One of the hardest concepts for some people to accept: wanting something does not mean you will get it. Another one: it will not happen to me. Logically, thinking this way makes no sense, but as humans we aren’t always logical, are we? There are ways to stack the odds in our favor to aid us in achieving our goals, remembering that we might not accomplish what we want and we aren’t the exception to any rules. One tip often overlooked: matching your personality with the goal we are attempting to accomplish. Understanding your personality type, and comparing it to the task at hand, will help measure the odds of success.

Sprinters

These people are enthusiastic and hit strong. Hyped about their project/venture they seem unstoppable. Unfortunately, they have no endurance. Enthused in the beginning they jumped into the project and started running without having any idea on how to get to the finish line. When my daughter was younger I’d say, “Sweetheart, would you go get me…” and she’d take off. I’d patiently wait for her to come back because she left without knowing what I wanted. Her intentions were sincere but she had no direction. A significant number of people online fall into this category. The barrier of entry for online ventures being low makes it very easy (and tempting) to dive in but, with no endurance, the person loses steam and fails to reach their goals.

Unfortunately some never take off at all

These people never “really” get started. The attempts are there, but they do not “do” anything. Some people see success, are briefly inspired by it but when they get a taste of the work involved, the desire fades and disappears. For example: Mary lost 30 pounds and looks great! You decide, inspired by Mary, to lose your pot belly. Except, you never lose a pound and never seriously attempt to. Another example: Henry wrote a book. You decide, inspired by Henry, to write a book too because you’ve always wanted to! Except, the book is never written. The project never moves past a cool idea.

Long-distance runner

These people realize they need to keep the same pace going through the entire journey. They need to keep ahead of most but not too much to wear themselves out so they do not have enough energy to finish a race. With online projects/companies the “race” isn’t over when successful. The success must be maintained. Many times the work is harder maintaining success than trying to achieve success. Unfortunately, many successful people feel they do not to work anymore, particularly if they look around and see no “real” competition.

If you want a successful site/company you must realize three crucial points:

1. Sprinters are nothing to worry about (they throw themselves out of the race).
2. If you do not have consistent endurance (discipline) to run the race you will not win.
3. If you win the race (achieve success) then the real work comes maintaining it (beating all the people who will want to race you).

Of course, knowing which type of person you are will determine the odds of your success. That’s why understanding and knowing who you are plays an important role. If I am one to procrastinate starting projects, a short-term fun project would be better suited for me than a “this is what is cool right now” long-term project.