What’s the worst thing that can happen?
We all want to live a certain lifestyle, pursue a certain dream – but why do we put it off?
Is it because deep down, we don’t believe we deserve it?
Are we scared of success?
We talk ourselves out of pursuing our wildest dreams,
because of fear, because of uncertainty.
We have that idea – that idea that can change an industry,
or better yet – create an industry and impact lives at a large scale, but we
don’t pursue it because of uncertainty.
We tell ourselves 1 more year, 1 more year – maybe next year we’ll pursue that
dream. However as time goes on, our expenses naturally increase and it
subtlely, gradually, becomes more difficult for us to do something mad. We seek
the perfect moment. The perfect moment never comes.
We need to act on that dream while the fire is burning an inferno in the heart. There is no perfect moment.
What is the worst thing that can happen?
Lose all your money:
Great. Cut down your lifestyle. Sell an asset. Prove to yourself you don’t need possessions to be happy. Become a minimalist. Get a part-time job for a few hours a week. Get a loan. Seek investment.
Great. Cut down your lifestyle. Sell an asset. Prove to yourself you don’t need possessions to be happy. Become a minimalist. Get a part-time job for a few hours a week. Get a loan. Seek investment.
Get kicked out of your house / apartment:
Great. If your family doesn't support you, or you can't find a cheap enough place to stay in - You’ve got friends who believe in you, who believe in your dream, they’ll give you a couch.
Great. If your family doesn't support you, or you can't find a cheap enough place to stay in - You’ve got friends who believe in you, who believe in your dream, they’ll give you a couch.
Fail:
Great. You’ve learnt better lessons than an MBA will ever give you. You’ve made new connections. You’ve just empowered yourself to be able to succeed next time. Use your new network and new learnings to start a new business or join a startup you resonate with. If you need to go back to corporate, this experience will make you more hire-able. What if people think you’re a failure? Those people let the uncertainty cripple them, and they’re looking for validation that they did the right thing by not pursuing their dreams. They won’t tell you this, but they’ll respect and even admire the path you’ve taken – failure or not. And even if you fail here, you’ll succeed next time. Nothing lost. Possibility of everything gained.
Great. You’ve learnt better lessons than an MBA will ever give you. You’ve made new connections. You’ve just empowered yourself to be able to succeed next time. Use your new network and new learnings to start a new business or join a startup you resonate with. If you need to go back to corporate, this experience will make you more hire-able. What if people think you’re a failure? Those people let the uncertainty cripple them, and they’re looking for validation that they did the right thing by not pursuing their dreams. They won’t tell you this, but they’ll respect and even admire the path you’ve taken – failure or not. And even if you fail here, you’ll succeed next time. Nothing lost. Possibility of everything gained.
Someone somewhere who was probably very wise once said: “Entrepreneurship
is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can
spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”
Accept uncertainty now for certainty tomorrow. Or accept unhappiness
or even just mild discontentment forever, wondering “what if?”.
This is not just for entrepreneurship. This goes for a life
of travel. This goes for a life of pursuing a profession that many would
consider “strange”. This goes for any goal or dream that goes against the status
quo.
Follow your conviction.
What’s the worst thing that can happen?
