Six Best Ways to Stay Motivated As An Entrepreneur

 By Debbie Larry-Izamoje

Entrepreneurship is almost never an overnight whirlwind of success. Most entrepreneurs know that success is a marathon that requires continuous concentration and energy, focused on shifting problems and solutions that only get larger and more complicated as the business grows. Motivation can wax and wane and it takes unrelenting attentiveness to stay positive.

There are a number of well-known business leaders, ranging from Richard Branson to Mark Zuckerberg to Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos among many others, including African and Nigerian business leaders, from Aliko Dangote, Atiku Abubakar, Folorunsho Alakija and Ibukun Awosika amongst others who have given their thoughts about starting and running a business.

With this advice readily available at your fingertips, there is no need to repeat what these titans of business have to say. Instead, I believe I will share my own personal approach to staying motivated when starting your own business.

Stay positive

When you find yourself feeling like nothing is going right, staying positive can make all of the difference. I’ve found that the best way for me to stay positive is to have touchstone practices that I know will bring me back to a state of motivation and happiness.

Believe in yourself

In Entrepreneurship, there are always challenges and failures. It is almost impossible to continue to see yourself as successful and push forward when you crucify yourself for every little mistake. Remember that everyone fails, failures are a part of the learning that is required of every prosperous entrepreneur. Learn the lesson and move on knowing that you will be stronger and wiser with every step on your path.

Surround yourself with positive people

We are nothing if not products of our environment. Entrepreneurship can be difficult in the best circumstances, and even the most positive entrepreneurs find it disheartening when confronted with negativity day in and day out. So, create an inner circle of people that support your endeavours and keep the faith. You’ll quickly feel more positive yourself.

Have a motivational mantra

Keep yourself in alignment with your deepest values by creating an easy saying that you can repeat to yourself when things get difficult. It doesn’t have to be anything long or complicated, even something like, “I can do this, and I will.” Giving yourself a verbal touchstone on which to rest in moments where you feel less than inspired will help you come back to your core values immediately.

Cut off the negative people

In addition to surrounding yourself with positive people, it’s a good idea to be relentless in axing negative people from your life. Sure, sometimes your friends and family have bad days or feel angry and need to vent, everyone does. But when someone is chronically naysaying or tries to keep you down, your productivity and success are on the line and it’s time to tell them goodbye.

Find ways to reward yourself

Sometimes motivation is just not there, and reward systems are one of the easiest and most primal ways to find it again. Set rewards for yourself that reflect the size of the project that you accomplish: small rewards for incremental tasks and larger rewards for finishing a big project. It can be treats, vacation time, or a pedicure, just give yourself what you deserve.

ABOUT DEBBIE LARRY-IZAMOJE

Debbie Larry-Izamoje AKA The Entrepreneur’s Best-Friend holds a BSc in Information management from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. And MSc in management from University College London (UCL). She has also secured certificates in user innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Innovation and strategy from Harvard University.

She is on a mission to raise a generation of young established or soon to be established professionals who are more vocal about business difficulties while providing solutions through public speaking, training, workshops and coaching.

She is the founder of the Image Boosters a full service agency with core services in digital marketing, PR, branding and more.

www.debbielarryizamoje.com

www.imageboosters.com.ng

Instagram: @dee_larry @imageboosters_

Email: contactus@imageboosters.com.ng