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A warning to anybody looking to "burn the bridges", turn into a different person, and move on to a new chapter in your life…a story of regret
I’m having some major regrets about some decisions I made recently.
I used to be scared sh*tless of quitting my job.
6/11/2014 – 12:57 p.m. (It’s funny how I remember that exact time 4 months later) It was a Wednesday afternoon where I am walking back in the air conditioned Phoenix, AZ corporate office nervous about quitting my job that day. What if my side-business crashes?
As I open the front doors after my lunch break, chik-fil-a in hand; my boss is walking out saying she is going out of state for the rest of the week.
I have to quit my job now.
I didn't think, I just did it - I pull her in a meeting room real quick and tell her I’m quitting because my side business is making me more money and I want to put all my focus on that full time. She was actually excited for me going on to new things in my life, and wasn’t mad at all. Two weeks left of work.
My boss leaves the office.
I immediately go over to Legal and flirt with the cutest girl at work while I still can.
Lunch date on Thursday
.
I signed a lease in Boulder, CO for the following month so I didn’t want to miss out on at least a few dates with her while I was still in Arizona. It’s funny how stuff like this makes me FINALLY act on a yearlong crush.
We get lunch the next day at work, go on 4 or 5 dates over the next month before I move.
The night when I’m packing my red Nissan Sentra with everything I can fit, and ready to leave for my new life 1,000 miles away the next morning…I get a call from her. She is at a local coffee shop by Arizona State University and wants to see me one more time before we leave.
We spent a number of hours together that night, and we parted ways with a strong sense of “unfinished chemistry”. I wished there was more time to spend with her. She was different then the rest. Why did I wait so long to ask her out?
My fears leading up to me quitting my job. What if they become reality?
1. What happens if I fail?
2. What if my car breaks down?
3. What if I lose money?
4. What if I don’t make friends in my new city?
5. What will my friends criticize me?
6. What if I disappoint my parents?
7. What if my business crashes?
8. What if…
9. What if…
10. What if…
What most people won’t tell you…is that all these “What if’s” actually happen.
· Yes my car broke down
· Yes, I lost money
· Yes my friends criticized me
· Yes, my parents want me to have a safe, secure job
· Yes, Apple called me an hour after I turned in the keys to my old apartment and shut off the internet saying they would take down my business if I didn't do 125 updates to my apps in the next two weeks.
Time to drive faster and skip the trip to the Grand Canyon that I planned.
ALL of these ‘worst fears’ actually happened to me….except for #4…
And want to hear the best part? It was not a big deal.
1. I regret not acting sooner - You HAVE to take these actions to get where you want to go. Why not act sooner? You're going to die one day. I don't want to wait that long...do you?
2. I regret not asking her out sooner – I had a crush on this girl for a year before I asked her out. When I finally did ask her out, 1 month before moving…we clicked and have amazing chemistry. Why didn't I face my fears sooner?
3. I regret that I didn't see the Grand Canyon – It was a 2 hour detour from my road trip to my new life in Colorado. But I was so focused on saving my app business: I didn’t go. A few hours wouldn't have made a difference.
4. I regret not failing more – I was disappointed when I lost $1,000 on paid ads in 2013. I wish I lost $3,000. I could have made it back in a week at work, and I would be much better at them now.
“Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.”
-Billionaire Entrepreneur
In the 4 months since I quit my job, I realized something very important:
I only ever regretted the things that I didn’t take action on sooner, or things that I didn’t do. Every “bad” action has helped me grow more than any inaction.
Don’t be like me – I missed a year of my life (or more) that I could have spent with an amazing girl, and potentially an extra year’s worth of success in business
…because I didn't fail fast enough.
I wrote this for anyone who has fears that prevent them from taking action on what they want: The life change, asking out the girl, spending some money on marketing, etc.
I used to have fears...none of them turned out to be real...and they held me back. Fears of (rejection/failure) with the girl and quitting my job were not real.
When you achieve your goals, you will not have any regrets that you one day decided to run towards them.
Life is great after I faced my fears and started pushing forward as fast as I can. I hope the same for you. That is why I wrote this.
I’m having some major regrets about some decisions I made recently.
I used to be scared sh*tless of quitting my job.
6/11/2014 – 12:57 p.m. (It’s funny how I remember that exact time 4 months later) It was a Wednesday afternoon where I am walking back in the air conditioned Phoenix, AZ corporate office nervous about quitting my job that day. What if my side-business crashes?
As I open the front doors after my lunch break, chik-fil-a in hand; my boss is walking out saying she is going out of state for the rest of the week.
I have to quit my job now.
I didn't think, I just did it - I pull her in a meeting room real quick and tell her I’m quitting because my side business is making me more money and I want to put all my focus on that full time. She was actually excited for me going on to new things in my life, and wasn’t mad at all. Two weeks left of work.
My boss leaves the office.
I immediately go over to Legal and flirt with the cutest girl at work while I still can.
Lunch date on Thursday
.I signed a lease in Boulder, CO for the following month so I didn’t want to miss out on at least a few dates with her while I was still in Arizona. It’s funny how stuff like this makes me FINALLY act on a yearlong crush.
We get lunch the next day at work, go on 4 or 5 dates over the next month before I move.
The night when I’m packing my red Nissan Sentra with everything I can fit, and ready to leave for my new life 1,000 miles away the next morning…I get a call from her. She is at a local coffee shop by Arizona State University and wants to see me one more time before we leave.
We spent a number of hours together that night, and we parted ways with a strong sense of “unfinished chemistry”. I wished there was more time to spend with her. She was different then the rest. Why did I wait so long to ask her out?
My fears leading up to me quitting my job. What if they become reality?
1. What happens if I fail?
2. What if my car breaks down?
3. What if I lose money?
4. What if I don’t make friends in my new city?
5. What will my friends criticize me?
6. What if I disappoint my parents?
7. What if my business crashes?
8. What if…
9. What if…
10. What if…
What most people won’t tell you…is that all these “What if’s” actually happen.
· Yes my car broke down
· Yes, I lost money
· Yes my friends criticized me
· Yes, my parents want me to have a safe, secure job
· Yes, Apple called me an hour after I turned in the keys to my old apartment and shut off the internet saying they would take down my business if I didn't do 125 updates to my apps in the next two weeks.
Time to drive faster and skip the trip to the Grand Canyon that I planned.
ALL of these ‘worst fears’ actually happened to me….except for #4…
And want to hear the best part? It was not a big deal.
- I fail every day, but now I know how to get up on my feet almost immediately from any failure.
- I had $1,200 in car repairs the week after I quit my job, but I took out a 0% interest credit card and paid it off cash a few months later.
- I lost a decent amount of money on a marketing campaign that yielded very few sales, but I found a way to make that money back.
- My friends criticized me for quitting a job for some dream, but I make more money working 0 hours a week now than I was when I worked 40…they now just think I got lucky.
- My parents were worried and pressured me not to, but they are finally starting to see that things are turning out alright for me.
1. I regret not acting sooner - You HAVE to take these actions to get where you want to go. Why not act sooner? You're going to die one day. I don't want to wait that long...do you?
2. I regret not asking her out sooner – I had a crush on this girl for a year before I asked her out. When I finally did ask her out, 1 month before moving…we clicked and have amazing chemistry. Why didn't I face my fears sooner?
3. I regret that I didn't see the Grand Canyon – It was a 2 hour detour from my road trip to my new life in Colorado. But I was so focused on saving my app business: I didn’t go. A few hours wouldn't have made a difference.
4. I regret not failing more – I was disappointed when I lost $1,000 on paid ads in 2013. I wish I lost $3,000. I could have made it back in a week at work, and I would be much better at them now.
“Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.”
-Billionaire Entrepreneur
In the 4 months since I quit my job, I realized something very important:
I only ever regretted the things that I didn’t take action on sooner, or things that I didn’t do. Every “bad” action has helped me grow more than any inaction.
- The girl would have said yes a year ago. Why did I wait until the last month before I moved?
- I could have been financially free a year earlier. Why did I stop running those ads back then?
Don’t be like me – I missed a year of my life (or more) that I could have spent with an amazing girl, and potentially an extra year’s worth of success in business
…because I didn't fail fast enough.
I wrote this for anyone who has fears that prevent them from taking action on what they want: The life change, asking out the girl, spending some money on marketing, etc.
I used to have fears...none of them turned out to be real...and they held me back. Fears of (rejection/failure) with the girl and quitting my job were not real.
- A year ago, a friend was scared to spend $20 a day on ads. He is now doing pretty well for himself because he got past that.
- A week ago, a friend was scared to spend $5 on one paid ad. I see the same future for him.
When you achieve your goals, you will not have any regrets that you one day decided to run towards them.
Life is great after I faced my fears and started pushing forward as fast as I can. I hope the same for you. That is why I wrote this.
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