How Long Must You ‘Pay Your Dues’?
You’ve been lied to.
I’m sorry for that, but it wasn’t me. You’ve been told for years that there’s no such thing as an overnight success and that sometimes in business you have to pay your dues first.
It’s not completely true.
Most of the people who say those things and think that way are slow. They are slow to take action. They are slow to implement. They are slow to make money. They are slow to reaching success. That’s not how you want to be and that’s not how you should be.
I’ve certainly paid my dues. I’ve experienced years of setbacks, mistakes, failures, embarrassment, and even shame. I’ve also experienced incredible success. But I never sat around waiting. I never assumed a “these things take time” attitude. If you have that attitude I suggest you start working immediately to get rid of it. It’s poison.
So many entrepreneurs take things slow. They have the ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ philosophy. I agree with it, BUT Rome was also built. They completed it. They didn’t sit around wasting time thinking “these things take time”. They got off their butt and worked.
What’s your attitude about time?
Are you writing off your lack of success as “paying your dues”? If you are, well then you’re screwed. While you’re paying those dues the rest of us are making money, having success, and living an awesome life. We aren’t waiting.
Success doesn’t have to take a long time.
It doesn’t have to take 5 years, 10 years, or even 1 year. Get those thoughts out of your head. They are death to an entrepreneur.
I know of a real estate agent who experienced incredible success in a very short period of time. The average real estate agent sells 4-6 homes a year. After a few years in the business they may be a “top producer” and sell 25-35. Maybe. But Jim Striegel from Texas didn’t want to wait.
In his first year in the business Jim sold almost 200 homes. That’s right 200. Most agents don’t sell 200 in their entire career. I once heard Jim at a conference and he was asked the question we all have for him…how? How did he sell 200 in his first year in the business, with zero real estate experience, when it takes years for most to even hit 50 homes sold in a year.
Jim’s answer was simple and amazing. He said “I didn’t know it was supposed to take a long time“. Can you imagine if Jim bought into the idea of paying your dues? What if Jim focused on how most agents sell 4 homes a year? I highly doubt he would have sold 20 homes much less 200.
Success doesn’t have to take forever.
I’m always shocked at the amount of people who attend a conference and don’t do anything. And those that do have an elaborate plan of action for when they get home. Why wait until you get home?
I once learned an amazing new strategy at a conference. It motivated me to change all of my advertising. I wrote the new ads during a break and then called back home to my local newspaper and told them I was faxing the new ads over. By the time the conference was over and I was back home my new ads were published and I had leads waiting for me.
Why wait?
You may be just starting. You may be in debt. You may be struggling. I understand and sympathize with you. I do. But please know that success is right around the corner. It’s not hiding and it’s not 5 years ahead of you waiting. It’s right now. You can go from 0 to $5K, $30K, $300,000 or whatever in 30 days. Maybe 6 months. Maybe 3 years. It’s up to you.
You can keep struggling and paying your dues. You can continue to assume these things take time. Or you can get fed up with that kind of attitude and start taking action towards your dreams. Success is now…if you want it.
