Know Yourself Before Contemplating Your Next Step

I have spent the last few years of my life working with startup founders, business owners, and different kinds of people.

And I have found that the two types of people I meet most frequently are: 

• The people who are struggling to get started
• The people who already have an idea, but are struggling to make it work.

Here I'll share some insights that are effective no matter which type of person you are. 

Type-I - The Ones Who Struggle To Get Started 

The first type of person is often someone who has been doing something for a long time. They know their industry. They have done the same thing for years and years. They don’t know what else to do.

But everytime they plan on doing something big, they struggle to take the first step. 

Type-II - The Ones Who Struggle to Make it Work

They are usually the ones who are new to the field. Someone you'd call fresh blood.

They have an infinite knack for learning.

You see them as creators, startup owners or someone who has an idea.

They have a clear idea of what they want to create, but they struggle to actually make it happen.

They're lost in the tools, strategies, hacks, and theories - trying to make a practical roadmap to make things work for their idea. 

Why This Knowledge is Important for You? 

You should know who you are out of the two. Because only then you'll be able to pick the right steps for your growth and success (or whatever your goal is). 

But how would this help you? Well, patience my dear watson. 

First, let's look at the magical term called self-introspection. 

Both kinds of personalities have a different approach to problems. And you very well know if the approach is different, so should their paths be. 

The first type of person has a core area of expertise and believes in prior learning by going through available resources to reach their goals. They learn how to create value, and then they go off and try to add their added learning to their expertise mix. 

The second type of person, on the other hand, believes in learning by doing. They know just one way - going out in the muck on their own, getting their hands dirty, learning on the go, and making things work. 

Now, you know both types. Can you put yourself in one of the two categories? 

The Next Step for You

Knowing your type is important to define your next step in your success path. When you'll self introspect, you'd definintely find who you are out of the two. 

So, once you categorize yourself, help yourselves with the following two paragraphs: 

• If you’re the type of person who feels the need to learn before doing, you're the first type. In that case, you probably need to find some kind of coach or mentor (in an industry you're planning to foray) to guide you in the right direction to use your existing expertise in the best way possible.
• If you’re the type of person who always feels like going out and do it on your own, you probably need to find a way to get over your fear of failure. You've got a mindset battle to fight before anything else. If you hone yourself up for admitting and moving over failures, there's nothing to stop you. 

Whatever your type, you would have a steep learning curve. But to make the most out of your guided or self learning, you should take this small step of self introspection. This will help set yourself up for future success.

I am just saying that if you really want to make things work, you should have a priority battle with yourself first.

Understand yourself by asking the right questions to yourself, pick a path, find a direction and then channelize your time, effort, expertise, and energy into doing something. 

That's how you would be able to build a solid growth roadmap for the future.