Games consist of two teams – yours, and the opposition. But sometimes we find opponents on our own team. And sometimes we become our own opponents.

You’ve probably run into this phenomenon: you think everyone’s on board and with the program, and you think you’re doing all the right things. Nevertheless, you find yourself continually blocked in your efforts to achieve your goals. There could be all kinds of reasons for it, some of them are even understandable, but they seem to go on and on. It’s just one thing after another.

There’s a good chance you’re running into unidentified opponents.

Sometimes the opposition has an internal source – lack of confidence or some other personal aspect that seems to be working against you – and sometimes the source is external – someone you’re working with isn’t really with the program, and may even be working against you.

Entrepreneurial skills training helps eliminate our ‘inner opponents,’ but a vital part of achieving success involves identifying those who seem to be team members but aren’t really on the team. Benign or aggressive, they are opponents in that they’re not really part of the push forward.

If you’re having trouble in your quest to achieve success and feel like you’re up against a brick wall, have a close look at your associates. And have a talk with them to verify that you’re on the same page. Are they really on board? If not, you either have to resolve the disagreements or differences or go your separate ways.

Life is too short to spend a lot of time trying to get team members up to the point of being willing to play. There are plenty of people who don’t take convincing – they want to play the game. And win.