You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby!

Hello you lovely people, and thank you once again for reading my blog!

Today I’d like to address the rollercoaster ride of building a business; the frustration and tediousness of “the journey” we’re all experiencing.

We all hear everybody's positive stories in life and business, and I think it’s great to hear them and celebrate their successes along with them. 

However, I am baffled by why hardly anybody ever talks about the downsides and negative issues of business development, which is bizarre, because they happen to everyone. 

Yet nobody wants to share the disastrous moments, or talk about how they got it wrong, for fear or making us look bad or a failure.

However, I believe we should share our issues, as it comforts other people by showing that we’re all in the same boat here, with a couple of evil waves, and guess what: mistakes help us navigate to the good times and sunnier shores!

So in this blog, I’d really like to help you focus on overcoming adversity, frustration and impatience.

While working hard trying to head towards achieving our targets and goals, I have become aware that things don't always go to plan! This is very frustrating, as when you spend a lot of your time and energy (and money!) actually putting things into place to make them happen, it can be infuriating when your goals remain out of reach.

Why is this? For all of you Smith's fans out there, I refer to one of their finest yet lesser known pieces of work, the song in which Morrissey claims "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" 

If you've not heard this particular song, you’ll enjoy listening to Johnny Marr’s jangling guitar and Morrissey's oscillating catchy melody. In fact it's such a good song that I will treat you to the link later on. And why? “I'll tell you why-y-y-y-y….”

I'll let you into a little secret, when I feel horrendously miserable and desperately need to cheer myself up, I listen to this superb song from 1987 as (surprisingly for a Smiths’ song!) it always has the effect of lifting my mood. 

In fact, if you feel just like Morrissey, who quotes:

"If you’re wondering why, when all I wanted from life was to be famous, I've have tried for so long it's all gone wrong…"

Then let's address that.

Everyone has bad days - even the poor guy I saw this morning whose top-of-the-range Audi had broken down in the middle of the motorway.

My friends chuckle about my mentality, because they say I am a very black-and-white, no-nonsense person. There is no in-between for me. There is no grey area. Things either go really well for me, or else the world is falling in. Or as Morrissey tells me: “You must suffer and cry for a longer time”

Many times in recent weeks I have felt like banging my head against the wall, simply because things haven't gone my way. Many times I have wanted to cry, but we don't do such things where I’m from, because if you do, your mum says "Stop crying or I’ll gi’ ye someat to cry about!"

So we just toughen up, pull up our big girl pants and get on with it. 

Why have all these disasters not made me just give up and walk away with my tail between my legs? Quite simply, persistence and pure stubbornness – I'm too stubborn to let this beat me! 

When you're going through hell, just keep going. Winners never quit, because quitters never win.

One thing that has helped though is the system of writing down reasons why you are doing this. I have written down a list of “50 reasons stating why I will make this succeed”. This might be reasons such as “So I don’t have to work for my boss”, or “So I have more time to spend with my family” or “So I can afford to take my mum on a nice trip”, or “So I can finally enjoy my success and be proud of my achievements”. And so on…

Everybody talks about the big why but when you have sat down and thought about lots and lots of little whys, then it becomes clear to you that you really don't need to sweat the small stuff.

In two years’ time, when all has gone well, no doubt I will look back and laugh at the time when things went wrong.

Another tactic I use to help when things go wrong is allowing myself five minutes to have a little tantrum and get all my frustration out. I ranted and raved about how someone I had contracted had turned out to  incompetent, and after several minutes of venting, my mother nodded and smirked and said “Have you quite finished now?!”

And I had

The final way I have of coping with catastrophes is my little phrase that “Things are always better after a sleep”. So if you are really so frustrated, take yourself off for a little nap, and magically on awakening, things are not as bad as they first seemed.

Alongside that, I enjoyed reading ‘The Compound Effect’ book by Darren Hardy. Just because you're working hard now and not seeing results, it doesn't mean they won't materialise in the near future. Keep going – you just haven't earned it yet baby!

Even the worst day is only 24 hours, so tomorrow is a fresh start.

So to summarise:

Top Tips for overcoming frustration, impatience and adversity

1. Listen to the song "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" 

2. Fill-in your list of 50 reasons why you must succeed

3. Vent when things go wrong. A problem shared, and all that!

4. Things are always better after a sleep

5. Read ‘The Compound Effect’ All good things come to those who wait…and work hard continuously!

Click here to buy 'The Compound Effect'

#BONUS# Have a think about everything that has gone right in your journey so far. See, well done, you’re doing better than the other 95% of the population!

Only losers quit, and we are destined to be winners if we don't give up.

Click here to listen to 'You Just Haven't Earned it Yet, Baby' by the Smiths!