Don't sell yourself short

So what is stopping you from making it? Let me guess (tick all that apply:)
- you don't have enough experience,
- you don't have enough contacts,
- you are too young,
- too old
- don't have enough money
- you got a D in math class when you were 14
- you got abused as a kid
- your parents didn't love you enough
- you didn't have any parents
- you are in the wrong neighborhood
- in the wrong country
- at the wrong time (or too late to get into the game)
- have missed the boat
- didn't go to the right school
- don't have an MBA
- you are too short
- too tall
- not good looking enough
- have the wrong name
- you have the wrong skin
- the wrong religion
- don't have a university degree
....

The list is endless of the reasons why you cant do what you want to do. The fact is that we all have our reasons that we have convinced ourselves of of why we aren't where we want to be.

When things weren't going right for Txtfo I started to give myself these 'excuses' as well. I thought my prospects aren't buying because I have the wrong name 'Amir Ahmad' is just too muslim sounding in this post 9-11 world. I'm not going to be able to generate enough PR. This must be the reason. The fact was that I was where I was and I was looking for the excuses. You will be amazed at how when things aren't going right you will find the 'real reason' why you are where you are and not where you want to be.

The first step to this is acklowedging your 'excuses'. I encourage you to put down right here on this page what your excuses are. Think of the irrational and the rational reasons. Yes it might be a fact that you are broke but just write all the reasons down. To help you on your way here are a typical set of 'excuses' (sometimes known as 'limiting beliefs') that you have.

Now that you have put them down look for reasons why this shouldn't matter. Do some of your own research on 'successful people' that have accomplished despite these limitations. For instance Napoleon Bonnepearte was short, Colonel Sanders was in his 60s when he started KFC, Michael Dell started Dell with $1,000, Franklin D. Rooselvelt had polio and was wheelchair bound.

The fact is if you don't think you can do it, you won't be able to do it. You have to recognise your shortcomings and acklowledge that they are there. I am not suggesting that if your skin colour happens to be black that you are actually changing that and not becoming black. Or that if you are 4 foot 7 that all of a sudden you are going to gain a foot in height. What I am saying is that the first step is to know yourself and know your own situation.

Take the next step

The next step is to know how you might be able to use these 'shortcomings' to your advantage or how you can counteract these. For instance, if you are black and feel that there is racism in the world than also realise that there are a lot of groups/people/organisations that will want you to succeed because you are black. There are funds available to help black businesses. Use them (if you feel appropriate). In my experience people do have stereotypes but the thing that probably stops you achieving more is your own internal mindset. It is the fact that when you see a potential client all you can think is that she won't buy from me because I'm black/muslim/short/fat etc... Yes people look at you from the outside and make judgements about you depending on the last experience they had with a black/muslim/short/fat person or what they have heard about these groups. But the fact is very few people actually stick with their first impressions.

Think about yourself. You probably also judge people from the outside. You might think the Japanese are hardworking and polite, the Americans are loud, the Brits are welmannered(or hooligans depending on what you have read recently), the Pakistanis good looking (okay I inserted this one). But the fact is that when you spend sometime with these people you are easily swayed and might think that Japanese are polite in general but this guy is plain rude.

Why do we stereotype? Because it saves us time. It is impossible to get to know everyone well. We need to make some judgements quickly. We buy from Tesco's because we stereotype the fact that they will sell us something at a cheaper price. On some of their products they might make bigger margins and be more expensive that. But you trust on most things they will be cheaper.

As far as other factors such as not having enough contacts, money etc... These are all things that you can work on. You have to know that there is an art to everything. Just as you wouldn't expect a brain surgeon to start operating on you without some education you can't make way on your other 'shortcomings' without some education. I don't mean that you have to have a degree or go to school for this. You need to learn from books, people, the internet wherever you can to help you solve the problem. This book will show you how to get started in some areas but ultimately it is up to you to take the next steps and teach yourself. There are no excuses - you do have access to the internet at least.