Why I chose risk over security
“Are you serious!” exclaimed my friend after I broke the news to her.
“Yes, I am. I really want to do this.” I said this with utmost confidence.
“Okay, I will not stop you. But be careful, it’s quite a big risk that you are taking. I mean, you don’t know what the result is going to be. You can still look for another opportunity; I can help you with some great contacts. And let’s face it, stability is important. And we do not have anything to fall back on. We have to make it on our own, and we need to be careful about the decisions we make.”
Her concern was genuine. But I had already made up my mind.
I am not a seeker of insane adventures — someone who would jump into the ocean just to know what it feels like or base jump over mount Everest or walk on a highline over the desert canyons. I am meek and terrified of doing things involving perils or threats of any kind. I like to take calculated risks — and would swear by traditional ways than try something totally crazy. There, I said it!
But something led me to take one of the biggest risks in my life a few years ago — to join a venture nobody had faith in. What worked? Well, the people involved had a lot of faith in it, as opposed to the rest of the world. And this single element made a HUGE difference over the years, all of it positive.
Imagine this. You work in a tiny space with eight other people. There is an insane amount of work and no free caffeine shots. There isn't even a place where you can sit and eat your lunch peacefully. Got a call from your partner? Ignore it. There is no space for that leisure walk.Besides, who has the time! No matter which way you turn your chair to, you bump into another colleague. Despite all this, you still work hard, give everything your best shot and not get demotivated at all. Why? Because you enjoy it! And you love sharing these experiences with the people you work with. You screw up too — way too many times than you thought — but your boss has your back (after thrashing it slightly ;)) — so at the end of the day it’s all good.
I was given the option to not join the start up. I had the option of continuing with the current well-paying and “stable” job or take up a new one. But for some reason, I did not even take a minute to say yes to this offer. In fact, I had the biggest smile on my face. Why? Because I had worked with these people previously and they had been the most amazing throughout.
As I sit in my new swanky office today (just the location has become swankier, the company is the same), I am trying to look back to those days and think what kept me so optimistic and cheerful. And it still continues. I am still here and it just hit me — one fundamental thing hasn't changed — the people. Even in those tough times, the people mattered more. We have multiplied in number over the years, but the core beliefs are the same. There were a lot of risks involved when we started off; all of them were clearly communicated to us. The highlights were less salary, a 300 square foot office, zero revenues and an office in an area I would normally dread to go. But all of this did not matter. All of us had one goal — to grow, personally as well as from a company perspective. What kept us going? — The culture itself. We didn't need to be engaged. The biggest contributor was the level of ownership everyone took up voluntarily. We worked as a team and every time something didn't work, we would take full responsibility and fix it by burning the midnight oil. The company was our baby.
Some key takeaways here —
2. All of us believed in the company’s vision.
3. We were friends, not colleagues (I'm serious).
4. I was treated exceptionally well.
5. My dues were taken care of at the right time, as promised.
6. We organized our own fun activities — be it a short game or a group break.
7. All of us believed in one another.
8. We interacted, A LOT!
9. We cared about our own and each other’s growth.
10. We were honest to each other.
We live in a world where “living on the edge” is not portrayed very positively, for obvious reasons. There needs to be sense of security in all spheres and we see the entire market selling it to us — mostly by touching the emotional chord. Fortunately, there are people who still take that plunge, at various levels of their lives and take people like me with them. They choose the riskiest of opportunities and dive deep into it. I am not saying they all succeed, but the very fact that not everyone in this world is risk averse is quite an inspiration in itself.
Sometimes, being happy is the only thing that should matter.
And we all know how people have stopped striving for happiness, but have rather gone into a zone where they can torture themselves and try to be a part of a world which drains them of the joys life is otherwise supposed to offer. As for me, I have learnt that the kind of people you work with matter even more than the kind of work that you do. Because work can be learnt, but you need to be really lucky to have nice people around.
So if you have found the right people, stick to them. If you haven’t, keep looking.
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