For every great reason for success, there’s always the risk that we can take it literally and start running with it at 100mph without looking back.

For every good approach or bit of advice there’s a “but” and a balance to go with it.

Knowing that growth takes place outside your comfort zone is great awareness, and it helps justify the feelings of stress and anxiety because we know it’s for a good cause.

Knowing that there’s a balance that needs to be struck also allows us to give ourselves permission to pull back from the uncomfortableness, confident in the knowledge that we shouldn’t spend all our time being uncomfortable.

For every trick we learn to improve ourselves, always consider the balance or control we also need to put in place, so we don’t race off down dead ends or experience disappointment. 

Think big – But be realistic

It’s important to have goals that you feel may be out of reach today, but you can achieve tomorrow.

There’s no point thinking you can fly to the moon.

But it’s not impossible to think you could get a top position working with Space X or NASA.

Do you think you’re capable of achievements that most people think they’re incapable of?

Believe in yourself – But be humble

Having a huge amount of self-belief is essential if you’re working towards big goals.

Beware you don’t put the blinkers on absolutely convinced that you have the right strategy. Always remain open to new ideas that could be helpful.

Don’t be negative to people that give you feedback, make conscious decisions whether or not to accept or dismiss their advice after consideration.

Confidence in your skills and approach is essential, but self-awareness will enable you to keep zooming out to make sure you’re still on the right track and not disappearing down a rabbit hole.

Think long & hard – But don’t procrastinate

The more thinking time you put into an idea, the more chance of success, once you start the actual work.

The danger is thinking about things for too long and overthinking, and never get around to actually putting ideas into action.

Work to targets – But don’t beat yourself up

It’s important to have targets, especially ones that are meaningful. For instance, targets that are based on profit, not turnover.

If you don’t hit your targets. This is not an opportunity for you to beat yourself up or say that your idea is failing, but an opportunity to look up what didn’t work as well as you thought it should have, and to decide how you can improve it.

Work hard – But don’t burn out

As entrepreneurs, we all like to put in as much effort as we can to what we’re doing. But it’s just as important to pull away and stop working on what it is we’re doing intensively, in order for us to allow our minds to rest and then come back to the problem later.

Overactivity does not always lead to good results.

Be confident – But beware of your ego

It’s essential that we have a belief in what it is that we’re doing but can remain open enough to change our minds if a better idea comes along.

We don’t know everything.

And we should never think that we do.

Get multiple streams of income – But focus enough on each one

We all know that multiple streams of income is a great way to feed our personal financial goals, but multiple streams of a weak income, can be more of a stress than a comfort.

When building streams of income, build one at a time, and make sure you can take your focus off one in order to build another, without having any detrimental effect.

Slow is smooth – But smooth is fast

Warren Buffett was once asked: “You’re a rich man. Why don’t people just copy your investment style?”

Buffett replied, “Because most people don’t want to get rich slow”.

Take your time when building your ideas and be comfortable knowing that something that is built slow and sure will most often outperform something that is built fast and launched quickly.

Get uncomfortable – But not unhappy

We all know that growth occurs outside of our comfort zone.

But don’t allow this uncomfortable feeling to make you unhappy. Develop the self-awareness through the self-observation of your feelings.

Acknowledge that you are working outside of your comfort zone, and then take some time to disconnect.

Do something that makes you happy, this is what the balance is all about.

Ask more questions – But don’t burn your sources

Nobody knows it all. To gain more knowledge and awareness, you’re going to need the help of others at some point.

Find somebody that knows more than you and ask as many questions as you can that will help you hit your goals.

Mentors and sources of information will always be happy to help you but try not to burn your source by asking too many questions, and never taking action based on their advice.

Invest hard in yourself – But not in not at the expense of others

Working a 60-hour week is fine if you’re trying to get a new idea off the ground. Hard work, persistence and commitment are common values amongst entrepreneurs.

Do that 52 weeks a year and you may end up neglecting the people that are most important to you.

Be aware that you need to pull away at times and ensure that you’re living within your other values and giving the people you love enough attention.

Never stop thinking – But give your mind a rest from one single focus

Intense thinking into an idea in short bursts can give you the most focused results possible.

But as all competent police detectives know when working a case, compiling a huge amount of information takes laser focus. Your mind needs to then switch to a different mode to make sense or strategy out of the information.

Pulling away completely and not thinking about the subject at all for a while usually results in the eureka moments we often have when we’re least expecting it.

Exercise is a great example of this, how many times have you been working out, your mind is in a different place and the answers just come?