It's your "thing." You're the only one who's got to believe in it.
A dear friend emailed me today. She's an aspiring entrepreneur, with a really cool idea. And she's done a TON of research, planning and work to prepare for her new endeavor.
But she's scared to death about leaving her day job. And wants to know what she should do now.
She knows this new gig will be her "thing."
The thing that makes her jump out of bed in the morning, throw open the window and yell, "Hell yes! Ready or not world! Here I come!"
She knows she'll be ridiculously good at it. And she knows she's gonna help a pileup of people with her services.
But since she's scared? She's asked a few friends...
"Do you think I can do this?"
"Am I crazy?"
"Is this too risky?"
Unfortunately, she asked the friends with the safe jobs, tidy benefits packages, palatable salaries, and predictable lives.
And what did they say?
"You can do it, butttt... have you connnsiddderreeed (insert scare tactic here)...?"
"You are, frankly, a little crazy to do this, what with today's economy and all..."
"Oh yes. Much, much too risky. Very risky. Indeed."
And now she's all turned around, and questioning if her "thing" should really be her "thing."
Hell yes.
Helllllll yes.
Now, I'm certainly not one to knock a career tucked safely in Corporate America, IF THAT IS YOUR THING. And I am absolutely against throwing sanity (and a paycheck) out the window on a whim.
But a job in Corporate America is clearly not my friend's thing. She is showing up, putting in her time, eating mediocre cafeteria food, attempting to figure out which shade of beige her cubicle wall really is, and generally hating 40+ hours each week.
And she's not acting on a whim.
She has something she's incredibly passionate about, that she KNOWS she can monetize, and she's got a few scared naysayers out there threatening to sink her whole damned boat of dreams.
So, this my public answer, dear friend. The pep talk you asked for.
You can do this. You've planned it, you've considered your risks, you've got what it takes.
It is your thing. You are the only one who's got to believe in it.
Go forth and shine.
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