A Horse, Of Course
Don with Sox
If you’re going to make money with horses, you need confidence.
And a lack of self-confidence is one of the greatest deterrents to success.
Here are six ways to help you boost your confidence, which in turn will boost your income.
The first thing you must do is eliminate the words, “I can’t.”
You hear those words all the time, because people say them all the time. If you say I can’t out loud, eventually you’ll begin to believe it.
“The market is down; I can’t sell horses at a decent price.”
Horse feathers!!! If you think you can’t you are probably correct. But I know dozens of horse traders who make money when the market is down and when the market is up….they simply eliminate “I can’t” and substitute “I can.”
The next time you hear yourself say, “I can’t” try immediately saying, “Oh, yes I can…and here’s how I’m going to do it.”
Having a plan “to do” is more than half the battle for success.
With “I can’t” out of the way, you can: (2) avoid blaming yourself for problems. That, of course, doesn’t mean you can blame others.
Actually no one should ever be blamed; blaming yourself or others is self-destructive and counter-productive.
Instead of “blaming”, think of how you start “taming” the situation. What has happened has happened….you may be able to fix it, you may not…but in every case you can “tame” the negative consequences and turn them into positives. Few people realize how powerful they are when they ignore “blame” and take positive steps to correct the problem.
(3) Imagine yourself performing a task well. It’s the old sport psychology of “seeing the ball go in the hoop…seeing yourself hitting a home run…seeing yourself catching the touchdown pass.” See the horse as the top seller at the sale—now get started at making him look that good in real life.
When you think business is bad, (4) start remembering when business was good. It isn’t very smart to focus on errors, problems, economic downs….it is very smart to focus on successes, high sales and the best months your business has had. There are answers in the successes that you can use again and again to repeat success.
I’ve advised again and again to think how your business is changing and will be in 10 years. Whatever you think it will be, you should be trying making it today. If you can see what your horse business will be in the future, then you can (5) project a positive image of yourself managing that business. If you are ahead of the curve, ahead of your competition, you can plan with confidence.
Finally (6) understand that you can learn to build your self-confidence. Here are some dos, and some don’ts:
Do believe you are good enough. Do practice speaking with confidence. Do focus on your success. Don’t dwell on problems…dwell on finding solutions. Don’t criticize yourself or others.
Don’t assume you can’t….try until you can.
Begin to boost your confidence – visit www.horsecoursesonline.com to earn certification as a horse trainer, riding instructor or stable manager, or work toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Equine Studies. All courses online.
