Is fear of failing or looking stupid holding you back from achieving success? Or maybe it’s fear of what other people may think?

Is it lack of energy or motivation? Do you find that, after a hard day’s work, you have just about enough energy to switch on the TV but nothing else?

Perhaps you don’t believe achieving success is possible, at least not for you. Maybe you think that you’re not good/clever/well-connected/talented enough…

What holds us back from achieving success can be boiled down to a few main obstacles. These are the obstacles/reasons/excuses that I see most often from my clients:

▪ Lack of time
▪ Lack of money
▪ Lack of self-belief
▪ Lack of energy
▪ Lack of ideas
▪ Lack of knowledge
▪ Lack of courage
▪ Lack of ability to focus through to completion

So let’s assume that you have an ambition or a goal, but you haven’t progressed with it as much as you’d like. All of the above obstacles may be stopping you achieving success, but before you even get to those, let’s start at the beginning…

Coach Yourself: The first step to achieving success

The following “coach yourself” questions are designed to help you understand WHY you want to achieve your goal, and what achieving success actually means to you.  If the “why” isn’t in place, then there is little chance of the “how” transpiring. Hint: your answer to the “how will it enhance your life” question (2) has to be utterly compelling. If it’s not compelling enough, then you’ll never get off the starting blocks.

1. Why did you think of this goal/set it in the first place?
2. What will achieving this actually do to enhance your life?
3. Is it a “selfish” goal or is it a goal that will help someone else (there’s a clue here – if you’re going to get anywhere with it, then it has to be a selfish goal – i.e. for you!)
4. Do you really, REALLY want to achieve this goal?
5. If the answer is a resounding “yes” to number 4, then what exactly is stopping you? Identify your obstacles – whether they are money, energy, time, all three, or something else
6. If you knew that, no matter what, you could somehow create/find enough money/time/motivation/support etc, what is the first step you would take on the journey to achieving your goal?

What is a Step?

Remember – “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” said the Chinese Philosopher Lao-tzu.

A step is just that – a step. It’s not a trip around the world with multiple modes of transport and a complex itinerary. It’s simply one step.

You just need to take the first step in front of you. You don’t need to know what the next step is after that, until you’ve taken the first. It doesn’t matter if you have taken a step in the wrong direction, as you can always step sideways or turn around completely. If you’re scared, you can just take one tiny step.

What’s the smallest, simplest possible first step? Take it!

May I suggest a first step to achieving success?

At Stepping Up Live next Friday 4th March, hosted at the HSBC Edmund Street offices in Birmingham, we will take you though an effective and fun process to identify and eliminate your own obstacles to success. We will help you realise that your limiting beliefs CAN be dealt with – gently, but swiftly. And we will be showing you how to overcome the “lack of time” obstacle.  And finally, we will send you on your way with your own  plan for “Stepping Up”.

I have created Stepping Up Live after 14 years of experience of coaching and mentoring brilliant women in challenging careers.  I know just how many women are in the habit of “getting in their own way” and not acknowledging their talents.  Stepping Up Live has one objective: To get talented women to get OUT of their own way, step up and on the road to achieving success that is fulfilling and meaningful to them.

You can find out more and book your seat at Stepping Up Live here