Mantra For Success: Persistence = Success

I Will Persist Until I Succeed.

1. Be Brave. Being an entrepreneur and being brave go hand in hand. If you're afraid, use fear to motivate rather than paralyze you.

2. Be self-motivated. Surround yourself with winners and with those who believe in you and will cheer you on. At the end of the day (and at the beginning of the day too!), you have to be your own cheerleader. Before going to bed each night, make a list of things you need to tend to the next day. Make yourself accountable and let others know what you're doing.

3. Take another step. It sounds cliche but the journey of a thousand miles indeed begins, but ONLY BEGINS with a single step. Keep walking in the direction of your dreams, no matter how small a step it is.

4. Do the little things - consistently. Slow and steady wins the race.

5. Eliminate negative self-talk. If you don't believe in your own dreams, no one else will either. Avoid negative people whose negativity will trigger your own fears about what you're capable of doing. Champion yourself.

6. Reframe refusal. We received 7 bank loan refusals before we heard our first "yes". It was tough and disappointing hearing it the first time. And the second time. And the third time. We didn't allow the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th bank rejection stop us. We kept looking for those who would say "yes.' They're out there.

Accept that hearing "no" is a part of the process. Get used to hearing it and don't let it stop you. The first time hearing it is the hardest. It gets easier with each subsequent time.

7. Overcome obstacles. Obstacles are opportunities in disguise. Don't stop because of what you can't do. Find other ways to get things done. Speak to others who've accomplished what you'd like to and find out what they did to get to where they are.

8. End each day with success. I tell friends, "if you can focus on taking actions which will lead to your dreams, regardless of whether or not the outcome is favorable, you can deem yourself successful". Many people dare not take any actions for fear of rejection. Pat yourself on the back for having made that phone call, sending that email, following through with that contact you made at some networking event.

9. Sustain momentum. Keep striking while the iron is hot. Out of sight is out of mind. People I met yesterday don't wake up in the morning thinking about me today. I have to place myself there consistently.