“The
journey of a thousand miles begins with a step” says Lao Tzu, same as the
journey to being successful. Many entrepreneurs are always sacred of taking the
first step, and when some do, all they want to do is jump. The key to a
successful business as seen from many mentors is taking that step one at a
time. Warren Buffett said and I quote “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars; I
look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”
People
are scared of taking the first step because of the unknown; the I’m not ready;
the I don’t think I can do it; the it involves so many risks. Looking back at
the life of our great business entrepreneurs, they gave up certainties for
uncertainties because they believe and had faith in their plans, and with set
goals they were able to reach accomplishment. This doesn’t mean there won’t be
times where everything gets tough, you feel like giving up and call yourself a
failure; but as the saying goes only the tough picks up and gets going. Jeffery
Immelt classified the survival of failure as a boost to self-confidence and
also a great tool to learning, although, it should be kept at its minimal. A
great author whose books are a most read Dale Carnegie once said “most of the
important things in life have been accomplished by people who have kept on
trying when there seems to be no hope at all.” Late Steve Jobs was so
passionate in his company that he got booted out of his company; he didn’t
regard that as the end of everything he worked for nor as a failure, but he sat
down, strategized, made new plans, and set new goals. His believe and perseverance
didn’t just earn him a new successful company, but got his old company back and
the company (Apple) is recognized in the world today, and so is he.
So
many people believe that they have lost those opportunities because they didn’t
take the first step. Well, that might be true, but if the business was a
passion developed into idea, not trying will be the biggest mistake you ever
made, because no one else knows it or can do it better than you. A mind of an
entrepreneur keeps developing new ideas and as Richard Branson also said, “Business
opportunities are like buses; there is always another one coming.” So I implore
you to get up and take that FIRST STEP when the opportunity comes.
