The Entrepreneurial Life starts with an entrepreneur who perceives an opportunity, creates an organization to pursue it, assembles the required resources, implements a practical plan, assumes the risks and the rewards, all in a timely manner for all involved.

Below are 5 key ingredients for your success:

Clarity Of Self
Who are you? What truly matters? What are your points of view? What are your values? Refining and clarifying the components of what makes you—YOU, helps define how you will live and experience your life—negatively and positively. Bringing yourself and your business into focus, will reap wonderful dividends that will culminate in positive results that will last a lifetime.

Commit To Your Vision
Do you have a vision? One for yourself and for your business? Are you committed to your vision, no matter what life has to offer in the form of challenges, setbacks and successes? It’s imperative that you have a vision- a view beyond the horizon. What do you see for yourself, and your business? What’s important and what’s not? What makes you and your business unique, special and valuable to the marketplace? Where do you see yourself and your business in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years and beyond. The value of vision-is to be true to yourself, no matter what the circumstances and whatever the rewards-enabling yourself to map the present and future-and help you navigate the sometimes uncharted, lonely and often scary waters of entrepreneurship—thus strengthening your position and holding your course, so to speak. Vision is the light in the darkness—the beacon of strength that will carry you towards success.

Nurturing Growth
How do you wish for yourself and your business to grow? What steps are necessary to achieve the level of success you desire—and deserve? I believe that a true and deeply held commitment to growth is mandatory to making it past the initial “isn’t this fun” phase of being an entrepreneur. What separates those who are just “surviving” from those who are “thriving” is, in part, an unmitigated sense of commitment-a willingness to grow-both literally and figuratively. Adapting, changing, ebbing and flowing are all part of the process of personal and professional growth. Commit to yourself and your business, and God will reward you and support you, in your unwavering dedication.

Honoring Your Passion
Honor what most makes you happy—what you feel connected to and are passionate about. To succeed as a self-employed individual, it’s important, at the very least to really, really “like”, let alone love (preferred!) what you are doing. If you don’t, STOP NOW and make the necessary changes in your life that really honor you and are ultimately more fulfilling. You will NOT succeed, in the most-self-realized and rewarding manner, unless you are truly passionate about what you do. The depth of passion you bring to your belief in self, to your interaction with the world and to your work, is paramount and infectious (in a good way!) and will carry over into all aspects of your life. Your clarity of self, your commitment to your vision, and your level of passion, are integral cornerstones on which to build your business and your life. Value your ideas and the ability to carry them out. The old adage “an idea is only as good as its execution” is very true here; you must believe in your ability to create, develop and execute-not only with your ideas, products, services etc, but also as a capable human being—one that is deserving of success. Self-defeating behavior and old negative belief systems are the undoing and downfall of many self-employed individuals. “I’m not good enough,” “I’m not talented enough” and “I can’t do it alone,” etc., are all common thoughts that can undermine your enthusiasm and the potential success of your business. Stay positive and value yourself as you enter into and/or nurture your burgeoning success. Believe you are smart, talented and deserving of all you desire. Believing in yourself—believing in your business-creates the healthy and prosperous environment for others to believe as well.

Trust Yourself And The Process
Like any good roller coaster ride, life and business offers many ups and downs, unforeseen twists and turns, some more severe than others. But like any really good roller coaster ride, and all the fear and nervous excitement it creates, the ride eventually smoothes out and everything ultimately ends up OK in the end. Such is the life of the entrepreneur. There is always turmoil, tough decisions, lean times, moments of indecision and surprises. So it is incumbent on you to trust the process, concentrate on your contribution and try not to control what happens. You are only responsible for the effort-not the outcome. Dedication, focus and passion are the foundation of success, but to achieve it you must trust yourself and the process and have fun doing so.

By incorporating any or all the aforementioned concepts, you will help yourself succeed by bridging the gap between inspiration and completion—ultimately serving the highest good for your entrepreneurial life.