One of the biggest struggles in our journey to success — something many of us can relate to — is the idea that in order for something to be done well, we have to do it by ourselves.  The thinking goes something like this: we wish we could get quality help for our project or our business, but we know that we could do what needs to be done faster, better, and exactly how we envision it to be done, so we might as well do it ourselves.  And then when we do, we wonder why we don’t have more help.  It’s a self-feeding cycle, and one that prevents us from going to the next level.

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Asking for help is one way to get help.  I know, that sounds simple and obvious, but how often do you really ask for the help you need?  If you are like many other people who are on their journey to greater success, the answer is probably “not often enough.” 

There are many good ways to ask for help where you need it — but one of the ways that tends to work well is to hire someone to do specific tasks.  Ask yourself which parts of your project or business you like the least, and then consider getting help in those areas.  For instance, if accounting isn’t your thing, you can hire an accountant to take that task off your shoulders.  If you aren’t graphically gifted, there are many designers who can be hired to help.  You can still keep control of the project, but hiring someone ensures that you have someone whose talent set can match your vision.

Another benefit for hiring help is that you get what you pay for.  Asking friends and family for help can be tricky — it can feel awkward to tell a volunteer that they are doing something completely wrong, so consequently, you might have to settle for less than the best just to keep peace.  (They might be doing it well, just not the way you want them to — letting go and letting others bring their gifts to a project is a different blog post…).   Being a boss and a friend rarely works. 

However, when you pay for the help, you are paying not only for the other person’s talent, but also the right to have something done the way you asked it to be.  Remember to be clear in what you want, make sure the other person understands what you want, and that you have both agreed to terms.

One other point.  The first thought that comes to mind when thinking about hiring someone to help with a project or your business is “but I can’t afford to hire someone!”  If you can relate, also ask yourself a different question — “can you afford not to?”  In other words, if you were to hire someone to help you, especially in the areas that you are not as deft in, how would having the help free up your time and energy to create more, and perhaps succeed further?

I’ve never met a successful person who has done it all themselves, and not gotten the help they needed when they most needed it.