Exhibit Patience and Self-Control

Exhibit patience and self-control. It is urgent that you develop and nurture this principle because there are countless frustrations that act as landmines on your road to success. To exhibit patience and self-control is to deactivate these landmines and allow you to continue unharmed by your own words and behaviors in times of stress.

Your patience is extremely necessary when you’re dealing with people who either do not see the same goal or direction that you see or who see it and make serious efforts to derail the process of moving forward.  

Self-control keeps you from blurting out negative statements that will only make matters worse by closing off any opportunity for negotiation. What you will learn is that many people who seem self-confident, poised and in control are actually frightened and threatened by any change to their life’s routine. So, the thought of change—even for the better—brings out words and behaviors from them that would frustrate anyone who is not afraid or threatened by change.

Take the opportunity to address people’s core concerns. You do this in a non-threatening, empathetic manner when you exhibit patience and self-control. Many times, the resistance that people give  to new ideas or pathways has more to do with their concerns about the impact on them than it does the merit, usefulness or even necessity of the change. In most cases, your ability to exhibit patience and self-control tends to calm people down and provide them the space to slowly open up so that their fears can be alleviated in a way that affirms their dignity and personhood.

Your motivation to exhibit patience and self-control is that you need people to help you achieve entrepreneurial success. When you exhibit patience and self-control and invest the necessary time in building the relationships with people that are required, you are investing in yourself and your own future success.