What are you telling yourself

Do you ever hear your inner voice? The one that doubts your skills, your abilities and your dreams.

I catch mine telling me I'm not good enough, I'm not worthy enough, I'm not smart enough, I'm not young enough. And I hate him for saying those things.

In a point of vulnerability, I tend to agree with him. And that drags me down. It stops my momentum. It slows my growth. And it hurts my feelings.

When I'm strong, I tell him to shut the F up. It's not always easy because the voice is "me". He's always sitting on my shoulder feeding me with lies.

If you ever have the same problem I have, here's how to shut him up.

Stay strong. Start doing things. Pick up the phone. Talk to people. Sell your idea.
When no one wants what you're selling, go back and find out if the idea is bad or if the potential client is just not the right fit.

Keep digging holes like a gold prospector. There's gotta be gold in them there hills. You just haven't found it yet.

The key is to put your head down and work. Learn to ask the right questions to your prospects. Listen. And then make sure your product or service fills that need. If it doesn't, it may be time to shelf and start a new. The IT startup world calls this a pivot.

It exists with every idea.

Confidence comes from doing the work.
Lack of confidence comes from sitting at home and contemplating about doing work.
Self doubt always shows up when confidence dwindles.

If you don't want to listen to the bastard telling you you're not good enough, keep your confidence up by going to work.

You're not just good enough. You're awesome. Keep going. You'll find success if you impose the Test, Measure, Refine loop into your daily work.

As a 13 year old boy, I planted a seed of doubt into my mom's head. She wanted to be an entrepreneur, but her oldest baby knew enough to be dangerous.

Self doubt is the biggest killer of dreams. Don't let it kill yours.

Stay confident. Keep working.