Have you ever been really excited about where you’re taking your business and could just feel and taste success, but at the same time were wondering, “Gee, do I have what it takes to make this happen?”

I remember those early start-up years wondering if success was possible.  When I decided to launch my book nationally, I felt the sheer overwhelm of going national with my book and my business.

In looking back on those years, what I realized was how many times I said no before I said yes.  In reality it just delayed my success.  What I discovered is that I missed out on helping so many people because of my own fear.

I often joke about two characters that always visited me.  Perhaps you’ve met these characters:  Inner Critic and Ego.

Inner Critic would show up and say “I don’t know …” “What do I know?” “Who am I to be going national?” It was really just all the self-limiting language that kept me in my comfort zone.  Over the years, I learned that Inner Critic is not your friend. 

Inner Critic will talk you out of anything. It often gives excuses – “you can’t afford it”, “you don’t have time”, “it will be too hard”, “Who do you think you are?”  Inner Critic also thinks it knows what is best for you. If it can’t see the possibilities in the tangible forms, it says no, and finds an excuse.

And don’t get me started with Ego. Ego gets involved and starts protecting the comfort zone. It wants to keep you in the old ways of doing things. Even though someone may be incredibly uncomfortable and have the solution right in front of them, they will say no. Why? Because with Ego, the known is better than the unknown.

Can you relate?

One of life’s entrepreneurial lessons I learned was that in order to reach the next level, you must be willing to commit, make changes and step outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes that means saying “yes” when presented with an opportunity rather than looking at the excuses of why you can’t do it. Sometimes it is letting go of old behaviors, relationships, and routines.

The good thing is that you have a choice.  

“We make choices every day about what will inspire us and what we will allow to get us down. We have a choice to move ahead or allow ourselves to stay stuck in a rut.

We have the power to let go, the power to hang on and the power to be: be all of who we were designed to be. We have our authentic selves that continue to evolve and emerge each day through every experience.”

(Excerpt from Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets To Navigating Change)

The next time you invite Inner Critic and Ego to your party and want to say no to something that will help improve your business and you personally:

1. Ask yourself, “What are the positive possibilities if I said yes?”
2. Take out a piece of paper and list all of the steps you can take to make your goal a reality. 
3. One by one start taking action on those steps and cross off the steps as you accomplish them.

Then, imagine how good you will feel when you have accomplished your goal.  All because you said yes to success.