After a rather harrowing, stressful and happy (all at the same time!) week, I took time to reflect on what keeps someone in the game of business. Business IS a game and it does take a certain type of individual to stick with it.

The challenges last week, combined with my level of fatigue (after an incredible amount of travel), could easily have taken me down.  In fact, I truly believe that many entrepreneurs may have just packed it in. Many people like things to be ‘easy’ – like Staples ‘EASY’ button on their commercials. Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart.

“You must get comfortable being uncomfortable!” – anon

When I think about the ups and downs of running a business, and specifically what it took to get through the past few weeks, I recognize there are certain character traits that support success. I want to give you the top 4 that come to mind so you, too can reflect and see where you fall in each category.

TRAIT #1: CLARITY.

It’s critically important, as an entrepreneur, that you know what you are doing, where you are going and why you are doing what you are doing. With that type of clarity, it’s easy to handle the challenges that come our way. Life is full of distractions these days and it can be so easy to go down all the rabbit trails. When you are clear – it’s like following a compass or a GPS to get where you want to go. The little voice in the GPS will quickly tell you to ‘recalculate’ and stay on the path. So, when life knocks you down – and you feel like you are facing just one challenge after another (some you can control and some of which you cannot control), keep listening to that GPS voice in your head and stay clear about the direction in which you are heading. That will serve you well.

As an entrepreneur, you can always find a solution if you try hard enough. — Lori Greiner

TRAIT #2: COMMITMENT

This really is the trait that keeps me in the game. I am totally and absolutely committed to my WHY, first of all. And, on a daily basis, I am committed to getting things done that are in alignment with my goals. Now, things do go wrong – such as this past week where/when technology was not working and it would have been so easy to bail – to reschedule – to make excuses – to go in a different direction. That is not commitment! There is always a way and we worked diligently, as a team, to find the way and we did. We were 100% committed to the goal, to the end result.

TRAIT #3: COMMUNICATION

This is a trait that serves me well as an entrepreneur. To have clear, focused, strong communication skills will position you for success. For me, this comes down to communication styles with my team, my colleagues, my vendors, my clients – anyone who is in this game of business with me. Clear, open, honest communication is what gets me through the tough times – all the time. Many entrepreneurs dance around the bush – for many reasons – but the main one is so as not to hurt people’s feelings. That’s when I know and recognize that people are making emotional decisions, not business decisions. What works for me, especially in the tough times, is to communicate often, honestly, openly and directly. This is one trait of the very successful people in business.

TIP #4: CELEBRATION

This is one trait that is critically important in the world of business. We all have challenges. We will continue to have challenges as long as we are entrepreneurs. There are many character traits that will serve you well – my favorite and one that I firmly believe in is that of celebration. It is a trait that many lack and/or overlook. It is critically important to stop and celebrate the achievements along the way. Celebration is a mindset. Celebration helps us to grow our self-confidence. Celebration is essential for our mental well-being. Celebration is vital to the success of our business.

Being an entrepreneur takes character – and there are some essential character traits that will contribute to our success. Take a really good look at the ones I posted above and identify where you stand with each and every one.

What would you identify to be YOUR strongest character trait as an entrepreneur?