The difference between success & failure
- By Rusty Goodall -
- Feb 08, 2012
What sits on the fine line between success and failure? Here's a guest blog on the power of perseverance...
Being an entrepreneur means a whole lot of different things. Entrepreneurs must have an advanced set of skills that sets him or her apart from the rest; skills that should include the one characteristic that could spell the difference between success and failure - perseverance.
Having perseverance is a gift – you either have it or you don’t. Perseverance is not something that you can simply acquire; it must be one of your core attributes and present in an overwhelming abundance throughout the entire journey of entrepreneurship. Perseverance is the one governing law that will inevitably decide your success.
Fortunately for me, I am an extremely persistent person, which, and as many entrepreneurs will know, can often be mistaken for pig headedness – which also happens to be another defining factor of an entrepreneur. Without a solid foundation of perseverance, it won’t take long before the relentless knock-backs, constant setbacks, unanswered emails and dead-ends, combined with mounting stress and a never ending ‘to do list’ all become too much for you to sustain, and you simply give up.
Perseverance is defined as steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success and it’s quite appropriate that the word steadfastness is defined as loyalty in the face of trouble and difficulty. Why do we do this again? Oh, that’s right, it’s the pig-headedness. If I had a pound for every time I thought that I was in over my head or I found something too difficult, then I would be a wealthy man. However, failure is not an option and adversities are meant to be overcome. This is my definition of perseverance.
Even though All Abroad UK is only a few months old, the company and I are far from immune to the trouble and difficulties of more established companies. From the conception of this idea to its current state, I have had my fair share of obstacles to overcome on both a professional and personal level. From server meltdowns to heavy-handed lawyer letters, it’s all just a day’s work for an entrepreneur who is single handedly running an entire business – especially from the other side of the world!
As I am not a UK citizen, I was required to return back home to Australia where I now essentially work 2 days in one to account for the 10-hour time difference between the UK and Australia. I currently work from 9am-5pm in Australia sourcing content for the site, carrying out maintenance, developing, implementing and testing new features and also preparing emails and documents for my UK business audience. When 5pm comes around and most sensible Australians are at home relaxing, I have just started my UK shift where I spend the next 6 hours implementing the days’ work. This is really where your high perseverance levels are most required. Yes, whilst starting your own business and watching it develop is exciting, working more than 100 hours per week in the initial stages is an extremely exhausting task.
As an entrepreneur, you must have exceptional time management skills and the ability to plan your day to ensure that you work your business, and it does not work you. Having said that, you will most definitely be required to sacrifice some social activities that you enjoyed in your previous life in order to fuel the needs for your new business. If you’re anything like me, you will soon discover that your work desk can also be used as a breakfast and dinner table with the added functionality of a bed. The moral of the story is that if you aren’t prepared to make drastic sacrifices, lose sleep and persevere, then you will not succeed. As entrepreneurs, we know that the longer we delay the feeling of reaping the rewards, the greater the rewards will be. Never give up!
Image by Ewan-M on Flickr
By Rusty Goodall. Blogs at All Abroad UK, tweets at allabroaduk
This guest blog complies to Virgin.com terms & conditions.
