This may sound lazy and like taking the easy way out, but why would you want to struggle and fail if all the mistakes have already been made for you?

And, why are we still accepting the faulty beliefs that unless it's hard and we don't have the battle scars to prove our heroic efforts, our success is not worthy?

I grew up with the constant conditioning that the measure of a man (or woman in my case) was determined by how hard he worked. Unfortunately, this message was drilled into the minds of many children of parents who lived through the depression.

As a result I worked hard in school, harder at work, and relentlessly at starting my first two home businesses.

It wasn't until I had the bruises, injured ego and nearly shattered confidence that I learned I was going about things all wrong.

Going it alone and starting from square one made absolutely no sense when people a hundred steps ahead of me had already traveled the same path and made it through to the other side.

Ask anyone who has achieved great success, whether in their business or personal life, and they will tell you they found a mentor or someone who already achieved the results they sought and modeled their behavior.

One of my mentors once said, "Somebody else has already done what you want to do. Recreating is nuts."

You can't beat that logic.

As you build your home business, consider the enormous amount of work you create and risk you take when you choose to learn from your own mistakes. Somebody's already paid the price so why should you repeat the lesson?

As you consider taking certain actions, ask yourself, "Who has already done this?" and seek them out. Study their lives or their businesses and learn from their mistakes so you don't have to repeat them.

Study those you want to emulate by reading their bios, purchasing their products or books, attending functions they are speaking at, or by contacting them directly and asking for guidance.

Oftentimes, I'll hear the excuse, "I don't have time."

I suggest you ask yourself what amount of time and money you will lose and what the end result could look like if you choose to do it your way - alone.

Once you've discovered the mistakes that have already been made, choose someone who represents everything you want to be, do or have then study him or her.

Find out what they're doing and then model them. Before making decisions, ask yourself, "How would so and so handle this?" This will cause you to start thinking in a different way than you've been programmed.

Begin your research today and you will quickly discover that no successful entrepreneur, teacher, athlete or leader has made it alone. They had mentors, coaches, … a hero they chose to model.

And once you understand this and adopt this new way of thinking and being, you will advance through the ladder of home business success in leaps and bounds.

2007 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source

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