Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
You want your venture to make it big, right? Subconsciously, youmay not. Take, for example, Rand Stagen, 29, the founder andpublisher of The Met magazine, a Dallas publication thatcovers the local entertainment and nightlife scene. He started themagazine at age 23 with the aim of expanding it into a large-scalenational media company.
"When I started the business, I was unstoppable,"reflects Stagen, who has grown The Met into a $2.5 million venturewith 30 employees. "People said that a 23-year-oldcouldn't survive in a Top 10 media market [like Dallas]. But wedid it! We proved them wrong." After a while, however, Stagenfound himself engaging in self-sabotage. "As I developed mybusiness, I started getting complacent, thinking, `Yeah, we did it!Now I'm accomplished.' But what about the media empire Iwanted to build? As I started to realize how difficult it is tocompete on a local level, let alone trying to take on the world,the media empire was no longer the goal-it was to keepsurviving," admits Stagen. For the first time in his career,he began to have doubts, resigning himself to thinking that it wasmore realistic to be content with a successful localpublication.
Fortunately, Stagen recognized before it was too late that hisself-deprecating behavior was hindering his ability to achieve hisgoals. But what about you? Are you ambushing your own success? Hereare tips to help you break free from self-sabotage:
1. Know the warning signs. If your venture is going tomake it big-or make it at any level, for that matter-you must leaveyour comfort zone. By extension, you'll naturally find yourselfresisting the changes that your goals require of you. EveryBIZ Experiences experiences inner struggle, but the important thing isnot to give in to your doubts. You'll know this is happeningwhen you find yourself accepting the possibility of failure, makingexcuses like:
- The competition is brutal.
- I don't have the money to get started.
- I have too many responsibilities. How can I even think aboutstarting a business right now?
- I'm just not cut out for this BIZ Experiences thing.
Nasty self-sabotage can also manifest itself in uncharacteristicfeelings of doubt, fear and excessive stress. In response,regularly analyze your conversations, thoughts and feelings, asStagen does by writing in a journal, and you'll be more likelyto catch yourself before it's too late.
2. Reconnect with your dream. When Stagen starts to doubtor make excuses, he goes back to his journals from when he startedThe Met. "I try to recreate the experiences I had backthen," says Stagen. "I ask myself `What compelled me toget into the business in the first place?' and then focus myattention on those reasons." Why do you want to start your ownventure? What makes you passionate about your business? Is it thefreedom? The profit potential? The personal rewards? Keep thosethoughts before you. If you lose site of your dreams, you'resure to fall into the self-sabotage trap.
3. Identify the real obstacles-and eliminate them. Thered flag for Stagen was his uncharacteristic feeling of self-doubt,but was doubt the real obstacle? Actually, what was holding Stagenback was intimidation. The challenge to build a media empire seemedfar more difficult than he had anticipated five years earlier, andhe felt ill-equipped to rise to the occasion. "When yournatural abilities take you only so far, of course you're goingto sabotage yourself-you're stuck," says Stagen. "Howare you going to get to the next level?" His plan: Makepersonal and professional growth a top priority. "That'swhen I really picked up the pace on reading books and attendingseminars," Stagen explains.
Get to the bottom of the excuses to uncover the real obstaclesthat stand in your way. Then you can take steps to overcome themand move closer to fulfilling your business goals.
Sean M. Lyden (seanlyden@mindspring.com) isthe principal and senior writer of The Professional Writing FirmInc., a Kennesaw, Georgia, company that specializes in ghostwritingarticles. Lyden writes frequently on motivation, management andmarketing issues.
Brain Food
Fighting with yourself?
Here are two books to help you resolve the conflict:
Self-Sabotage: How to Stop It and Soar to Success, byMartha Baldwin (Warner Books, $13.95, 800-759-0190)
Your Own Worst Enemy: How to Overcome CareerSelf-Sabotage, by Andrew J. DuBrin (AMACOM, $14.95,800-262-9699)
What psychological obstacles to success are you trying toovercome? Tell us at bsumag@entrepreneur.com.
