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Rely On Yourself First

That’s a pretty strong title, eh? Well, it’s true. There’s only one person who you can really depend on in your life. Yourself.

How many times has someone told you one thing and did something else? How many times has someone promised to help you out but totally flaked on you? How many times have you depended in someone’s service only to receive less than stellar service?

I’m not here to say “never” rely on others, because we need people to help us achieve success, but I’m here to say: don’t become complacent and rely on people when it puts your business at risk.

As a young entrepreneur, you need to always have a backup plan. A contingency plan for everything. When my computer got fried last week after someone spilled a drink on it, I automatically started planning out how I would be able to use a computer.

I knew that I could “borrow” a computer here and there from friends, but that wouldn’t really solve my problem. I couldn’t rely on them to lend me their computer 24/7, especially when they needed it for business as well.

So instead of relying on people, I opted to using the computers at my former college. So for the past week, I have been waking up and heading downtown to the computer lab. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do in order to get something done.

Don’t get caught up in thinking that people are always going to be there for you. Even your best friend can turn their back on you. This is so important in business. If something needs to get done and you are unsure whether or not a particular person is going to come through for you, then you better think about taking action.

If you get into the habit of depending on people your entire life and things start to fall a part as a result of people not following through, then there is only one person to blame. Guess who? That would be you.

So does that mean that you shouldn’t have a team? Absolutely not. You should have a team (if necessary). But you have to constantly weed out the people who persist on letting you down. Think twice before you give someone a second chance. You may get burned in the long run if you give too many “second chances.”

Don’t put your business in the hands of someone who is going to let you down — just not worth it.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 12th, 2007 at 2:24 pm and is filed under attitude. You can trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Rely On Yourself First”

1

You couldn’t have posted this a better time. I have experienced let down when I ask for help. I’m not the type of person who does, unless I really need it and sometimes it backfires. Especially when it comes to my business until I woke up and realized that if I want things to get done, I need to do it myself. You can’t except for other to have the same drive and passion for your business as you do.

2

Hey Artiatesia, Glad that the post was helpful! When it comes to your business, always rely on yourself “first” and you’ll save a lot of heartache that way. That’s right. You are the visionary, the one that holds the true passion, and the only one who will always do anything and everything possible to get something down. It’s rare to find others that will be as committed as you.

3

Nice Post David,

I would say this is always true… you need reserves at all times. I do this when hiring web developers and working with them. Because their work is project based most times they’ll bail if they get a better paying gig else where.

You’ve got to rely on yourself first because it starts and ends with you when you are starting a business.

Lucas

4

Hey Luc,

Thanks for the comment. Relying on yourself first is a must for all entrepreneurs. It’s something not to take lightly. It’ll save you a lot of time and money down the line. :)

5

I can agree with “relying on yourself” is something entrepreneurs must do. However, I think it’s more value to say that believing in yourself is a first. Yes, of course you can’t depend or rely on others to believe in you or your endeavors. I have experienced it first hand. My personal experience was “hoping” that my friends & some family members would support & believe and jump in with what I wanted to do. Hoping, gave me a late start as well as almost sent me to give up. I overcame that quickly when my father almost lost their house I grew up in. Instead of “Hoping” that everything was going to be okay, I jumped in and provided solutions & solved problems, reigniting my passion & drive for what I initially sought to do. Now, I believe & rely on 3 statements: 1.)Work Hard 2.)Never Give up and 3.) Love what I do. Believe & Unleash Your Passion

6

Hey Darrin,

Thanks for the awesome comment. I, too, found myself “hoping” for people to be in my corner when starting my first business and to my surprise I was let down time and time again until I stopped hoping and started making things happen by myself, such as you did. You are absolutely right, you have to believe in yourself before anything else. Right on.

7

David,

My favorite part:

“…A contingency plan for everything. When my computer got fried last week after someone spilled a drink on it, I automatically started planning out how I would be able to use a computer.”

I’m the exact same way. I would add that the reason for this need to be proactive is that the ultimate responsibility & ownership for the good or unpleasant consequences IS the entrepreneur’s.

Your employees or team aren’t going to be thrown in jail for half as long as you will for your unethical behavior; they won’t be working slave-labor to pay off millions of debt you’ve incurred; AND they won’t be enjoying the $1.65 billion in your bank account once you’re acquired by Google.

It’s ALL you– so take some action, right? :)

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