It’s Friday so that must mean another long haul flight to endure to another part of the globe. Just as well as I love flying (NOT)! Last weekend India, this weekend Hong kong. Gem and I are signing off all the S/S 16 faux botanicals and conceptualizing and working on winter 2016. Bit bonkers but there you go as long as the results are fabulous right and there’s a deep tissue massage at the end of the flight I can deal with it – kind of!
Down to biz and a question – do you make excuses about not chasing your dreams? It’s not the right time, I’m too busy, I’ve got no money yadda yadda yadda. Successful people don’t push their dreams aside, don’t accept excuses and don’t let excuses stand in their way and ignore all the following:
“I’m too old / not old enough.”
Rubbish excuse you can accomplish anything at any age, don’t let that put off you off – look at Julia Child, Henry Ford, Reid Hoffman. On the flip side of that there’s people like Mark Zuckerberg, Nick D’Aloisio or interior designer Sophie Ashby– don’t use your age as an excuse I say, whatever the number.
“It’s scary.”
Everyone gets scared; even Beyoncé! In an interview recently she said: “I have accomplished nothing without a little taste of fear in my mouth.” That’s how it is (maybe the only thing I have in common with Beyoncé, but I’ll take that!).
I spend a great deal of my time fearful and anxious about the biz, especially with manufacturing, logistics and the wholesale side of it. But you know what, I use it as motivation. Remember, what’s the worst that is going to happen? Very worst is that you fail – but at least you know you tried, you gave it your best shot. Personally I’d rather that than be kicking myself for ever more for not pursuing my dreams.
“I don’t have enough money.”
As tough as this sounds there is no golden rainbow with money at the end. You might not get a loan from the bank, savings don’t last forever, you’re never going to get rich quick – think outside the box. Start small, get bigger and bootstrap your growth. Diversify, think of other ways of creating revenue streams, perhaps consider crowd funding… keep going at it. Here’s some other finance tips if you’re just starting out.
“I don’t have the right connections.”
No worries. You don’t need a little black book of press, dream customers, fairy godmother investors and industry insiders. Social media makes it possible to connect with the world. With Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ etc, everyone is accessible. You can contact anyone as long as you have an interesting idea, something good to offer and a confident pitch.
“I haven’t got the time.”
This excuse drives me the mad the most. Everyone has the same amount of hours in a day – 24. Whether you are the President or the postman. It’s how you use your time, how you prioritise your time and how you find more time. Do what I do. Get up 2 hours earlier than everyone else, work later if needs be. If you want it badly enough, you’ll find the time.