We are often so focused on the end result of our goals that we forget the process needed to  get us there. If you want something great, you have to lay the groundwork and that takes time. You have to want it bad enough that you are willing to put in weeks, months, years towards that goal and hone your skills. Just wishing it is not going to be enough.

Lets say you’re a musician and you dream and obsess about being on stage. You’re rocking your guitar, the crowd is chanting your name, your adoring fans waiting for you at your hotel, doors being opened for you wherever you go, your name on top of the charts. This is the result you’re dreaming about it, but do you also think about the process?

The late nights working on your music, tuning and perfecting it, networking till you drop, trying to get gigs, playing for next to nothing in bars hidden in dark alleys, finding a space to rehearse, being rejected a hundred times. All of this is still not a guarantee you’ll make it, but you need the mindset that you’ll do whatever it takes to get on that stage.

This goes for just about anything you want to set up in life. You want that billion-dollar company? then say goodbye to sleep and your social life for a while. You want to start a charity and help people? Then make sure you have the drive to cut through all the bureaucracy crap. You want your empire to last long after you’re gone? Then ask yourself how much you are willing to endure to get there. Make sure you’re willing to give it everything you got and then some. Dreaming about the endgame can be a drive, something to pull you there, but everything that comes before is on you and how smart you use your resources.

It takes effort and tremendous dedication if you want to excel in your field. Nowadays we all seem to want fast results. We’re the now generation that want everything yesterday rather than today and preferably without getting out of bed to do it.

It’s easy to look at the lives of the wealthiest people and think that was just handed to them. In most cases these billionaires were self-made. They all took risks, did something different, learned from their mistakes and persisted when things didn’t go as planned.

Take Bill Gates who failed miserably at his first attempt with Traf-O-Data company in the 70’s, but he did not lose heart. Instead he learned from that experience what probably also played an instrumental role in making Microsoft. And Steve Jobs who was ousted from Apple, instead of feeling sorry for himself he pushed back and started a new company, where after he was begged/welcomed back, depending on your point of you, into Apple and he turned it into the empire it is today.

I came across this anonymous quote that resonated with me; Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” You need to make a few sacrifices and at times even suffer along the way if you want to reap the fruits of your labor later.

Entrepreneurship is a beautiful journey with more than one setback, it’s easy to let the negative emotions take over during hard times. When dealing with obstacles our mind focusses on the things we can’t control and that can keep us in a dark spot. But no matter what goes wrong, there are always things you can control. Figure out what those are, ask for help, regroup and take action. Don’t let self-doubt and a few hurtles on the way keep you from building your empire.