Are you a quitter?

Despite what some entrepreneurs believe, taking risks is not a silver bullet to success. What is though, is taking a risk, experiencing challenges, and then applying what you’ve learned, time and again.

Many business people take risks and then experience overwhelming resistance, but this is not failing. You only truly fail if you abort your dream entirely. Ironically most people give up just before the finishing line, not aware that the line is within their grasp. Which demonstrates your potential is usually just beyond your comfort zone if you dare to break through it.

Quitting is very different to failing. Sometimes you need to quit something to succeed. Quit the things you’re doing wrong. Quit the need to be right all the time. Quit not listening to smarter people. Quit surrounding yourself with shallow people. Quit being motivated by ego.

Imagine you’re a sergeant in the army and your objective is to get your platoon to the top of a hill, while your enemy is on higher ground. If you chose to keep marching the troops unsuccessfully up the hill because you refuse to quit, then failure becomes disastrously inevitable. Quitting temporarily, regrouping and refining your strategy, in this case, is not failing, it’s the smartest option.

Your success in life will be in proportion to your ability to focus and assert discipline towards achieving your goal. But if you haven’t thought your strategy through or don’t possess the passion to see it through, then aborting your process to do something more aligned with your values is a good tactic too.

Don’t take risks for the sake of it, this is called gambling. Making mistakes and overcoming challenges are part of business, but to get the best results they must be attached to something meaningful to you. This can actually be fun if you’re not harming others and you’re prepared to learn, grow and apply the lessons and keep going until you reach your destination.

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Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of sales training company BOOM! As a sales expert and facilitator, he partners with some of the world’s most dynamic and demanding sales driven companies. Trent is also the founder of salesprocess.com.au and the author of THE NAKED SALESMAN: How to walk the talk and sell your way to success!