Fear can be a powerful motivator. It can also be a powerful roadblock and often stops people from realizing success. Could be fear of failure, fear of being seen as crazy, or fear of being judged by your friends/family, but fear almost always plays a role in not getting started. Ask yourself this: What's the worst that could happen? If you have the skills to start a successful business you probably have the skills to get a decent paying job. So if all else fails you get a job... Doesn't sound very scary. Maybe people will see you as crazy and your friends and family will judge you a little bit. Who cares? We've already talked about how the most successful people on the planet are often seen as crazy. Don't let fear get in the way of creating the life that you want. The worst possible outcome really isn't that scary. The life you've been dreaming of is often on the other side of the thing you are most afraid to do.

How many of you have an iPhone? How many of you got a coffee this morning? How many of you have a Netflix account? How many of you would be broke and still keep your Netflix subscription, still get a coffee, and still keep your iPhone? These companies and many more have done a great job of creating necessity - they make you feel like you NEED their product. Whether you're a seasoned business owner or just starting out, creating necessity is really important. That feeling of necessity keeps people coming back regardless of recessions, depressions, pandemics, or anything else the world can throw at us. The best part is, any business can do this. It doesn't matter if you're a landscaping company, gym, restaurant, software company, or accounting office. You can create a product or customer experience so outstanding that your customers won't go anywhere else for whatever you're selling. Alex Hormozi talks about something similar in $100M Offers when he says, "make your offer so good people feel stupid saying no." So how do you do this? The answer: outstanding products and customer experience. Become everyone's go-to for whatever it is you sell. Put an emphasis on high quality and going above and beyond for your customers. Be the first company your customers recommend when their friends are looking for that product or service. Don't stop iterating and trying new things until you create necessity. Comment on what you're doing to create necessity in your business!

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Do you relate to any of the above? I definitely do. Think about some famous billionaires like Elon Musk. Does he come across as 'normal' to you? Those that wish to create major success need to normalize not being normal. Normalize working on weekends if necessary, saying no to unproductive activities, avoiding toxic friends, and any other distraction that prevents you from being successful. Successful people aren't normal. Normal is making $75k per year, having a dog and a picket fence and two kids. Normal is driving a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord and living almost paycheck to paycheck to afford that 'normal' lifestyle. Why would you want to be normal? If you're seen as crazy by 'normal' people you're probably doing something right. So here's to the crazy ones. I'm one of them. I hope you are too. I'm obsessed with building a life that most people see as unachievable. I work long hours, and I cut out all unnecessary people and distractions. I am definitely seen as unrealistic and insane by everyone around me, but thats okay. I'm working on changing the world. And the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world , are the ones who do.

Being successful in business and life requires a certain amount of mental toughness. Owning a business is HARD. Failing your way to success is HARD. Cultivating a hard mindset for yourself will allow you to weather the storms of business in a more productive way. As you read through the 10 habits below, take note of the ones you struggle with and commit to working on them. 1. Don't avoid change. Remember that change is inevitable. You're able to match your highest values and talents to the changes that occur. Strengths will reveal that you never thought you had. 2. Eliminate the victim mindset. Realize you have more control than you think and take responsibility. During the process be kind to yourself. 3. Don't be a people pleaser. Be able to say "No" and set boundaries. 4. Don't make the same mistakes over and over. Reflect on what happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. 5. Don't try to be like anyone else. There's only 1 you in the universe. Be authentically you and people will appreciate it. 6. Don't follow the crowd. Stay true to yourself. 7. Don't feel entitled to success. What you fight for is what you deserve. 8. Avoid complaining about what you can't control. There's only so much that you can control. 9. Don't fear failure. The more you fail the quicker you can succeed. 10. Don't dwell on the past. Learn from it and look at ways it can benefit you down the road. Express the hurt and let it go.

I was watching a video where Alex Hormozi said, "Be patient with outputs and impatient with inputs" and it really got me thinking. Often times we think that we should see results immediately after starting. Whether it's losing weight or starting a business, we want immediate results. However, this often doesn't match reality, especially if you want long-lasting success. Let's unpack the above quote a little bit and match it with some real-life examples. What does it mean to be patient with your outputs? This means being okay with doing something over and over again with almost zero results. Zero views on YouTube, zero pounds lost, zero dollars made, etc. The biggest difference between those who succeed and those who don't is those who succeed have a larger tolerance for no results and they are massively consistent when most would quit. Inputs compound over time but only if you are consistent. When you're first starting out it always seems like you're getting way less out than you are putting in. The key is to do more and get better so that eventually you get more for what you do. Being impatient with inputs means being relentlessly consistent in whatever it is you are trying to achieve. Keep exercising, keep advertising, keep trying to sell, keep doing whatever it is you need to do every single day for an unreasonable amount of time and eventually the results will be massive. Bamboo is a great example of being patient with outputs and impatient with inputs. When you plant a bamboo seed, you need to water and fertilize it for weeks and sometimes months before it breaks through the ground. If you stop watering it, it will not grow. It seems like an unreasonable amount of input for such little output. However, when the seedling finally breaks through the ground, its growth is massive and can often grow dozens of feet tall in a few short weeks. There are great business examples of this idea as well. Most YouTubers take at least a few months to a year or more before their channel can be monetized. Often they need to put out 50+ videos before they make their first dollar. Can you imagine if Mr Beast gave up after 20 videos because he didn't have a million views? It took Mr Beast 4 years to get to 1000 subscribers. Now he is positioned to become the first billionaire YouTuber.