Welcome to Thursdays with Cyn where I share some personal thoughts to hopefully motivate and inspire you to take action towards your own e-commerce entrepreneurial journey.

Today’s topic: Dream Stealers

Today is the 1st day of my retirement from my corporate America job!

I’m filled with many mixed emotions. I think back to 3 years ago. I had started a Shopify store.

I spent 9 months picking a product niche, naming the company, buying inventory, having photos made, setting up the store, writing all the descriptions… so much work put into that whole process.

5 months later… I closed it. 

Do I consider that a failure? At first I did… But now - 3 years later, I have a completely different perspective. I have used every moment of that experience to help me be successful in my current ecommerce business.

Now, I look back and see that as a truly SUCCESSFUL experience. But how can that be? Well, when I first started talking about opening a Shopify store, I was met with so much skepticism from other people. I heard things like this:

Why are you doing that?

You can’t make money like that!

That’s crazy! 

That’s a big risk!

Are you sure that's what you want to do?

You are going to lose your butt!

On and on and on…

I finally stopped talking about it to anyone outside of the Shopify community. They were the only ones that understood the mission. They were the only ones that gave support and encouragement. Keep in mind, these were people I had never met before. Our only connection was through Facebook groups and community forums.

My immediate circle of whom I thought would be my biggest supporters truly didn’t understand the mission. They were the opposite of supportive. They questioned everything. They had opinions on every step of the process - even though they had NO experience with opening a Shopify store.

When you have an idea that you are excited about and you are met with total push back, you lose that sparkle of excitement that’s inside you. You start second guessing yourself. What if they are right? What if I lose my investment? What if it is a total failure? What if I become the laughing stock of my inner circle? What if… what if… what if…

I finally realized… These are MY dreams and goals. No one else’s. 

So I stopped talking about them to people that didn’t understand the process. That instantly stopped the negativity and questioning. From then on… I only shared ideas and asked questions within the e-commerce community. 

Your inner circle is so important as you go through life. You need that support. You need those cheerleaders rallying around you. You need people in the same “space” to bounce ideas off of. Ones that won’t judge or condemn your ideas when they have no experience in that space.

Sometimes, it's our family and friends that we are closest to that become these “dream stealers”. They don’t mean to be… but they don’t realize the power and weight their comments have. I do believe they truly love us and want what's best for us and think they are giving us good advice.

On the flip side, there are truly those that hate to see other people succeed, especially if they see you having more success than themselves.

These are true dream stealers. They thrive on cutting people down, demeaning them. Crushing their spirit. These are the people you need to get away from as quickly as possible. Rid them and you rid the negativity. Completely remove them from your circle. You do not need this type of person influencing your thoughts or actions.

When you are on your entrepreneurial journey, you need to only surround yourself with those supportive to your success. Avoid the dream stealers and be bold enough to actually remove them from your life, not just your circle. Surround yourself with supportive, like minded people who understand your journey and those that will rally around you in support of your dreams and goals. 

Don’t be afraid to TRY and take that first step towards your dreams and goals. You have to take some risks or you will never step out of your comfort zone. Don’t allow those dream stealers to take away your opportunities and crush your enthusiasm.  

You CAN do it!

I’m living proof you can be successful if you work hard enough and be determined enough to do what it takes to get there. 

So comment below and let me know if you have ever encountered a dream stealer in your life.  

Let me know how that affected your mindset and if their negative comments caused you to stop pursuing your goals.

And … that’s a wrap for today… See you next week!