Friday, November 13, 2009

Business success is not accidental

A recent Fortune magazine article “What It Takes To Be Great” explains what should be obvious to us all. It is not innate, natural-born talent that will determine your success as a legal freelancer; success is achieved though deliberate practice and hard work.

As we come to the end of 2009, it is only natural to be reviewing the developments of the year, the successes and failures, the overall progress towards our goals. Sometimes depression sets in if we have not accomplished what we thought we might have, not acquired as many new clients as we had hoped, not brought in as much money as we had planned. “Do I need to give up on this dream of self-employed independence?” you may think. “Maybe I don’t have the talents to do this.” As research as shown, however, “talent” has nothing to do with it.

The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will. Strangely, that idea is not popular. People hate abandoning the notion that they would coast to fame and riches if they found their talent. But that view is tragically constraining, because when they hit life's inevitable bumps in the road, they conclude that they just aren't gifted and give up.

Maybe we can't expect most people to achieve greatness. It's just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone.

“What It Takes To Be Great”

I won’t kid you, succeeding as a freelance legal professional and owning your own business is not a simple, easy process. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It requires deliberate, hard work. The good news is that the rewards of acquiring your own success far outweigh the “inevitable bumps” in the road of business development.

[read the full blog post at NAFLP's new website - http://www.naflp.org/]

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