Entrepreneurs: Know When It’s Time To Give Up

I did a self-paced screenwriting course called How To Write a Movie in 21 Days and I learned that most every movie you see follows the same basic structure. And because movies are one of the most effective forms of storytelling I started to wonder if the structure of a movie mirrored the structure of real life. One of the most surprising aspects of this structure is the importance of giving up. For the protagonist to move to the next act and accomplish their final goal they must first give up on it. You see it time and time again. Take The Da Vinci Code, for example, where our hero searches for the holy grail the entire film but it isn’t until he goes back to his hotel to sleep things off that it occurs to him to follow the right clues that lead him to the grail’s final resting place. And guess what, it was in the exact place where he started.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve strived for something, especially business related, doing everything I know to do. Trying to force things to happen in the exact way I think they should happen only to eventually put it all aside. Then, wouldn’t you know it, something comes up that gives me the desired result. And it’s a much more efficient solution than I ever imagined. This is hard to admit as the TrackSuit CEO fancies himself something of an efficiency expert.

So maybe giving up is an important step in accomplishing our most elusive goals. Although, I don’t think it’s about giving up as much as it’s about stepping back and getting out of your own way. When you stop trying to force things you start to allow the Universe step in and take hold of the situation. You then find that people, circumstances and events magically appear to help you accomplish your goal.

I know this goes against everything you’ve ever learned about being an entrepreneur and making things happen in your life. Or does it? Maybe life isn’t so difficult after all and you can just put things into motion trusting that they will turn out for the best. Surely you’ve heard the old saying about the ‘watched’ pot never boiling.

So if you’re struggling right now to make something happen in your business or your life in general, then step back for a minute. Maybe it’s time to refocus your energy or just take a short break and don’t worry, when the kettle starts whistling you’ll know it!