Pick Yourself.

No one is ever going to tap you on the shoulder and tell you, "It's YOU! You are the anointed one that can have a successful, profitable business. All of your efforts will be rewarded. You will never fail."

In PE, I was never picked. I wasn't chosen by the team captain to lead her to glory. I stood awkwardly as one-by-one the other kids were selected. Sounds icky, doesn't it?

It's an icky feeling for a business owner too. If you're waiting for someone to ask you to be the keynote, to head the committee, to write an industry-changing book, well, you may end up waiting all your life.

After a while, I got used to picking myself. I picked myself to be the cartoonist in the school paper--nobody asked me to do the job. When it came time to declare a college major, I picked myself and I picked art. There wasn't anyone whispering to me that I was the best, the most creative--the queen of the art department. Heck, if you want to compare your self-worth to others, the creative arts will set you up for more ego-crushing blows than you can imagine. Some students dropped out, some dragged themselves through to graduation, and a handful of classmates picked themselves.

Maybe you think getting picked, just once, would give you the courage you needed to set out. The problem is, you'll have to wait a long time before your journey can begin. And it's never enough: what if you were picked to be on American Idol, but then you weren't selected as a finalist? Once the initial ego boost has worn off, how will you handle the rejection of not winning the contest?

The problem with waiting to get picked is that your future is in someone else's hands. Do you want to wait to be declared valuable?

Instead of tip-toeing out once the imaginary accolades roll in, pick yourself and begin your important work like the chosen one you are.