you might think that you need to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. While that is definitely a good way to build a broad network of connections, in some situations saying no to certain projects or positions is just as important as saying “yes.”
Saying no to something that will take up too much of your time or doesn’t quite fit with your concrete plan can ultimately help you get to your overall goals much faster. Of course, there’s a polite way to say no without burning bridges. It’s important that you never close a door completely because you never know when you might need to call upon that person for a favor in the future.
