Adam Shay CPA, PLLC was recently a corporate sponsor of the 2014 Coastal Entrepreneur Awards and we had the opportunity to attend the ceremony. There are many great entrepreneurs in Wilmington, NC and hearing their stories was truly inspiring.

One commonality among all award winners and a topic that has resonated with me over the years is the importance of having a support system or a team. This is crucial to not only an entrepreneur's accomplishments, but also success in all aspects of life.

I think back to a leadership conference that I attended in the fall. The event was for our Leadership Wilmington class and was about how to become a successful leader.  Tom Morris of The Morris Institute was our guest speaker. He used the fable of Beowulf to demonstrate just how important building a team was. I will give you a few highlights to refresh your memory on Beowulf. He was a great warrior who defended his land against dragons. He always fought alone, but had enough spectators and followers to help him conquer anything. After two victorious wins against monsters, he was finally defeated and killed by a dragon. Why? To make a long story very short, it was because he did not ask for help. The third dragon could have easily been defeated if Beowulf had turned those spectators into an army. He stood in his own way.

What is my point? Do not be a Beowulf. Do not stand in your own way. Instead of being afraid to ask for help, utilize your support system. If you listen to any awards ceremony, you will hear the recipients thanking their team.  Whether it is their spouse, their children, their mentors, their bosses, their banker, their accountant, their business partner, or their fans, the list goes on.  Who would you thank?

If you work hard at surrounding yourself with successful, supportive, like-minded people, you too will reach your goals.