Never Quit: Strategies on Perseverance From 6 Seasoned Entrepreneurs

“When starting out in business, it can be difficult to generate self-belief if you’ve never done it before. “Maybe this isn’t for me,” you think after the 10th hot lead says, “I’ll pass.”

 

These seasoned entrepreneurs and members of The Oracles share their strategies to program your mind for relentless persistence.

1. Take the punches.

 

Most people claim to be “entrepreneurs” but aren’t. I don’t pretend to be an NFL quarterback. But that’s what’s happening in the startup space.

 

After getting an F on my fourth-grade science test, I remember sitting in my small bedroom, making the mental decision to screw school and become a businessman. (This was long before becoming an entrepreneur was “cool.”) I was prepared to eat the pain ahead. I would win by honing my selling skills, which started with baseball cards and evolved into wine.

 

My inside voice said, “Listen, Gary. I’ve got some great F-ing news. You’re going to be 100 percent right. It’s gonna happen. You’ll prove them all wrong.” You need that unshakable self-belief. Otherwise, you’ll quit after one “punch in the face” or failure.

 

Watch a UFC fighter get hit and you’ll think, “Holy crap, one punch would kill me.” But they train to handle the shots.

 

Likewise, if all my employees suddenly quit, I’d know exactly what to do the next day. Top 10 client leaves? Cool. Can no longer ship to a state at Wine Library TV? No problem. It was 18 months before Wine Library TV even really clicked. I can handle unlimited punches because I’m a purebred 100-percent entrepreneur.

 

Everyone falls on the scale from a “wannapreneur”—who quits and gets a job after the first punch—and an entrepreneur who builds a business that lasts. So, do your thing, don’t settle for the norm and go for it! —Gary Vaynerchuk, founder and CEO of VaynerMedia (700+ employees with over $100 million in annual revenue), NYT-bestselling author, and mentor on “Planet of the Apps“…”

 

Read the full article provided by The Oracles at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/299071.