10 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs by Kevin Sudbury - HTML preview

Trait 3: Entrepreneurs Are Self-Motivated

When you’re an employee, you always have someone telling you exactly what to do. And if you don’t do it right away, then you’ll have someone breathing down your neck and pressuring you to stay on task.

That doesn’t happen when you’re self-employed. There is no one telling you what to do. There is no one forcing you to get something done. There is no pressure.

For a lot of people, that sounds like a total dream. And yet those who’re stuck in the employee mindset often find it to be a pitfall. Some people just need that sort of structure, and they don’t feel motivated to do anything if someone isn’t telling them what to do.

Look at your own life and think about what you’ve accomplished. This could be learning a new skill, doing some sort of craft, building something, fixing something, or even sticking with a healthy diet and exercise program.

Question is, are you self-motivated? Do you have the ability to work on a project until it’s done, even if there is no extraneous motivation or pressure to finish it?

If not, don’t worry. This self-motivation is something you can develop, even if you do need to get some help from friends. Here are three tips to help you get motivated and stay motivated:

• Create a contract. Sometimes people just need structure in order to feel motivated. If that sounds like you, then create a contract with yourself that outlines all of your goals (along with specific deadlines). Then sign this contract to make it official. You may even want to get a friend to witness it and sign it, which will make you feel even more accountable.
• Use rewards. If you’re the type to get motivated with rewards, then set up a reward schedule based on your deadlines. If you achieve a goal and meet a deadline, reward yourself. (Eventually as your business grows, you won’t need outside rewards because the incoming cash will be rewarding enough.)
• Get an accountability partner. If you find that others help you stay on task, then find yourself a trusted friend to motivate you and hold you accountable. This friend can talk to you at the end of every week to find out if you finished your to-do list for the week, as well as ask you what you’ll be doing next week. This is very motivating, because if you don’t do what you said you were going to do, you’ll feel really embarrassed telling your friend.

So, the bottom line is that if you don’t have a lot of built-in motivation, you can use the above tips and tricks to keep you moving forward.

Now the next trait…