There’s a common saying that “Nothing worth having ever comes easy”, and entrepreneurship takes that to the extreme.

Unlike what’s shown on social media, entrepreneurship is not all about the supercars, luxury brands, and vacations in exotic locations. Entrepreneurs spend years, maybe even decades of their lives starting and building their business, and even so, can still fail and be left with nothing at any point of time.

Of course, it is extremely rewarding to endure the hardships and emerge as a successful entrepreneur who has made an impact on others’ lives.

Wilbert Wynnberg is a Serial Entrepreneur, International Speaker and 4x Bestselling Author. He is also the Founder of Think Act Prosper, a global media and education company. You may reach him via his LinkedIn or Instagram. In this article, he shares his insights on entrepreneurship.

Here are 5 things you can learn, according to Wynnberg, as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey.

1. The Importance of Mentors

Most, if not all successful achievers have received support from a mentor on their journey to success. A mentor is someone, or a group of people, who can offer valuable advice and wisdom as they have been on a similar path and achieved success, possibly even living the life you want to live.

“My own mentors Les Brown and Brian Tracy, who are established speakers, authors and entrepreneurs themselves, have offered me invaluable wisdom for me to speak better, multiply my income and increase my impact on the world. They can help look out for my blind spots, suggest new perspectives to my challenges, shorten my learning curve, and ensure I stay accountable to my values as I progress.” said Wynnberg

2. The Science of Visualisation

Research has shown that visualising an activity or situation has a similar effect on the brain as physically doing it. Visualisation can be used at any time, from visualising how your day will play out, to visualising the goals you want to achieve after writing them down.

“To visualise effectively, mentally rehearse how the scene will play out, what you experience through your five senses, and most importantly, what emotions you feel in that situation. The more details you add to it and the more vividly you connect emotions into your vision, the more powerful your visualisation becomes.” said Wynnberg.

Many successful entrepreneurs, world-class athletes and top performers can attest to the wonders of visualisation, and as Napoleon Hill said, “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

3. The Power of the Domino Effect

Every successful achiever started their journey at some point in their lives, no matter how humble or privileged their backgrounds, what they have experienced, or how old they were when they started.

“Colonel Sanders only started franchising his fried chicken recipe at the age of 62. Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Larry Page all started building their empires from a garage. As the Chinese proverb goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The key lesson here is to start somewhere, build up your momentum, and instead of pulling the revenue out of your business to spend, it should be reinvested in hiring more staff, increasing productivity and expanding the company.” said Wynnberg

4. Continuous Learning

When a plane takes off from the airport and reaches cruising altitude, the pilots regularly make readjustments to realign themselves to their flight path until they reach their destination. The pilot has to maintain the safety of the passengers as well as be prepared to handle any situations that might occur.

“As entrepreneurs, we also have to take care of multiple things happening in our lives and businesses. It’s important to constantly be learning and improving, to not just stay relevant in the market, but put ourselves ahead of the competition. Remember that there are people out there who are more successful than us, yet still learning and improving, so why should our learning ever stop?” said Wynnberg

5. Living a Healthy Life

Business, like life, is a marathon, not a sprint. Apart from physical health, your mental health is just as important, and should never be neglected. Any physical or mental ailments that aren’t quickly nipped in the bud may start to fester and can potentially snowball into major problems in the long term.

“Ultimately, health is the greatest wealth, and as much as it’s important to work hard to grow your business, it’s just as important to eat healthy and rejuvenate your mind by taking occasional breaks to allow yourself to go further.” said Wynnberg.