Evan Carmichael pushes back on excuses entrepreneurs use to avoid starting: age, money, disability, background. He tells the story of Sam, who wants to launch an aquarium business despite a recent arm injury, and argues that adversity is the test itself. The answer is daily steps and persistence.
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Running a business is hard. I get people writing to me all the time telling me how hard it is to run their business. You know, you don't have the money, you don't have resources, you don't have contacts. People give excuses, they say, "Oh, I'm too old, I'm too young, I'm not from North America, I didn't grow up in an entrepreneurial family, I don't have money, you know, I'm disabled, I'm a woman." You know, people come up with all these excuses. None of that stuff matters. Yeah, it's hard running the business. It's really, really hard. I don't know why you think it's easy. This is going to be the hardest thing you ever do in your life. It's hard. There's going to be a lot of crap thrown at you, and this is where you find out about yourself. This is where you learn, are you the kind of person who shrinks when you come up against something difficult, or do you rise to the challenge? I got an email from one of my newsletter readers, Sam, who wrote in to say, Hi Evan, I'm 23 years old. I don't have a lot of money. You know, I was employed at a company and I had an accident and I hurt my arm. I want to make a difference though, set up my own aquarium business. How can I overcome the challenges that I have to achieve that dream? Okay, so you're young, you don't have any money, and you hurt your arm. I don't know how badly you hurt your arm. I'm really, you know, sorry to hear that. If I had a way to turn that thing around, I would. But it doesn't matter. You know, that might sound heartless, That might sound rude, but the fact that you're young, the fact that you don't have money, the fact that you hurt your arm does not impact you being a success. Because you can find people, you can— you look at famous entrepreneurs, you look at the people who made it big, you look at their background, they overcame crazy odds. The people who get it handed to them, they never take off. You look at who the most successful people are, you look at where they came from, it's usually nothing. No money. All the problems you're talking about— no money, immigrant, woman, young, different country, you know, all the things that you think are problems, these are tests for you. The people who get it handed to them, who have all the advantages, you look what they do with their life, it's usually nothing great. The second generation, third generation entrepreneurs where they are handed a business from their parents, handed everything to them on a silver platter, That's when the company starts to tank. It's the founder, the person who came from nothing, who overcame all those problems. Those are the people who take off, and they had all the same problems that you have. So it's just an excuse. This is a story you tell yourself, and you have two options, okay? This is why it's important, because a lot of people come up against this point. This is a defining moment for you. Okay, you hurt your arm, and I'm sorry for that. You have two choices. You either live the rest of your life saying, "I couldn't do it because of my arm. I couldn't do it because of my arm. I wish I could have built this aquarium, but I couldn't because of my arm." Or you keep going and you say, "I built my dream. Who cares about my arm?" You don't need your right arm or your left arm to build an aquarium. You don't need any arms. You don't need any legs. All you need is this: as long as your heart is still beating, you still have a chance. That's the difference. You want to turn this thing into a success? Get started. What are you doing right now to build your aquarium? What are you doing right now to build your dream? Every day, take a step forward, make progress. That's how you start accomplishing your dreams. And you're going to come— you know what? I got news for you. That arm thing, that money thing, you're going to have 100 more more challenges just like it. 100 more challenges just like it. This is your first test. Let's see how you do. You want to be successful, you have to continue to believe. I'd love to hear what you guys have to think. For those of you watching, leave a comment below. Tell me about the problems that you've had to overcome. If there's a famous entrepreneur who you look up to and their challenges, share below because this helps motivate people who are also going through struggles. So please share it. Let me know what you think. Leave a thumbs up if you like this video and click on my face to subscribe to the channel. Thank you so much. I'll see you soon.
