It begins with a feeling of inflamed enthusiasm as your grand idea plays in your mind. Maybe it’s starting a business, or taking it to the next level. The challenge sets your heart on fire with excitement, and plants a smile on your lips, but then something happens.

Anxiety and doubt creep in and drown out the passion. You don’t know if you have what it takes to bring the idea into fruition. Getting the courage to start seems like a far-fetched dream, and it’s frustrating.

The good news is, you don’t have to wait for all the stars to align to get started. In this post, we will cover some techniques you can use to help you start working on your idea. So, let’s get this show on the road.

1. Rub shoulders with the selected few

Taking an impossible challenge is scary, because it feels like you don’t have a blueprint for success. It’s a killer thought, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. Find someone who has achieved incredible success when the odds are stuck against them.

With a little bit of research, you can find such an individual. The fact that they overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles serves you well. You don’t have to do exactly what they did, but instead, you can adapt it to your situation.

“Well, what if I’m a pioneer like Elon Musk, whom do l look up to?”, you ask. The good news is, you can learn from successful pioneers in other fields who made it to the hall of fame. Learn the lessons, adapt it to your situation, and keep moving forward.

“Every great achiever is inspired by a great mentor.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

2. Be open to suggestions

You will work extremely hard, but then the unexpected will happen. You will follow your plan with surgical precision, and it won’t always turn out the way you expected it to. There will be numerous twists and turns along the way that seem to take us off course.

You see, we always have in mind how we want things to go, but that’s not always the case in reality. It’s easy to be disappointed because you have held too tightly to your expectations. What you should do instead,  is make peace with the fact that every pursuit will not be a linear path. There’s no simple straight forward path to your success.

Here’s the catch, it’s not a matter of whether detours will happen, it’s a matter of when it will happen. And when they do, always remind yourself that it’s perfectly normal.

3. Learn to unlearn

Let’s say you want to start a business. The first thing you need to understand is that the landscape will always be changing. Be it your market, competitors, industries, or even yourself. Something may work the first time, but it doesn’t mean that it will the second time. The next time may mean discarding it, and trying a new way.

You will need to adopt a beginner’s mindset, be curious, and be open to new ideas. At some point along the journey, you have to ask yourself what old lessons need to be thrown out, and what you need to learn afresh. You will need  to let go of what you thought was true, and that’s the hardest part.

So, the question is, do you know what you don’t know?

4. Chill out

Constant pressure will be the theme of your life. The long hours and the all-consuming focus in your pursuit for success. The catch is, if you’re not careful they will catch up with you, consume you, and thrust you into a downward spiral. There’s the danger in believing the myth that if you work inhumanely long hours, forego life’s pleasures such as sleep, then success will come knocking on your door.

Instead, you have to learn to recharge yourself, because your life or business depends on it. You have got to learn to put the lights out, so that you can keep them on. You see, it will be tempting to keep going even when you’re tired, but there’s a problem. Everyone pursuing an almost impossible challenge, believes that the law of diminishing returns applies to everyone but them. And it’s delusional.

What you don’t want is disaster in the form of a burn-out that gets you back on the drawing board. It’s a long stretch, so take a pause, chill, and replenish your energy reserves. You will be grateful you did.

“Taking time to rest, renew, and refresh yourself isn’t wasted time. Recharge. Choose what energizes you.” – Melody Beattie

Are you ready?

To sum up, solving that challenge may seem impossible because you are doubtful of your abilities. But you are not alone. Everyone who is wildly successful has felt it at some point along their journey. You can take away some of the pressure by making peace with your inner critic. That nagging little voice in your mind can be put to rest by applying the above mentioned techniques. So give it a go.