Talent, much like passion is one of the most misunderstood aspects of success. With passion, people tend to think that one day you just happen to stumble upon something and boom! You found your passion. In reality, passion is often cultivated over time. The first time you pick up an instrument, it is highly unlikely that you will love it and vow to become the next Mozart. It is usually not until after hours of mindful practice that you might find it to be even the least bit enjoyable.

Now, let's look at raw talent, many people think it is a prerequisite for success. History has proved quite the opposite and the examples are all but too compelling to dismiss. I love sports, and as someone who studies successful people I tend to look at the best players in any sport, whether it be tennis, boxing, swimming, MMA, or golf, and research them extensively, I am almost always looking for commonalities. Traits that they share regardless of their sport. I have almost always seen the typical hallmarks of true greatness. The insane work ethic, mixed with an unstoppable competitiveness, and sheer will. Interestingly enough, not all of the greats were born with the raw talent to be one of the best. What they did have however are perseverance and an unwavering determination.

Wayne Gretzky, arguably the best hockey players to ever live was not the most powerful skater. Many were faster and stronger than him, some might have even urged him to take up a different sport, as in hockey, speed and strength are extremely important. What Wayne did have however was the power of anticipation, he always skated to where the puck was going, not where it was. This is a skill he admitted to working on night and day so that he could be one of the best.

This is just one of many examples. Harrison Ford was told he would never make it in the acting business. Oprah Winfrey was demoted from her evening spot on television and Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper for lack of imagination. Do yourself a favor and Google any one of those names if you have spent the last 20 years at sea with no wifi and have a look at their stories.

Remember passion, how you build it over time as opposed to having a eureka moment, at least most of the time. These people all failed, but they refused to give up. Eventually, they hit their stride and developed the passion. The passion helped them to put in the blood, sweat, and tears when things were working against them, and the perseverance kept them moving forward no matter what setbacks they faced.

Does raw talent help, of course? Do you need to be the most talented to succeed? Of course not. Will you face challenges? Yes. But perseverance will win every time.

Stay Inspired!

-Raf

It's every entrepreneur's dream. Quitting their job and heading out to start the business of their dreams. The problem is that for most of us this is not practical. Many of us have homes and families. Mouths to feed and bills to pay. While there are many out there who have had success taking off with an idea and becoming wildly successful, for most of us, quitting our day job is not yet an option. Well, at least until our side hustle starts to grow some considerable revenue, or until we banked enough money on the side to last a few months while we focus on growing our business.

I remember the day I started this website, all I wanted was to share some of the lessons I have learned in my life and inspire people to apply some of the rules of success I have learned throughout the years. My goal was to write one post a week and record a podcast to go along with it. For those of you who follow "The Art of Inspiration" podcast, you will know that I quite didn't hit my goal, I will note that it was certainly not for lack of effort. Quite the opposite to be honest. I work a 9-5 job, that is really more like an 8-6, add an hour commute each way into busy New York City on top of that and I am left with not much time for writing and recording, in fact not much time for anything at all.

To make up for my lack of time I began waking up at 4:30 am every morning to squeeze in as much as possible before I left for the office. I hit my mark for the first few weeks, I managed to get my writing done, record and edit the audio so the podcast could make it to iTunes. To be completely honest, it totally burned me out. I was totally stressed from a high demanding fast-paced corporate career and adding more stress to myself just to get my podcast out. Not to mention at the same time all of this was happening I was planning a wedding, buying a house and moving. If you ask me it was a serious recipe for disaster.

The past year taught me a lot about being an entrepreneur and what it really takes to build a business on the side. So what are my top takeaways? I'm glad you asked.

It's Not Easy: If it were everyone with any decent spec of ambition would have already quit their job and be on there way to the Forbes' list of top entrepreneurs. Realize this before you set out and save yourself some heartache when things don't fall together on week 2. This brings me to my next takeaway,

It Takes Time: So, your plan isn't coming along as quickly as you thought it would? Well as the old saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." If you want this to be something amazing, it's going to take time. Never give up on the first sign of rough waters. Persistence is the key, it could take years but trust me it will be well worth it.

Discipline: Unless you are somehow blessed to be perpetually motivated 24/7, there are going to be times when you just don't have the juice to put the work in. Even as someone who hosts a motivational podcast, some days you simply just don't have it in you. This is where discipline kicks in, you just do it anyway. Much like going to the gym when you absolutely don't want to, you will thank yourself later. 

Plan: I mean really plan. You need a roadmap to achieve your goals and you should always be following it. Study other people and see how they did it. Make your 5-year plan and know what you need to do in 1 year to be on track for that goal. Once you know that start breaking out a weekly list of things that must be done. Plan your time accordingly. Time management is key to planning. Like Jim Rohn said, " either you run the day or the day runs you." 

Mind and Body: If you think they have nothing to do with your success as an entrepreneur, think again. Building a business is stressful and it consumes a lot of energy both mentally and physically. If you are neglecting your body you are just going to fall apart. Try to eat as healthy a possible and get the rest you need to recover. Exercise your body and mind. Something as simple as a brisk walk and 10 minutes of daily meditation can have a profound effect on your performance. And entrepreneurs need to perform, so stay sharp!

Building a business is not easy, with or without a 9-5 job. Can it be done, hell yes it can, and you can do it. Just plan, stick with it, stay sharp, never give up, and above all... Stay inspired!!

-Raf

Everyone encounters some form of setback in their lives. Whether it be the the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, a failed business plan. Whatever it may be there are always things you can do to overcome your setback. Setbacks are a part of life. Like Tony Robbins says, success is never a straight line. Success in business, in relationships, and in life. We all need to fall down at some point in the process. Falling down actually allows you to learn and grow. Some of the world's most successful people have suffered massive setbacks. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, Walt Disney was fired from a local newspaper, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. The list goes on, the world is filled with many examples of people who fell and later became great successes. The thing all these people had in common was resilience. They never acknowledged failure, they took every fall as an opportunity to grow and become better.

Below I have outlined some steps you can take to help you overcome challenges that you will inevitably encounter on your way to achieving your dreams. I have studied many successful people's strategies to facing challenges, but for me seeing is believing. I have personally used these strategies to overcome setbacks in my life, so I can attest they will work, but the one most important variable that will ultimately determine how successful these strategies are is your application. In other words, you have to use them, and I mean all the way.

1) Accept It: Shit happens! That's right, it happens to all of us, you are not the first person to experience a setback and you surely wont be the last. Very simple, and not much to define, come to terms then you can move on to phase 2.

2) Learn From It: Did life screw you over or did you screw up on your own. If are still thinking, " I can't believe this happened," then go back to step one, you aren't ready yet. On the other hand if you accepted it, now you need to examine it. Whether you messed up or you truly just got screwed over, there is always something to be learned. Search for the meaning and find something tangible that you can use and apply to your life that allows you grow from the situation. This will force you to dig down to the core and truly examine yourself. There is a seed in every setback, remember that! If you plant it, you will grow from it.

3) Get Up!: Literally, get up! Go exercise, it is one of the best ways to deal with stress. Don't feel like getting out of bed? Just go for a jog or brisk walk, get the blood flowing. You will not only feel better from the release of endorphins, but it will give you a chance to organize your thoughts. Once you are going and your thoughts are organized, you can move on to the next step.

4) Make a Plan: So what are you planning for? Well I am glad you asked. The answer, however, I can not tell you. You have to ask yourself what it is you truly want. You know the flaw, you just learned what might set you back, now figure out how you can improve and what your desired outcome is. Once you have that you can devise a plan to go after it. Remember there are always events in our lives that we can not control, what we can control is our response to them. Will you let it define you, or will you accept it, learn from it, get up and make a plan?

See there are always things that will get in our way, if achieving great things was easy, everyone would be at the top. What separates the successful people from the ones who stay stuck is their willingness to move forward no matter what comes their way. A bodybuilder can't grow big muscles without first tearing the fibers in them, a tree wont grow deep roots unless the wind blows against it, and neither will you.

Stay Inspired!

-Raf