It is not your intelligence or education. There are many high school drop-outs that have succeeded and plenty of college grads who have failed. It's not your looks, because plenty of “beautiful people” have failed. It's not the amount of money you have to invest in your business, because plenty of people with money to invest have failed. It is not the business model or marketing plan, because some succeed and many people fail using the same plan and model. The secret is “DESIRE”; and, it can't be a ho-hum desire. You have to have a burning, deep down, insatiable desire to succeed.

The key is to find your “WHY”. You have to have a reason, or a purpose, for starting your own business. What do you want this business to do for you? Take the time to truly understand and acknowledge what your purpose is for starting your own business. That's your “WHY”. This will be your motivator, your boundless source of energy that will help you to persevere through the disappointments that will be encountered along the way. No one said that it would be smooth sailing or a “slam dunk”. As General Dwight Eisenhower said “There are no victories at bargain prices”. You need to stay focused on this.

For some people, they just have always wanted to own their own business. Some want to get involved in a business that helps others solve a problem with the products or services offered. Maybe you want to earn money that would enable you to do more volunteer work. Many are just fed up with the rat race, the status quo, and want to be able to make money working from home. For many it is the money and the reasons are all different:

• Supplement the family budget?

• Be able to donate more money to charity

• Be able to quit that second job?

• Send your children to private school?

• How about college tuition?

• Fund your retirement?

• Buy a new car or boat?

• Pay off credit card debt?

Whatever the reason, you want to write it down on an index card and keep it with you at all times. Print up a sign and post it on the refrigerator. Scotch tape it to the bathroom mirror so that you see it every day. A picture or graphic works best. Cut a picture of the car or boat you want out of a catalogue. Cut out the emblem of the school or picture of the campus where you want to send your child. Pictures of your children or the “dream house” also work. You have to feel it, taste it, smell it, experience it before you actually get it. Visualization, auto-suggestion, positive thinking, positive focus are all terms to describe this technique. You have to visualize accomplishing your goal, just as a successful athlete does.

Then take action. If you have joined an established business with a proven track record, use their established system. You have already paid for it. Don't reinvent the wheel or customize their marketing plan to your liking. That usually doesn't work. Use the system and the tools that have been proven over time to work for others before you. Dive in and participate with your upline and leadership. Take the action steps suggested by your trainers. Do the training assignments, get out of your comfort zone and apply what you have been taught. Attend Team Calls. Now is not the time to procrastinate. Nothing happens without action. Like the ad on TV says, “Just do it”. Don't wait until the house is in foreclosure or the repo man is stalking your car. Why put yourself under the pressure of having to get your business up and running and profitable ASAP when you are struggling to put food on the table? It can be done. It has been done by many before you, so why wait? If you wait until the eleventh hour cash flow may be nonexistent or negative and it may be too late. The time to take action is now.

You can change your own life and your financial destiny. You can have the lifestyle you have always wanted. You can achieve financial and time freedom. But, it will be up to you. You will have to work for it. Remember that many fail to recognize opportunity because most of the time it is disguised as hard work. Keeping your “WHY” in front of you should give you the extra motivation needed to take action, persevere and succeed.