Podcast 72: Why Your Support Network Is Vital to Your Success
It goes without saying that your support network is an integral part of your success in both business and property investing. The people around you, the people you spend time with, the people whose opinions you listen to, they all have a massive impact on what you achieve. And yet most people give almost no thought to who is in their support network or whether those people are actually supporting them or holding them back.
The Different Types of Support You Need
There are many different aspects of support that are useful when you are building a business or an investment portfolio. There is practical support, the people who can help you with specific tasks or skills you do not have. There is emotional support, the people who encourage you when things get tough and celebrate with you when things go well. There is intellectual support, the people who challenge your thinking and help you see things from a different perspective. And there is accountability support, the people who hold you to your commitments and call you out when you are not doing what you said you would do.
Ideally, you want all four types in your life. Some people might provide more than one type, and that is great. But if you are missing any of these categories entirely, you are going to find the journey harder than it needs to be.
What If Your Partner Does Not Support You?
This is the big question, and it is one that comes up a lot in my coaching conversations. What if your spouse or partner does not support what you are trying to do? What then?
This is a genuinely difficult situation and there is no easy answer. When the person closest to you does not believe in what you are doing, or worse, actively discourages you from pursuing your goals, it creates an enormous amount of internal conflict. You are trying to build something meaningful while the person who is supposed to be your biggest supporter is telling you it will not work or that you should just stick with your job.
I am not going to tell you to leave your partner. That is not my place. But what I will say is that you need to find your support elsewhere if it is not coming from home. Join a mastermind group. Find a mentor or coach. Surround yourself with other business owners who understand what you are going through. You need people in your corner who get it, even if your partner does not.
Where to Find Your Support
There are many places you can get the support you need. Online communities, local business groups, coaching programmes, masterminds, even just finding one or two other business owners who are at a similar stage to you and meeting up regularly. The key is being intentional about it. Support rarely comes to you by accident. You have to go out and find it, and you have to be willing to invest time and sometimes money in building those relationships.
Have a listen to the full podcast for more on this topic. Getting the right support network around you could be the single biggest factor in whether you succeed or give up.
