I have habitually been a great procrastinator and I know as my dear sisterfriend and motivational speaker Jewel Diamond Taylor says, “Procrastination is a thief!” Procrastination is a thief because it robs us of:

1. Time which we can never recover. You can replenish money, a home, a car and other material positions but you cannot replenish time.
2. Peace of mind. When you know there is a task that needs to be completed and you put it off, you are not at peace. The task is always there sitting in the back of your mind. If you are putting off doing something, ask yourself why. Perhaps you need assistance from someone or you are afraid of success or failure. There are myriad reasons why we put off a task, which could quite honestly take our business or life to the next level.
3. Self-worth. When we procrastinate and not perform a task that we have promised ourselves over and over that we will do, we lower our own self-worth. You realize that you can’t trust yourself to follow through and that is so self-defeating. Either decide to complete the task or decide not to complete the task. If you decide to complete the task, take action right away. If you decide not to complete the task, then be at peace with your decision and be prepared to deal with the outcome.

Jeff Chavez of Northstar has created an awesome video on action versus procrastination. You can view it here:

By Carmin Wharton, Founder

e-BlackWomenNetwork.com

Besides the obvious advantages of entrepreneurship (no nagging boss, ability to earn more money than you would working for yourself, etc.), there are other reasons why entrepreneurship may be good for you.

There are many reasons why people decide to jump into the entrepreneurial pool. Some jump in because of the real possibility that they will be come wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. Some jump in because they are tired of swimming in someone else’s pool that has become full of algae (office politics and craziness). Some jump in because they want to leave their mark on the world by offering a new or improved product or service. The list is endless but there are some ways that entrepreneurship will improve your life that is across the board regardless of what type of business you start, how long you are in business, your economic situation or ethnicity. Here’s how entrepreneurship will improve your life:

1. You will go through periods of testing and once you come out on the other side, you’ll be like pure gold – refined in the fire. There will be times that you will wonder if you’ll ever turn a profit or if it’s all worth it. I can’t tell you of the number of times I have wandered from what I’m doing for my businesses online to Careerbuilder.com or Monster.com, half-looking for a job.What doesn’t kill you will (or make you lose your mind) will definitely strengthen you. Testing strengthens you.
2. You will fail and what you will learn from failure is humility, you’ll learn how not to do something and you’ll learn to allow others to help you.
3. You will learn patience. There are a lot of online entrepreneurs that will state that they started earning $10,000 a week as soon as … whatever it is they “discovered” to help the make the $10,000 is what they are now trying to sell you – usually in the form of a system they’ve developed or stumbled upon. Entrepreneurship is hard work; the hardest work you have done outside of parenting. It can take years to get your business to the point where it pays the bills and leaves you enough money to take a vacation.
4. You will make a difference in the lives of people and your impact will be great. Hopefully the difference you make and the impact you have will be positive. Your business will impact your family and friends, your employees and vendors. Making a positive difference in the lives of others makes all the failures, bumps and bruises of entrepreneurship worthwhile.
5. You will develop or strengthen your character – the essence of who you are. If you can hang on and keep a clear head while trying to figure out how you are going to meet payroll or pay your mortgage, and then use your resourcefulness to get past a potential crisis, your character will be strengthened or developed. You will see a side of yourself you never knew existed.

If you would like to use this article, please feel free to do so. However, the following byline must be included in its entirety.

Carmin Wharton is the Founder of e-BlackWomenNetwork.com, the number one membership website for Black female entrepreneurs who desire to take their life and business to the next level.

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