[This post is part of a series on internal objections and blocks and how to overcome them. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.]

Objection

People usually state this objection as

I would do it but I don’t have enough money.

You need connections to do that and I don’t have them.

I would if only I had time.

or some appeal to needing more of something external to them.
Tomorrow I’ll write about internal obstacles or blocks.

Example

Would-be entrepreneurs often say they can’t start businesses because they don’t have the money. People don’t go on vacations, decrease their working hours, or do plenty of things because they don’t have money, time, connections, or whatever.

Underlying belief

As I understand, people believe you need all the resources to finish a project at the start.

Alternative belief

Had I known what my company needed when a friend and I started it in 1996 I would never have started it. It needed money, people, patents, research, development, connections… basically everything except the first idea and a couple dedicated people (then only partly skilled). As I’ve found from the company continuing to operate now sixteen years later, you don’t need everything at the start.

You can acquire, create, or in whatever way get external resources along the way.

Also

Teams get a lot more done than individuals alone.

You can usually use internal resources, especially social skills, to acquire needed external resources along the way.

Alternative example

I don’t know much about Donald Trump. We have a mutual acquaintance or two, but I don’t watch his shows. I haven’t read his books. But I know one thing I know about him and suspect another that, together, illustrate today’s alternative model perfectly.
I know a lot of buildings have his name on them and I suspect he hasn’t worked on construction on a single one of them. I bet he hasn’t put his own money into them either.
Yet a lot of buildings have his name on them. How does he do it without all the resources, let alone having them from the start? He gets them along the way, partners with others who provide things he can’t, and so on.
The point is he contributes to teams that help get a lot done.
I’m not saying you have to be like Mr. Trump or suggesting you should learn from him or his books. I’m suggesting you don’t need all the resources from the start.
You may find, as I have over and over, that starting the project and signalling your commitment and dedication to the world allows other interested parties to find you, participate, and contribute.

Alternative strategy

You can start your project without everything you or the project eventually need. You can make acquiring the resources, building a team, finding ways to make do without, and so on part of the process.

Notes

You have to do these things intelligently, of course. Committing too much can oblige you too, which can create other problems.