Sam Sadat

It's hard to dream new dreams. We'd all like to be visionary thinkers, but most of us aren't bold visionaries. But that's OK, because while you and I might never come up with the next big thing, we can decide to think -- and act -- differently than other people... and in the process achieve differently than other people.

Here are five things many people believe and think that ruin their chances for success -- and more importantly, how you can think differently:

1. "I never get the right opportunities."

Hey, join the (very, very large) club. No matter how it looks from the outside, no one is given opportunities they don't deserve. Opportunities are earned. (And even if someone else did get an opportunity you feel you deserved, you can't change that fact... so why dwell on it?). Remember that arrow of time always moves forward and never looks back…..unless of course you can invent a time machine!

Maybe, years ago, you did have to wait: to be accepted, to be promoted, to be selected, to somehow be "discovered." Even if that was once true, it's not true any longer. Access to opportunity is nearly unlimited. You can connect with nearly anyone (here's how) through social media. You can create and sell your own products, develop and distribute your own applications, find your own funding....

You don't need to wait for someone else to give you the opportunity. You can give yourself the opportunity -- which, by the way, is what successful people have done for centuries. (And you can take advantage of the rise of the P2P economy to dip your toe in the entrepreneurial waters.)

The only thing holding you back from seizing an opportunity is you -- and your willingness to try. Don't worry about the opportunities you need to be given; focus on the opportunities you need to take. After all, all great opportunities are disguised in the form of adversity.

2. "(Someone) is always holding me back."

Maybe another person really did ruin opportunities or block ideas or took what was rightfully yours. Maybe suppliers didn't come through. Maybe your partner wasn't committed. Maybe potential customers weren't smart enough to recognize the value you provide.

Doesn't matter. You can't control other people. You can only control yourself. Your destiny is not fixed and your past does not determine your future.

When you fail, always decide it was your responsibility. Not only is that a smart way to think, but it's also almost always true as well. While occasionally something completely outside your control will cause you to fail, most of the time it really is you. Perhaps you needed to experience that, learn from it and make it work for you next time. Remember that every successful person has failed numerous times. (Most have failed a lot more often than you have; that's one reason why they're so successful today.)

Embrace every failure and look at it as an opportunity. Own it, learn from it, and take full responsibility for making sure that next time you'll do what it takes to make sure things turn out differently.

Never think it's another person's fault; when you do, you guarantee it always will be. And if that’s the case you will never gain full control of your own life.

3. "I just don't have enough time."

Sure you do. You have the same amount of time as everyone else. The key is to decide how you will fill your time. After all, time is only a notion, an idea. Think of it as your friend and you’ll have plenty of it. Make it your enemy and you’ll never have a chance to succeed. Never think about how time controls you -- instead think of how you can best control your time.

For example, anyone can create a schedule. But most people don't ensure that every task takes only as long as it needs to take. Most people fill a block of time, either given or self-determined, simply because that is the time allotted. Don't adjust your effort so it fills a time frame. Instead, do everything as quickly and effectively as you can. Then use your "free" time to get other things done...just as quickly and effectively.

When you do, you'll quickly realize you have a lot more time than you think.

4. "Sure, I would do that... if I could be sure it would be worth it."

Ever heard someone say, "If I knew I would get a raise, then I would be willing to work a lot harder"? Or, "If I knew my startup would succeed then I would definitely be willing to put in more hours"? Or, "If I knew there would be a bigger payoff, then I would be willing to sacrifice more"?

Successful employees earn promotions and higher pay by first working harder; in other words, they earn their success. Successful businesses earn higher revenue by delivering greater value first; they earn their success. You cannot violate “cause and effect or sew and reap” laws. They work in the order and never the other way around. Every time you violate this law, there’s a big price to pay. Look at using excessive credit as one such violation.
You spend your money before you actually have it and as a result you’ll ruin your financial life.

Successful people, in all areas of life, earn bigger "payoffs" by working incredibly hard well before any potential return is in sight; they earn their success through effort and sacrifice. Most people expect to get more before they will ever consider doing more.

To succeed, think of compensation not as the driver or requirement for exceptional effort, but as the deserved reward.

5. "But there's just nothing special about me."

It's easy, and tempting, to assume successful people have some intangible entrepreneurial something -- ideas, talent, drive, skills, creativity, etc.--that you simply don't have. That's rarely true. Talents typically reveal themselves only in hindsight. Success is never assured; it only looks that way after it is achieved.

Sure, other people may have skills you don't have (at least not yet), but you have skills other people don't have. You don't need a gift. You just need yourself -- and a willingness to put in a tremendous amount of hard work, effort, and perseverance -- because that is where talent comes from.

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “I’m not superior to anyone in that I can learn from them.” We’re all geniuses in our own ways. All we need to do is to make sure we tap into it and make it blossom!