O.K., here we go:

1. You are going to fail. Not once, not twice, but over and over again. All those cool things that were gonna work like magic won’t. But that’s O.K., you will find the magic. Every time you fail you learn two things: 1. What doesn’t work. 2. What does work. That’s how we learn. (Think learning how to walk.) Grab a hold of it. Use it. Defuse the cultural bias that says you have to get everything right the first time. Never happens. Go!

2. You are going to succeed. Not overnight, but you will succeed. You’ve heard the phrase, “Overnight success.” It’s just not true. There has always been preparation, experimentation, and growth to produce that success. Always.

3. Be persistent. That doesn’t mean hang on to things that aren’t working. (Refer to #1.) Let that stuff go in a hot second. Persistence trumps talent. (I borrowed that from “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko” by Dan Pink.)

4. Show up. Every day. Whatever that means in your entrepreneurial situation. It’s your dream, your vision, your goal. No one else can make it happen for you. Yep, it’s tough, but you can do it. Go!

5. Put together an awesome team. You can’t do this on your own. Not only is that all right, it’s really healthy. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. Use your strengths, and find people who are better than you to fill in your weak areas. Make sense?

6. Keep moving forward. Every day. Especially on the days when everything is pushing back. Push back harder. Get mad. (Not at people. Bad idea.) An inch gained is an inch gained.

7. Celebrate every win! Woohoo! Celebrate that inch you just gained! You rock! (And so does your team!)

8. Read. Feed your mind good stuff. It is impossible to over-emphasize how important this is. Read. Not just stuff you find on the internet, and/or magazines, read books. Today’s cutting-edge business writers know that you don’t want to read boring stuff. Neither do they. Find the people who feed you and read, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day. Leaders read.

9. Take care of yourself physically. Watch what you eat. Exercise. Get enough sleep. The better you feel physically, the better you’re going to feel mentally and emotionally. Remember that question about being resilient? A lot of resiliency comes from right here.

10. “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.” – Winston Churchill

Go! Make it happen!

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