The Unconventional Truth Is You Are Enough The questions you ask yourself about whether you are enough are what's holding you back from success.
By Tim Denning •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
As an entrepreneur or a career man or woman, we're constantly asking ourselves whether we are enough. Society has placed extremely high expectations on what we think it takes to be successful. I love to ask the questions that very few people ask. In this post, I want to prove the unconventional truth, which is that we are all already enough.
I know it's mind-blowing when you think about it. Everything you've done already is enough. You are enough. You're special in your own way, and that's the whole point. None of us wants a world of clones where we all think, act and behave the same. Where's the fun in that?
So let's myth-bust these six expectations that we all ponder:
1. Am I successful enough?
This is an interesting question to ask yourself. Of course, the answer is, yes you are successful enough. We can always up our game and take it to the next level, but who says we have to? We don't. If where you are right now is phenomenal, then stay right there and don't move. Just because the success pages you follow on Instagram tell you that you need another Ferrari in the garage, doesn't mean you have to become a slave to your success and go out and earn one.
The fact you are on planet Earth, operating in one of the most exciting economies in our entire history, should be more than enough. You're here right now reading this post and discovering ways to be a better human being. I think that's a pretty impressive definition of success, if you ask me, although I'm just a kid from Australia with a big heart and a grand vision to change the world.
Related: As Steve Jobs Once Said, 'People With Passion Can Change The World'
Feel free to fact-check this concept with the great minds of our time, and I'm 100 percent confident you'll find this unconventional truth buried in books like Think And Grow Rich.
2. Am I pretty enough?
Happy to say I've battled with this one, and I know most of us have. The question of whether you are pretty enough is a tough one. What are we measuring you against? The bimbo models in the magazine that are happy while they're taking the photo and then go and snort a line of white powder?
Beauty goes beyond just how good your six-pack is or the way you look in a new suit going to the office. There is no measuring stick for beauty, and only you can determine the answer. This is a great reality because it means you can give your brain whatever answer you want, and your mind has to believe it.
This whole strategy can go way beyond just beauty; it can be applied to almost anything. I believe you are already pretty enough, and you shouldn't change a thing. What's sexy about you is the perceived flaws that you have. These so called flaws make you stand out in a crowd of people, and I would love to see them be honoured with a statue in your name. You're pretty enough.
3. Am I hard working enough?
Working till you drop dead or have a heart attack in the office is not cool. The question we should be asking is, am I efficient with my time and does it match my overall purpose? Spending time on useless paperwork that you hate, in a career that makes you want to look forward to the weekend, is what's making you feel not enough.
The word "hustle' has been made famous again over the last few years. Yes, you need to hustle hard, but that doesn't mean that you do so and forget what's important to you. Hustling your ass off while your family sits at home waiting for mummy or daddy to come and love them will make you feel not enough.
Related: How to Work When You Don't Feel Like It
As Tim Ferriss drills into our brains, the aim should be to work less not more. The aim should be to set your life up so you can do what you love doing and spend more time at it. If that's not possible, then do what Venture Capitalist Bill Tai does and schedule every business meeting around something he loves, like his passion for kite surfing. Forget hustle, forget hardworking, and reframe your life and career to align with being efficient at being on purpose.
4. Am I entrepreneurial enough?
So we keep reading articles that tell us that we need to be a certain breed to be entrepreneurial. Rubbish. You need to find a purpose, a vision and a brilliant team to then build something that makes you say, "Hell, yeah." If you do this and create awesome amounts of value for the rest of the world, then all other measures and questions like "Am I entrepreneurial enough?" become completely useless. Anyone can be entrepreneurial enough.
5. Am I confident enough?
Confidence is derived from love. Do you love yourself (in a non-creepy way), and do you believe you can solve a problem that people are dying to see solved? If the answer is yes, and you tie every bit of passion in your body to this cause, you'll have confidence bleeding through your eyeballs, and you'll become a person of influence that everyone wants to be around.
Related: 5 Simple Resolutions That Will Make You Smarter, Happier and More Confident
Stand up straight, poke your chest out, believe in yourself, speak with authority, and love what you do with every ounce of energy in that extraordinary human body you've been given to operate. You're confident enough, trust me.
6. Am I humble enough?
I'll be honest with you right now: I placed this point here deliberately because it's the one you should pay the most attention to. All the so called "success factors" of your life come down to one thing: Are you damn humble enough?
Do you walk around thinking that the world owes you something? It doesn't, and that's a truth you better come to grips with. My job is not to tell you what you want to hear; it's to inspire you with unconventional truth.
If you've started a business, then you better find a cause higher than yourself otherwise, I promise you, you're business won't be there in five years. To be humble, you must learn to give beyond yourself. The reason you take the action of giving comes down to the belief that you are happy with what you have and you have cultivated a mind that operates in a pure state of abundance.
The aim is not to squeeze out everything you can take from all your business deals; it's to find a way to give more than anybody else is giving. So let's recap in case you are not clear. You better get humble as fast as you can because nobody is going to save your sorry ass, and you already have all the abundance, resources and beauty the world has to offer. END RANT.
