These are going to be some hard words for some of you to hear on this Monday morning:
If you have a full-time job, you’re not an entrepreneur.
You may have aspirations of being an entrepreneur, and you may have entrepreneurial tendencies, but if you are born to be an entrepreneur you will not be able to breathe for more than ten minutes in a “real” job.
If you’ve been going along fine for a few years in a full-time job and not had the urge to gnaw your leg off like a fox caught in a trap, you’re probably doing what you’re supposed to be doing.
But, if you are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, and you are miserable whenever you work for anyone but yourself, and you feel restless, and you believe in your bones that you’ve got what it takes to run your own show, go do it.
Go do it before you take on the responsibilities of a mortgage or a family, before your parents start to need you or you adopt a dog. Do it now while the only person you have to worry about is you.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to jump, because it will never come.
If you want to be an artist, make art.
Start doing whatever it takes. Even if that means selling the very shirt off your back.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, if that’s what you really, really want — you cannot give a shit about what other people think of you. Not even your parents.
I won’t lie — people will criticise you.
They will say mean things, maybe even hateful things, often because they’re jealous that you had the guts to get out there and do your thing, or because they love you very much and are scared for you. And that’s okay.
If you truly trust and believe in yourself, you will learn to ignore them and they will learn to accept your decisions.
And if you fail and people laugh at you, they’re not worth your time. Ignore them.
If fear is holding you back, think about whose opinion matters the most to you, and then sit down with that person or those people face-to-face. And this is what you say: “I’m about to do this thing, and the only reason I haven’t yet is because I don’t want to let you down. This is a long journey and I know I’m going to make it in the end, but I need to know that if I stumble, you won’t think less of me or turn away. Because that would crush me.”
Anyone with a heart would be touched by vulnerability and show of respect.
Who wouldn’t be honoured to learn that his or her opinion meant that much to you? Chances are good they’ll promise to have your back. And hopefully that’s all you need to take the next step.
You want to surround yourself with people who are going to stand by you and encourage you to get back up, not keep you down.
This is something that I read in Gary Vaynerchuk’ s book — #AskGaryVee and when I read it my heart literally stopped because he is right, he is so blatantly right — and albeit it was hard for me to accept and swallow this truth it gave me comfort to know I was already embarking on this journey and encouraged me to keep on going. I was compelled so much by this that I wanted to share this truth with you today.
