What if you have financial problems or family obligations that are seriously nagging at you? That's such a difficult position to be in. Only you can determine what's in your long term best interest. Again, a support system would be nice, but if they aren't there to help, then you have to create balance. If you give up on your dreams to take care of and support everyone else, you may feel like you're doing right thing in moment, but was your life better off for it? If you disregard everything in order to stay focused on your dream, will it cost you companionship of your loved ones down road? Who will be there to celebrate with you when you finally do succeed? Not too easy to find a wealthy philanthropist to support your efforts to live out your dreams without earning a living. You have to make those really tough choices. Somehow you have to create balance between your dreams, your ability to keep a roof over your head, and your ability to keep loved ones near and dear.

It's easy to quit where so many others have already gone and failed before you. Survival of fittest dictates that not everyone is ideally designed to accomplish all goals. Not everyone is supposed to be an entrepreneur. Not everyone is meant to be a musician. Not everyone is meant to be president. The truth is, if you've picked a goal that is suited to your own natural talents and gifts and if it's infused with your own passion and fire, then chances are that you are one of lucky few who is meant to live that dream. Just because everyone else failed doesn't mean that you are meant to fail too. Statistics don't mean anything unless you decide to become one.

You are either going to quit or you're going to find inspiration and keep going. You can quit if you want, but you already know if quitting will feel worse then trudging through a little while longer. Somewhere you know deep down if you're meant to succeed or not. What if you were meant to succeed and role model tenacity to those around you? What if that's somehow divine cosmic plan all along? God loves an underdog! Don't quit just yet.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge

Some people try to avoid this stage altogether and procrastinate from getting fully committed because they want to be feeling "comfortable". What they actually mean is they can't get started until they have learnt everything there is to know! They want to spend months researching before they pick up a club and approach golf tee. This is a great mistake!

You can't learn how to play golf from a textbook or from a training video alone. You have to learn by continually practicing. Likewise your home business will not grow if you don't communicate with people and practice! You may feel totally foolish, but you cannot go forward unless you try and learn by doing. Learning by doing is one of fastest ways to learn a new skill. How good a game of golf would you play, if you just read about how to swing club? How quickly will your business grow if you only read training manuals and don't get into action?

Despite how foolish you may feel, get started AND keep going despite how foolish you feel. Determine not to stop because if you do, you will stop at start and never get to finish line!

Stage 2 - You Feel Uncomfortable In next phase you may not feel quite so anxious and foolish, but you most certainly are still uncomfortable! Keep going no matter how uncomfortable you feel. The only way to get past this stage is more and more practice. Your heart will catch up if you keep doing deal over and over. You may feel moments of exhilaration as you start to see some positive results and at other times feel despair as you catch fresh glimpses of challenge ahead of you. It is normal to feel like you are on an emotional roller-coaster! Keep your focus on future for best is yet to come. If you keep going giving yourself more and more practice, picking yourself up despite mistakes, eventually you will find some aspects of game of golf (or your home business) will start to feel more comfortable. Oh what a feeling! Make sure you celebrate wins no matter how small and reinforce how well you are doing.

Stage 3 - You Feel Comfortable In this next stage of learning, you will start to lose some of your nervousness in talking to people about business, you may even start to EXPECT results. Possibly some questions which earlier on distressed you, are no longer a challenge. You start to see that you can answer objections people put in front of you, with ease and style. This is comfortable stage. Your heart has finally caught up with your head. You can tell people confidently you are a golfer, or have your own business. Once your reach this stage your self belief will have grown exponentially. Don't take your learning for granted - celebrate your success again and again.

Stage 4 - Your Feel Proficient This is where you really wanted to be when you start. You are great at what you do!!! You have developed an unshakable conviction about your ability. Here you start to entertain thoughts of resetting your goals higher and engage in improving your style or processes. The only way to get here is practice, practice, and practice. You can't get here in one step. You must pass through other three stages. Once you are here, don't be surprised if unforeseen things happen and you may slip back into feeling comfortable, or even uncomfortable. For example, you may have to play golf on a different or harder course. Do not fear, simply practice over and over and you will again be proficient and feeling completely in control of what you are doing.

These four stages of learning can be applied to just about any situation which requires learning a new skill. Learning is a journey and when you understand stages of learning you can use experiences as a powerful vehicle to propel you to achieving a worthwhile challenge, rather than a daunting experience that gets better of you! Celebrate your successes not matter how small and, never give up!