Copyright 2006 Angie Hewerdine

We've all been there before. Your website isn't pulling in any hits and your advertising campaign is a bust. The leads you've been contacting either don't want what you have or couldn't handle it if they wanted to. Your trying like mad to make something for yourself to avoid having to go back to a dreaded J.O.B. but it seems like all of your efforts are in vain. In the beginning, you were psyched, motivated and driven to succeed in a business where 99% of people fail. You had confidence in yourself. You were willing to do whatever it took to reach your goals and make it to the top. So what happened?

Well, somewhere down the line, you dropped the ball. No, it has nothing to do with what kind of leads you are using, or your advertising budget. You dropped the ball when you invited a very unwelcome guest into your home business enterprise...your own doubting ego. Ego is a vicious fighter. It must be right at all costs. It lives and breathes to remain unscathed. As soon as you step out of your comfort zone and take a risk, your ego stands up at attention and tries to talk some sense into you. "There are so many people who don't make it in this business...who am I kidding?" "Maybe I should just cut my losses and get out now. At least I tried."

When you fall for these tricks, ego rests easy, knowing that it's got you by the throat and you'll be hard pressed to take such risks again. Safety. Security. The familiar. These are what keeps ego alive. The problem with that is that life is always changing. Our existence from moment to moment is changing. Our bodies completely regenerate...every single cell of our body is totally recreated within the course of two years. But, in spite of the fact that change is the only constant, ego thinks it can get by without it.

It's easy to blame the economy, the advertising, or just 'bad luck' as the reason why most home businesses fail. But the truth is more difficult to accept. The truth is that we are slaves to our ego. We are the destroyers, through listening to that niggling voice in our head and giving our power over to it. We cannot stand the thought of failure or being laughed at even if we are the only ones doing the laughing.

When you begin to realize the tight grip your ego has over every aspect of your being, you see that the road ahead is indeed a long one. But there's hope! You can begin to quiet the voice of the ego. It takes dedication...not just to your website and your advertising. It takes dedication to yourself...the real you that's been sacrificed at the mercy of ego. The real you that knows that anything is possible and that you deserve to succeed.

The very best way to take control of your ego is to adopt the habit of daily meditation. As you come to know stillness each day, little by little you can chip away at that annoying ego, revealing in the space between your thoughts; the essence of who you truly are. Know this part of yourself, and you will be more able to keep ego at bay. Visualize your goals as if they have already happened.

We create our reality by the thoughts that we think in each moment. Refuse to allow the negativity and doubt to creep in. When you recognize yourself having a doubting thought, do not give it one more millisecond in your head. Replace it with a positive affirmation or a powerful image of yourself being as successful as you want to be.

Get to know yourself in your head as you aspire to be, not as you 'think' you are. Assume success with every fiber of your being. Intend to be successful. Give thanks for your success, in advance and often. You will see things begin to go your way. You will see the success that you envision begin to manifest in your external life. Make each thought a positive and valuable thought. Hold lofty goals and assume that they are being made manifest, no matter what ego tells you is 'reality'. We create our own reality, with or without ego's input.

Running a home based business takes more than organization, time management and good luck. It takes faith and a consistent desire to succeed. Throw ego out the window and create success for yourself one thought at a time.