Hey everyone,
Since March, I have been work-shopping my brand Athena Sayaka. Because of this, I’ve recently been listening to a couple of podcasts focused on entrepreneurship, most notably, Beyond Influential.
While this podcast offers a lot of great insight and inspiration, I can see how some people could be discouraged while listening. In each of her episodes, Brittany Krystle Hoffman asks her guests when they realized they could influence people. Most, but not all, of the guests replied with a story of detailing how their innate ability to influence was apparent since they were children.
Though these stories are meant to be uplifting, there is an unfortunately rampant mindset that could be triggered. Often, I hear people griping that they cannot succeed in independent business endeavors because they lacked the entrepreneurial spirit as a fetus.
The issue with this line of thinking is that it reinforces the idea that you have to already have to have X trait to achieve Y lifestyle. You don’t need to have “It” from birth. You just need to be willing to acknowledge your weaknesses and relentlessly work on improving yourself. I do not think developing entrepreneurial skill is an easy feat. I do, however, think that the people who have enough drive to improve could win that battle.
I have never been spectacularly influential. When I realized I lacked this trait, I immediately began to build the skill. I have dedicated many hours to educating myself on the subject. I have read several books, listened to many speakers who address the topic, and applied the principles I learned whenever possible. This has been two weeks in the making, and I can already see a huge difference in my ability to directly persuade and influence people.
I have made several goals (different post) about personal development, travel, and money for the next 12 months. At this moment, I am on a journey. I don’t know where I’ll be in June 2019, but I know my life will be better and I will be operating closer to my full potential. I will be documenting my journey through this blog, LinkedIn, and Instagram TV.
My goal in documenting the struggle to come is both to provide me with accountability to follow through on my goals and to hopefully uplift anyone else who wants to follow a similar path.
People keep themselves below their potential or talk themselves out of amazing possibilities because they think one has to be born with all the perfect characteristics. I promise you don’t. Please don’t let defeatist thinking cloud your mind. You have much more control over yourself than you’d think.
