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4 Thoughts You Need to Overcome to Be Successful

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You’re feeling motivated and you want to start your journey to success. The fire has been lit in you and you start working on the projects that will help you achieve your goals. After a few days, negative thoughts will fill your mind. You will doubt your success, you will be afraid of failure and you aren’t sure if it is going to be worth your time.

The objections will build and you will start to walk away from the work that you are doing. That’s a waste of good effort, because you have invested a lot of your time and resources for a project that you won’t want to finish. At the same time, the doubts and thoughts in your head are understandable. No one wants to waste their time, look silly or fail.

If you can’t fight against your objections, it will be difficult to motivate yourself to do anything worthwhile. Thankfully, overcoming doubts can be done if you are willing to take the time and think through each one. Your motivation won’t return overnight, but you can get it back.

Here are 4 thoughts you need to get rid of to succeedWatch video below!

1. I’m Not Going To Succeed

Everyone is afraid of failing. It means you didn’t succeed at what you set out to do. It also looks like you’re not as good as other people who tried the same task and succeeded. However, you’re right in that you’re not going to succeed. Not in the beginning at least. Very rarely has anything worthwhile been successful on the first try.

You can learn from the mistakes of others, but you will inevitably make your own. Not everything you do will be a success, that’s why you learn to appreciate success. That’s not to say that failing for the sake of failing is productive. What it does mean is that every success has a few failures behind it. If it’s going to happen anyway, accept it and keep working. The success you achieve in the end will brush away all the feelings you had about your failures.

“I love it when people doubt me.  It makes me work harder to prove them wrong” – Derek Jeter

2. I’m Wasting My Time

You’re working on a project that is meaningful to you, but other people think that you’re wasting your time. Eventually you might look at your work and begin to believe you are wasting your time as well. It feels like other people could achieve success faster than you could, and you must be doing something wrong.

Is that really true? Success rarely occurs overnight. While you might see stories of people who have achieved overnight success, the stories never cover the hard work that happened behind-the-scenes. Success doesn’t have a time limit either. It’s not a race.

If it takes you 3 years to become successful instead of 2, that’s still better than not being successful at all. As long as you aren’t working without a purpose, you’re not wasting your time. You’re just approaching success at a pace that is right for you.

3. It Will Fail In The End

Some doubt may take the form of a pessimistic prediction. You know you’re working hard, you are dedicated to what you are doing, but you have encountered a lot of failure before. While you want this to succeed, deep down you have a feeling this won’t work and are trying to protect yourself from disappointment.

It’s understandable, as facing the full brunt of disappointment can be hard to swallow. However, betting against yourself before you’re finished doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you believe it won’t succeed, why would you put so much time and effort behind it? If you want to prevent yourself from feeling the pain of failure, do everything you can to make it a success.

Could you fail in the end? Yes. But rather than approach your work believing it could fail, pour your heart and soul into making it successful. If you do that, no matter what happens, you can stand up again with your head held high.

4. I’m Too Late

You might have had a great idea that was revolutionary and amazing a few years ago, but now it looks like it’s no longer special or someone has beaten you to the punch. Timing is important when it comes to success. It is very difficult to succeed if your ideas and plans haven’t kept up with the times.

While your idea might be amazing before, you feel that time has caught up and your idea isn’t as interesting anymore. That doesn’t mean you can’t make changes or update the idea. There are many products and services that are similar, and yet they still compete with each other. Maybe all your idea needs is a bit of new information to make it viable again.

Remember, success doesn’t have a time limit. If your ideas are out-of-date, update them. You can still catch up and be successful. Just don’t try to solve future issues with past solutions and you should be fine.

“Waiting patiently for the fatest bone is a dog’s lifestyle.” – Michael Bassey Johnson

It’s not easy to fight against the doubts in your mind. Everyone is scared of not doing their best, wasting their time or worrying about the future. Sometimes the best thing to do is to take a step back and think. Think about why you are scared and have answers to help you overcome those doubts. Then you can slowly regain your motivation and work hard again.

You can overcome the doubts in your mind. They are valid concerns, but ones that can be addressed. As long as you address them, you can fully dedicate yourself to the challenges ahead. When you have an answer for your doubts, you gain the confidence to keep moving forward.

Which one of these thoughts holds you back the most? Leave your comments below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

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Success Advice

What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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Image Credit: Midjourney

When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)

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The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
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In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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