Hello there,
Recently my fiancée decided to jump into a professional adventure. While sharing some news with me today, I told him I’m proud of his courage.
His reply inspired this letter to you.
He said: I don’t know if it was courage or madness.
I replied: Sometimes they are the same thing.
And I truly believe it. Sometimes we need just a tiny amount of madness to jump into a new adventure.
When I talk with my clients or people around me about opening a business, the first thing they say is: ‘‘I don’t know if I have the courage to do it!’’
Do you know what? I didn’t, either.
I didn’t wake up in the morning saying: TODAY IS THE DAY TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR.
Hell, no!!!!!
It took me years to gather the courage to jump into the waves. And you know why? Because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to swim, that people around me would mock me for my failure, and that I would end up alone, abandoned without food and friends.
I felt like entrepreneurs are genius people, chosen by God, who knew from day -1 everything they wanted to do and HOW to do it. HA HA!
Do you want to know a little secret? I was SO CONVINCED that I would fail (disclaimer! Failing is still something that I’m defining for myself, but then failing meant that nobody would use Parentool) that I started writing a Medium article named: How I failed, although I followed all the rules. I still have the draft.
Crazy, right?! That’s trauma in real life, people! That’s how we self-sabotage.
But, what made you move further, you might ask?!
My answer is that the thought of not giving it a shot, that constant What If, and the feeling that I can make an impact was greater than any fear.
It doesn’t mean fear isn’t still here. She is my BFF. No matter what I do, she is close to me, reminding me that I have many things to lose.
The funny thing is that the more you start growing and exploring life, the more intense fear feels (because you have more things to ‘‘lose’’), but the same is with courage and self-esteem. You start gathering proof that you can handle whatever life throws at you.
How do you know if it is worth trying?
Well, the reality is that you can’t. There is no certainty. No ‘‘I’m sure I won’t regret it’’. It is just trusting yourself that you will find a way and that you will grow through everything.
However, there are some reflection questions that I ask my clients as well, and that might guide you:
- What is something you can’t stop talking/thinking/reading about?
- What gives you goosebumps when you think about the possibility of making it a reality?
- What is a secret wish that you feel too afraid to speak out loud?
- How do you see yourself spending your time?
- Let’s imagine you are at your funeral. What is something you would wish you had done? How do you want to be remembered?
- Let’s say you are 30 years old. The lifespan is around 70. So you have 40 summers lefts. 40 springs. 40 Christmases. How do you want to live them?
Oh, but…
But I don’t know the industry!
But I studied medicine and now to start a flower shop?
But I don’t know where to start!
But I don’t know what I want!
There are tons of Oh, but!
There will always be. No matter what you try to do. So go back to questions no. 5 and 6 and see them through that filter.
In conclusion,
I don’t think being an entrepreneur is a must. I don’t think it is something ‘‘cool’’ and a trend you should jump into just for the sake of ego massage.
However, I believe that if you want to try something, you should do it. You live on a round planet, spinning around a fireball in a dark, infinite Universe. Do you reallllllly think you can’t do it?
Worst case, if you fail, it will make a great TedEx speech, and I will be there to applaud your courage and madness.
Good luck!
Petruta
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📚 If you are looking for answers to the ‘‘I have an idea, but I don’t know where to begin’’ you can check my ebook From Idea to Launch: a step by step guide for first-time startup founders – https://petrutatuliga.com/
🧡If you think I can be of service, you can book a one-to-one consultancy call here
or email me at hello@petrutatuliga.com.