There always comes a time when we get discouraged because we are not achieving the results we expect. How do you keep moving forward when the rewards are not adequate? You keep moving forward for the hope of a better tomorrow. Giving up is our way of saying we no longer trust ourselves to succeed.

Success has more to do with perseverance than anything else. Anyone can be brave when everything is going well. It is when things go wrong that you have to rely on your inner strength and faith in yourself. Now is a good time to start thinking about the low points in your life and how you were able to get through them. In our lives we set a different standard than we do for our businesses. For some reason we think there is a difference. When you set out to create a business, especially one out of your home you are invested, heart, soul and bank account. Everyone around you is impacted in one way or another, both positively and negatively. So it behooves you to stay motivated and moving forward.

What happens when you just have lost all zeal for the endeavor and consider the task too arduous to continue? Think back to when you started the venture or more specifically when you were planning to start the business. Remember what your goals were and how you had planned to take over the world. Hopefully, you took the time to set these goals and plans in writing. Nothing like starting a new project but sometimes we lose sight of why we started down this road of madness in the first place.

If you didn't when you started, you should start keeping a daily journal for your business. Everyday jot down your goals and the progress you have made toward them. Make sure you indicate what you plan to do better and update the goals as you see fit. The original ideas you had in the beginning may have to change due to many factors. I work as a computer programmer and as part of the process we have to produce design documents. These design documents often, if not always change as we move from design to implementation because of unforeseen factors and changing attitudes toward the specified goal. The same applies to your project, whether it is completing your first novel, running a website selling advice or the shop down the street peddling designer accessories for your designer clothing. A journal will help keep you on track, focused and give you a written record of your progress.

I keep a journal of my life in which I record significant events which has proven very useful and allows me to sit back at the end of the day to muse over what I have accomplished and what I hope to achieve the next day, week, month, etc. The stimulus for this activity was my divorce because of all the "interesting" events surrounding this exercise I have been able to put everything in perspective. Without the journal it would just be a hodge podge of memories all lumped together. The journal helps put a structure to the thoughts, events and communications that have led me to where I am at today. Now, I include more than just the back and forth between me, my wife and her attorney. It is an exercise that has helped me realize that organizing this "project" (yes a divorce is as much a project as a business, novel or building your first house).

When you are discouraged and feel there is no way to get back on track, either go back to the journal and see how far you have come or start a journal today so you can map out a strategy to get back on top.