All of us have experienced that moment of divine inspiration. An idea that clicks and makes you feel an unstoppable drive to make it a reality.
This emotional state is not permanent. To take a startup from a concept to a successful exit, it is necessary to remain focused and dedicated for a significant amount of time. You’ll also need to persevere even when it seems impossible, which can be much more difficult than you might think.
Here are some tips to help you stay focused as you work towards startup success.
1. You can share your goals with friends, family, and colleagues.
You should be serious about your vision and share it with those you care about.
Naval Ravikant is one of the founders and prominent investors in startups. He says, “I was literally embarrassed to start my own company.”
Before he was an entrepreneur, he shared with his coworkers that he was employed temporarily at the company he worked for – until he started his own business. His coworkers kept asking him why he hadn’t quit. This gave him the drive to make the leap.
Robert Cialdini explains in Influence that people want to be consistent with past actions and words in social situations. It is important to tell people what you are going to do. Failures in this regard can lead to social costs.
This means that quitting is more painful than working through difficult times. If you’re the only one who made the promise, this is not always true.
2. Write down your goals
However, it is possible to use the same desire, which is to keep your commitments intact, as an internal motivation.
Robert Cialdini shared that door-to-door salespeople discovered that customers filling out sales agreements can significantly reduce refunds. This means that the buyer will feel less remorse if they are personally committed to the sale.
The same psychological trick can be used on yourself: Write down your commitments, and place them somewhere visible (e.g. You can use the same psychological trick on yourself – write down your commitments and place them somewhere visible (i.e., on your desk at work). This small piece of paper will help you hold yourself accountable.
3. Give yourself some time for the tasks you enjoy
When your startup becomes a viable business instead of a new idea, it is often necessary to devote a lot time to activities that are not very exciting. You will need to solve legal and accounting issues, perform repetitive operational tasks, and so on.
All of these are inevitable. However, it is important to remember that you must love your job as founder if you want disciplined and persistent.
To combat this, you can make sure you have some spare time each day or at least a small amount every week to invest in things you love. It could be any activity you are passionate about, such as strategic planning, design, or writing content for your startup’s website. It may not be the best decision for you as a founder, since there are always more urgent issues. However, it will pay off if it helps to keep you motivated and excited about your workdays.
It is possible to work on your startup when you are motivated, but that inspiration doesn’t last forever. It is not easy to stay persistent with sheer discipline and strength. These tips can help you remain motivated even when things get tough.
