Hi Bob,
I understand your situation. You have read it all, you know it all ~ now for the hard part ~ believing in yourself enough to take the leap.
Yes, it’s a leap of faith. Yes, there’s a lot riding on this. Everyone who considers starting any business venture faces challenges; some of their own making. I am not, of course, trying to trivialize what you face or what you feel.
I know how you feel. I was there many years ago myself.
There’s really no words of wisdom anyone can offer. It all comes down to you, Bob: Deciding if this is REALLY what you want. And believing you can do it. Then, to paraphrase the slogan, just doing it.
Even though I was where you are long ago, I continue to push boundaries, to challenge myself in my business and in my evolving career, and the one thing I continue to remind myself is something I heard about 25 years ago. It was the final point made in a live address by Dr Wayne Dyer, a US motivational author.
What he said struck me like a bullet.
But before we get to that, let me just say that you don’t have to leap right in. You can put a toe in the water ~ you can take on some after-hours work ~ freelancing while you still hold down your regular job. In my early days, I had one ‘real’ journalist job and four part-timers ~ writing for an ad agency, producing a newsletter for Ford, and stringing for some newspapers and magazines. It was hard work, sure, but the risk was not as great as going solo. No doubt, you have already thought of this ~ but still, something is holding you back from testing the water.
Please allow me to paraphrase and embellish Dr Dyer:
Imagine that you have six months to live. That’s it. Six months. What would you do differently?...
* Would you live where you’re living?
* Would you work in the same job / organization?
* Would you be in the same relationships (intimate and friendships)?
When you’ve thought about and answered those questions, consider this:
* What do you want to do with the rest of your life?
* How do you want to make a difference ~ in your life and in the lives of others?
Think about that. Six months. That’s all you’ve got. That’s all any of us have got when you consider the big picture. Any of us could go at any time. We don’t know when. We don’t know how. So, it’s important that we start moving in the direction of our dreams, our goals, our purpose. NOW. Not tomorrow. NOW.
Tick. Tock.
Six months. Let that sink in. Then do something about it.
When you consider the rest of your life in the blink of an eye, like that, it puts things in focus. Well, it does for me.
I have used this analogy many times in workshops and in just regular conversations and, each time (as I am doing right now), I re-consider the ramifications in my own life: I wonder what can I do ~ what should I do ~ differently if I knew I only had those six months.
For me, I can honestly say that I am on the right track and heading in the right direction ~ for me. There have been some stumbles along the path, sure, but I have continued onward and upward ~ and it’s because I have never lost sight of that big picture ~ of that six months.
OK, once you’ve worked out what’s truly important ~ what you want to do with the ‘rest of your life’, as outlined, how do you go about doing it.
As we all know, it begins with goals. And goals begin with baby steps. Small steps up the rungs of the ladder.
I won’t go into goal-setting here. I’m sure you know all about that but I would like to add one element to it. Something you all can ~ and do ~ practice naturally.
Visualization.
Take some time out and remember all of the things you’ve just learned about yourself, about what you want for yourself. Then imagine them in your life. REALLY imagine them, as if they are already a part of your life ~ see yourself, for example, slaving over a hot keyboard, pumping out glowing copy; see yourself brainstorming and strategizing with clients; see yourself enjoying the fruits of your labor.
Thought expands.
We draw things ~ people, thoughts, stuff ~ into our lives when we continually focus on them. It can take time, of course, but this manifestation principle has been discussed in many books (again, Dr Dyer does it best, in my opinion) and I’ve seen it happen in my own life and in others.
It starts and ends with you.
All you have to do is believe. Believe it will. Believe in you.
regards
Michael
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Michael Meanwell
michael@michaelmeanwell.com
Author of:
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~ Quote Unquote
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