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Inspiration VS desperation

Anything related to matters of the mind

Did you start your business because of:

  • Inspiration

    Votes: 9 60.0%
  • Desperation

    Votes: 6 40.0%

  • Total voters
    15

Antifragile

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This post is about the different reasons as to why someone would start their own business. There are many reasons that someone starts a business , but there are two main ones - inspiration and desperation.

The first reason for starting one's own business is actually out of desperation. This person (typically) has had enough of being poor and not feeling comfortable in their daily life. For example, say an individual was making $15 per hour at their old job. They were living paycheck to paycheck, barely able to pay for gas and other necessities every week because the cost of living is so high in a major city like Los Angeles or Chicago. Then they lose that job because the company they were working for had to let their entire staff go. This person then realizes that they need to find a way out of the rut that they are in, and starts searching for ways to make more money . MJ's FTE as example.

With this individual's skillset (that was developed through getting work experience at their previous job), they realize that they can start a small business with those skills. While looking for ideas on what they can even do as a business, they realize that there is actually a high demand in their city for something very specific . They then take the old skills that they had and start a small business. With this example, one should note that this person was not very passionate about their business idea at all . This individual found a way out of poverty by any means necessary , even if it meant putting in long hours for little pay. It is very likely that as this business's income grows, it will be harder to leave this business until they finally become wealthy. This is because their past poverty continues to haunt them , and they are familiar with that lifestyle.

The second example for why someone starts a business is because of inspiration . They see someone who is rich (in the public eye, i.e. "What's your Lambo?") and want what they have. For example, a young kid from New Zealand watches this guy named K Dotcom become a millionaire in the tech industry. This young boy idolizes this individual and is inspired by him to start his own million dollar business so that he can be just like him, buy a Lambo. In this case, the person starting this business may be very passionate about their idea, but are probably more likely to fail than the first example. This is because this person's motivation for starting a business may be that it will make them rich rather than because they have had enough of being poor. Because of this, they are not considering all of the things that they need to consider when starting a business. For example: not reading MJs (and other books) and having a proper method - CENTS, a value skew etc.

Overall, the main difference between these two reasons for starting a business is that one comes out of desperation and the other comes out of inspiration . The first example has enough motivation behind their idea to be very effective at it, but are more likely to fail because they are not passionate about what they are doing. The second example is very passionate about their idea, but may fail because they are not considering all of the different factors that come along with starting a business.

In both examples, the people who started these businesses were able to achieve success . And these people's success can be attributed to the same thing: hard work . This means that one should not be discouraged by their lack of passion for their idea, as long as they are willing to do what it takes . If you have a high level of motivation , then go for your business idea . If you are not very passionate about it, then be ready to do what is necessary to get the job done.


I've made this into a poll. What do you think? Which way is more likely to succeed? Or is it a combination of both?
 
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SteveO

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Inspiration from my side. Saw someone making great money and went that direction.

I had a great job at HP. Did not think that I would ever leave that company.
 

Empires

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My entrepreneurial journey started out of desperation, by hitting rock bottom in many ways.

But that business and many after it failed, yet even though the desperation is long gone and that was many years ago, my journey continues on out of big aspirations.
 

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My entrepreneurial journey started out of desperation, by hitting rock bottom in many ways.

But that business and many after it failed, yet even though the desperation is long gone and that was many years ago, my journey continues on out of big aspirations.
I’m curious to hear more about your story. Would you mind sharing more?

My first few businesses were failures too. In spite of wanting them to succeed… I wasn’t wise enough to make good decisions.
 
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Private Witt

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Started off inspiration when I saw a problem that had to be solved, had an amazing career at the time as an international teacher living in Colombia. Acted on it and over the years got sent into desperation with further attempts. Now Im back to being inspired and thankfully no longer desperate as have learned the way to grind in my industry correctly and the amount of doors open is beyond immense, in fact have to many darn opportunities and my best friend is just to say no and focus on serious cheddar making.
 

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Started out of inspiration

Kept at it due to desperation


Sounds interesting - what happened? Whey stay if matters are now desperate? Could you have done something else? And where are you with it now?
 
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Itizn

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Sounds interesting - what happened? Whey stay if matters are now desperate? Could you have done something else? And where are you with it now?

My m.o. in basically everything I've ever done is that until the going gets tough, nothing of significance was ever accomplished. I kinda expected that to be the case when starting out, but some people are just wired differently. Case in point, I had about a year of runway before survival mode kicked in, and accomplished very little.

So I'm doing well compared to where I was a year ago, hell even six months ago. Still finding my way, but there is business being closed with high dollar amounts, which is amazing for someone like me who has hardly ever held a job above minimum wage.
 

Antifragile

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My m.o. in basically everything I've ever done is that until the going gets tough, nothing of significance was ever accomplished. I kinda expected that to be the case when starting out, but some people are just wired differently. Case in point, I had about a year of runway before survival mode kicked in, and accomplished very little.

So I'm doing well compared to where I was a year ago, hell even six months ago. Still finding my way, but there is business being closed with high dollar amounts, which is amazing for someone like me who has hardly ever held a job above minimum wage.

it really sounds like desperation drives you to get out but then you put the brakes on? Why not push to getting enough wealth to be able to just exit, much like MJs books teach? What do you think is removing the fire from your engine as you go through the successful part?

I’ve always thought that success breeds more success. Meaning that the hardest part is getting to small wins, but once you take the steps it’s like a snowball! It gets bigger and bigger.

I’m not saying that bad luck can’t happen, I’m only looking from motivation point of view. The more I succeed, the more I’m motivated- that type of thinking. But it sounds like that’s not you. Am I reading it right?
 

OleksiyRybakov

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I decided to quit my job due to desperation that the income as a software engineer is not scalable.
 
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Last edited:

Itizn

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it really sounds like desperation drives you to get out but then you put the brakes on? Why not push to getting enough wealth to be able to just exit, much like MJs books teach? What do you think is removing the fire from your engine as you go through the successful part?

I’ve always thought that success breeds more success. Meaning that the hardest part is getting to small wins, but once you take the steps it’s like a snowball! It gets bigger and bigger.

I’m not saying that bad luck can’t happen, I’m only looking from motivation point of view. The more I succeed, the more I’m motivated- that type of thinking. But it sounds like that’s not you. Am I reading it right?

All very good questions! Alas, I have no clear answer. In fact my first few months of being active on the forum coincided with me committing to building a business. And this early thread of mine basically details everything we're talking about.

I should probably re-read that thread...

That last passage is pretty insightful as well, it certainly sounds like that's, indeed, "not me".
This all further proves that a lot of going fastlane is mindset and psychological, which despite having empirical and tangible business success, is still an area I need to work on.
 

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All very good questions! Alas, I have no clear answer. In fact my first few months of being active on the forum coincided with me committing to building a business. And this early thread of mine basically details everything we're talking about.

I should probably re-read that thread...

That last passage is pretty insightful as well, it certainly sounds like that's, indeed, "not me".
This all further proves that a lot of going fastlane is mindset and psychological, which despite having empirical and tangible business success, is still an area I need to work on.

It sounds like you focus on things that are both Urgent and Important. Borrowing Steven Covey's matrix:
7_habits_decision-making_matrix.png



What can you do today to focus on the Not Urgent and Important?



edit:
Einstein’s wisdom is worth remembering: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
 
Last edited:

Mattie

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This post is about the different reasons as to why someone would start their own business. There are many reasons that someone starts a business , but there are two main ones - inspiration and desperation.

The first reason for starting one's own business is actually out of desperation. This person (typically) has had enough of being poor and not feeling comfortable in their daily life. For example, say an individual was making $15 per hour at their old job. They were living paycheck to paycheck, barely able to pay for gas and other necessities every week because the cost of living is so high in a major city like Los Angeles or Chicago. Then they lose that job because the company they were working for had to let their entire staff go. This person then realizes that they need to find a way out of the rut that they are in, and starts searching for ways to make more money . MJ's FTE as example.

With this individual's skillset (that was developed through getting work experience at their previous job), they realize that they can start a small business with those skills. While looking for ideas on what they can even do as a business, they realize that there is actually a high demand in their city for something very specific . They then take the old skills that they had and start a small business. With this example, one should note that this person was not very passionate about their business idea at all . This individual found a way out of poverty by any means necessary , even if it meant putting in long hours for little pay. It is very likely that as this business's income grows, it will be harder to leave this business until they finally become wealthy. This is because their past poverty continues to haunt them , and they are familiar with that lifestyle.

The second example for why someone starts a business is because of inspiration . They see someone who is rich (in the public eye, i.e. "What's your Lambo?") and want what they have. For example, a young kid from New Zealand watches this guy named K Dotcom become a millionaire in the tech industry. This young boy idolizes this individual and is inspired by him to start his own million dollar business so that he can be just like him, buy a Lambo. In this case, the person starting this business may be very passionate about their idea, but are probably more likely to fail than the first example. This is because this person's motivation for starting a business may be that it will make them rich rather than because they have had enough of being poor. Because of this, they are not considering all of the things that they need to consider when starting a business. For example: not reading MJs (and other books) and having a proper method - CENTS, a value skew etc.

Overall, the main difference between these two reasons for starting a business is that one comes out of desperation and the other comes out of inspiration . The first example has enough motivation behind their idea to be very effective at it, but are more likely to fail because they are not passionate about what they are doing. The second example is very passionate about their idea, but may fail because they are not considering all of the different factors that come along with starting a business.

In both examples, the people who started these businesses were able to achieve success . And these people's success can be attributed to the same thing: hard work . This means that one should not be discouraged by their lack of passion for their idea, as long as they are willing to do what it takes . If you have a high level of motivation , then go for your business idea . If you are not very passionate about it, then be ready to do what is necessary to get the job done.


I've made this into a poll. What do you think? Which way is more likely to succeed? Or is it a combination of both?
Personally, I believe desperation is more about self-sabotage. When you hit rock bottom or some life altering moment occurs that you've never been in before. You might not know what to do.

Desperation is more when you try to hold on to something that you can no longer hold on to and must make internal changes and move in a new direction.

We can use a car that crashes into a wall and you can't drive it anymore. You might be desperate to figure out how to get a new one to get to your job so you don't lose it. You might beat yourself up because you used it for speed racing on Friday night with the guys for fun.

Inspiration plays a part like reading M.J."s books, but it's really not what motivates me to keep moving as a single mother. It is leading the example, walking the walk, talking the talk, and giving my 100% best shot to lead them into success whether I make it or not as far as them.

The other is I love the challenge of becoming my best self. I've done this all my life. While many people have never understood why I follow men, it's simply because they are the leaders, teach you to stay up with them.

Even in high school another girl and I were the top players in basketball and we trained with the best lead player of the guys team while the other girls did not.

It's more the competitive edge, the strategy, the pivot, the dance of movement in itself.

Internal motivation is quite different then external motivation. Materialism and finances don't really motivate me, it's the action itself and reaching self-mastery. Then the materialism and finances come.

To many people focus on the material and it's more internal for me.
 
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Couldn't vote.

Both, first inspiration, then my move to Arizona made it desperation.
 

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I don’t think it was desperation or inspiration for me. I was an IT contractor working in enterprise businesses. I wanted to be able to help local businesses and work from home, so switched.

If you’re asking whether I’m motivated because a tiger is chasing me or because I’ve a vision I’m heading towards, I’d say it’s more the latter.
 

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I don’t think I have ever been truly desperate. Probably to my own detriment. Truth be told, I feel like I have mild afluenza some days. I know I can and should push much harder, but I don’t.

I am going through a season right now where I’m doubling down, and like @Vigilante, getting back to basics. I realized that I would start a business, pick the low hanging fruit and milk the low hanging fruit for all it is worth. With plenty of fruit still on the tree, I just start another business and pick the low fruit again because it’s more exciting.

It’s time to pick the whole damn tree.
 
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Empires

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I’m curious to hear more about your story. Would you mind sharing more?

My first few businesses were failures too. In spite of wanting them to succeed… I wasn’t wise enough to make good decisions.
That's really what it boils down to. A lack of wisdom in the beginning.

I started a gofundme type business, a tshirt business, and a subscription business, and they all failed due to different reasons.

Business #1, I built without ever talking to any potential customers, and having no idea how to market it.

Business #2, I started out of desperation, I was running out of funds and needed to start a business to try to make money. Wrong motivation.

Business #3, I got my first real customers who weren't friends or family. This is the business I learned a ton from. The reason this business failed was simply due to the business model not having the margin needed to be profitable.

I am on business #4 which is in the same industry as business #3, but with a business model that has great profit margins.

I needed those failures to learn what not to do, and each one moved me one step forward.
 

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