Aspiring Entrepreneurs are popping up everywhere in hopes of following in the footsteps of the cashed up risk takers and uber successful they look up to. The problem is that they are just starting out and are about to waste a lot of time going in the wrong direction to success.

So I have decided to share some insight and advice for entrepreneurs that I was fortunate enough to receive whilst meeting and interviewing some of the worlds top performing entrepreneurs.

1. You Don’t Always Need To Be First

A lot of entrepreneurs think that they need to be first to market, when this is really far from the truth. Being first isn’t always best, just because you are the first doesn’t mean that you are necessarily the best, sure it means that you had the courage to navigate your way through the unknown but if you look at companies like Google and Facebook, they entered late in the game.

First there was Friendster, then there was Myspace then Mark Zuckerberg swooped in and created Facebook which is now dominating in most categories as the leading social media platform.

Mark Zuckerberg saw that privacy was very important and found countless flaws in the MySpace design of offering and was able to release a much friendlier and more powerful social media platform that would eventually knock MySpace out of the ring of relevance.

This is a powerful lesson to remember, that if you are the first in your market you should always strive to improve on your product, offering and design.

2. Being Self Employed Sucks

Another big mistake that a lot of entrepreneurs make is that they stay in the self employed bracket for way too long.

If you have ever read Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Cashflow Quadrant”, you would understand that there are four parts to the quadrant in creating true wealth.

Here are the 4 sections:

1. Employed

2. Self Employed

3. Business Owner

4. Investor

A lot of entrepreneurs leave their day jobs so they are no longer “employed”, they then become, what you call “self employed”. The problem is that when you are “self-employed” a majority of the time you are only generating “active income” which means you still need to work the 9-5 hours, or more to make a consistent income.

The key to entrepreneurial success is to create a stream of “passive income” or “residual income”.

That is why your focus as an entrepreneur should be to move to the next level of “business owner” or “investor” as soon as possible.

3. There Are No Hacks or Shortcuts

Real entrepreneurs know that success in life is conceived through relentlessly pursuing your goals and dreams, no matter the cost.

If you are constantly chasing shortcuts and hacks your success will be temporary. When the algorithm or the playing field changes you will be caught looking for another hack or another shortcut hoping that it’s just around the corner when in most cases it won’t be.

Instead focus on personally growing and becoming a better version of yourself each and every day so that no matter what the playing field is or what life throws at you, you are experienced enough to handle every challenge and every hurdle that comes your way.

4. You Can’t Crack Under Pressure

You may have a plethora of skills, amazing ideas, and solid finances but if you can’t handle the pressure then the entrepreneur arena will be “no fun for you!”.

You have to thrive on the pressure, you need to use it to fuel your energy and your motivation to win.

Serious entrepreneurs love to solve problems, successful people love the challenge, they know that it will make them faster, bigger, better and stronger in the long run.

5. There Is Power In Story Telling

The difference between an entrepreneur that achieves $100 million in sales of a product or service to one that receives $10 million in sales of a product or service is usually determined by how effectively he or she is at marketing and sharing their message to the public.

Most people purchase based off emotion of how the message made them feel and how compelled they were to buying into what you were saying.

Don’t forget that at the end of the day sales is just a transfer of emotion.

So get your story down pat and fill it with catchy and descriptive words that will spark a compelling vision and appetite in anyone that hears your story or message.

6. You Need to Set 10X Goals

Entrepreneurs know that if they really want to hit those big audacious goals they have to aim for the moon. You are not worthy of that goal unless you are able to prove that you can grow into the man that you need to be to hit it. So focus on growing each and every day towards that goal in everything you do.

Sales King and multi-millionaire “Grant Cardone” has proven over and over again that setting 10X goals is a sure-fire way of achieving massive success. Grant teaches fortune 500 CEO’s and some of the most affluent entrepreneurs out there how to set their 10X goals and hit them.

There is a reason why Grant Cardone is worth over $100 million. Grant writes down his 10X goals every morning, every night and whenever he is disappointed.  This is what a serious entrepreneur is willing to do to become truly successful.

7. Time is No Longer The Most Important Commodity

Serious entrepreneurs know that there is no point in trying to beat the clock. Sure there are time management tips that you can live by, and productivity hacks you can add to your arsenal but in the long run time is always going to catch up.

The one thing that we do have more of a control over is how we spend our days and how we expel our energy.

Time is no longer the most important commodity… energy is.

Serious entrepreneurs know that health is just as important as finances, and exercising is the key to longer lasting energy. This is why health and exercise is one of the top success habits implemented by some of the world’s most wealthiest people.

8. You Can’t Do It All

As my multi-millionaire business mentor “Tai Lopez” says “You can’t do it all, if you wanna go big-time you need to find a partner that will compliment your weaknesses so you can focus on your strengths.”

Bill Gates had Paul Allen, Warren Buffett has Charlie Monger, Steve Jobs had Steve Wosniak. They all found a strong, skilled partner to take their business to the next level.

9. You Need a Little Inspiration Mixed with Desperation

Many entrepreneurs start their business with a strong passion for the idea behind it and get so involved with how much they love it and forget that they actually have to work.

The idea may be amazing and exciting but if you spend your time focusing too much on the fact that it feels cool or the logo looks pretty rad then your time to shine in the marketplace is slowly slipping away.

Inspiration is great but there must be some sense of urgency. Some sense of desperation in taking action now, not later, and taking it all the way as if your life depends on it should be your only option.

You don’t need to be so desperate that it reads all over your face, but you do need to know that time is of the essence and you must move with haste.

10. Business Plans Are Old School

Seasoned entrepreneurs know that 50 page business plans are an outdated way of devising your future business moves. The landscape is constantly changing and the ones that are crushing it out there have become pros at adapting to the constant shifts.

Create a business map. A rough idea of what you foresee over the next 18 months. This should fit on 2 or 3 pages at most.

Work out your 1 or 2 line mission statement, your budget and do some market research so you aren’t going in blind. That is all that is needed. If you are looking for Investors then you will need something more solid in place but for now you just want to focus on getting your startup off the ground and in your brand in front of eyeballs.

Don’t focus too much on the old school hype of a bible style business plan.

What other things do you believe serious entrepreneurs know that most people don’t? Share them in the comment section below. We’d love to hear your advice.

Feature Image Originally appeared on: HBO- Jerry Weintraub – His Way