What would stop you on your path to achieve your goals and dreams?

Entrepreneurship is not an easy road, at least not at first. It takes having a vision, trusting yourself and others and having faith in the future. This is particularly important in times like we are living now. There are lots of bad news on the financial crisis. It is easy to get disencouraged. Yet, as an entrepreneur, you have to set a number of goals and continue to go after them.

You may have a sales or a profit figure to achieve by the end of the year. So you close your eyes and you see yourself closing deals with customers, getting financing with bankers or raising capital with investors... Knowing your goal, you determine your actions and what needs to happen between now and then to have that happen. You look at your financial records, you see how much you can you need, you prepare your sales pitch and you keep working on leads and all. You define a plan of action and get started.

As soon as you take action, things don't go exactly like you expected. The market has changed, the opportunities and conversations you see don't seem to fit that mental picture you have and you may need to save some money to be able to sustain your business in a tough market. This is even tougher in the middle of market downturns. You keep speaking with customers, working on your goals but things take longer or don't produce the results you were expecting. It is frustrating...

This is exactly what happens when you start to pursue a big dream. We all like to think that everything will go smooth and things will get done according to plan. Most times, that is not the case. I always will look like "nothing is working", "it is not fair", "this does not make any sense"... and you can go on and on about the thoughts that come to our mind.

What do you do then? Do you get going and take the actions you see you can take? Or do you get stopped?

It is easy to get upset and frustrated. We have all the reasons to do so, but will that make any difference? We need to keep in action despite the circumstances. We need to keep an eye on the ball and keep playing the game. Complaining is a waste of time and drives us nuts. It is important to keep going and it is easier to keep working if we are motivated.

Negative conversations are a killer. You can stop them. You can stop enterteining or starting them yourself. You can choose not to engage in the typical watercooler conversation about how things are hard. Be firm on your commitment and see what appropriate actions you can take and not stop. You are the only one who can stop yourself.

Think about your vision... what are you committed to? What difference does it make to you? To others? Refocusing on your vision will keep you motivated. Staying in action. Do the things you say you will the way they need to be done and when they need to be done. Continue to engage your team. Speak with them. Paint the picture beyond the current crisis. Motivation plus appropriate action will keep your tank full of gas and won't waste your energy on things that are either beyond your control. On things that are under your control, do something about them. You will get a whole new sense of yourself and get excited about being an entrepreneur again!