I belong to a small group of business people that meet once a month and talk about business related issues. Mainly they are business consultants and small businesses owners. The people at this group are all self employed in some capacity. Some are retired and working for themselves. Some have escaped cubicles and are working to build their own businesses. The range of experience varies widely. Some have done this forever. Some have just opened shop. It’s a good mix. We meet at a local restaurant over lunch and discuss various topics for about two hours. Most of the time it’s around a hour and a half. Lots of times people hang out and keep talking. It’s great. Honestly, most of my friends are employed by larger companies. They have the mindset of people employed by large companies. What I like about this group is that they don’t have that mindset. They have a different energy about them. It’s an underlying positive current. I look forward to the meetings. No matter what I feel like when I get there, I leave with a different attitude. I’ve spent two hours with people who are making things happen. Sure they have problems but they are working on the solutions to them. I can’t help but feel more positive when I leave. These people are doing what I want to be doing and they are successful at it. People pay them for their knowledge and creativity. I have direct evidence that it can be done. What could be more empowering than that?
So, great for me hey. I’m sure you’re wondering how that fits into your quest. Not everyone could belong to this group. Well, this isn’t the group for everyone’s quest. The message is that you need to find people that share your passion. Success is a team sport. If you can find one other person that shares your passion, your chances of realizing it are hugely better. Nothing will keep your motivation higher than spending time with people who are successful at what you want to do.
That may not appear easy to do at first. But if you look around you can find people who share your passion. Look for a club or class that deals with your interest. You may need to create one if one doesn’t exist near you. Internet forums and blogs can get you connected to like minded individuals. If your interest has a professional organization then it might pay to belong to it too. Access to people who are doing what you want to do is a powerful boost to your quest.
Why is this? It comes down to two factors. The first is motivation. You see people doing what you want to do. It’s easy to think that no body ever succeeds at achieving your passion when you are the only one you know interested in it. If you know someone doing it then you have evidence that it can be done. If one person is doing it then you could be doing it too. If two or three people you know are doing it then it becomes why aren’t you doing it. Peer pressure is not always a bad thing.
The other factor is the combined knowledge and idea generating power of a group. Napoleon Hill called this a mastermind. I know you’ve all seen it. You get a few people talking about some problem and all of a sudden all these ideas start coming up. If you can find a group of people involved with what you want to do, then you have a powerful resource for making it happen.
If you are actually going to fulfill your quest, you are going to need people around you that share your passion. That support is what’s going to get you through the rough spots. You need some people who are going to listen to your dreams and say ‘yea, I thought about that too and here’s what I did about it’. Your friends at the office, who’s outside life is the latest TV comedies, are not going to really understand. The bad thing is that by doubting your ideas, they are going to feed the doubts that you have. Before long you will be spending your time watching the same TV shows and your dream will be something to be done sometime in the far future.
So, find some people who have similar passions to yours. They can do wonders for you and in return you will help them stay on track. Success is a team effort. Working alone makes for a hard and lonely trip. Don’t worry about not finding them. The law of attraction will work for you. The light of your passion will draw those who share it. Just look for them.
Quest On…
