I have saved and invested for years. My original goal was to retire early or subsidize a less time-consuming career change. My main goal was not out of laziness, but because I was feeling burned out and not able to have the flexibility to do "deep work" or "deep play"/travel when I needed it. This is something I have required since I was a young child. Since reading many books. I have seen the light as far as business ownership being the pathway to the freedom I am seeking. I keep seeing authors and people who have “been there, done that” repeat what it takes to succeed.
These are some key messages that have been resonating with me:
1. Set your mind on success. Don’t give up. Don’t stop until you hit your goal. Don’t talk yourself out of your goal. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be valuable.
2. It is going to take hard work and time. It many cases it could take 3-7+ years of consistent effort to see your business finally take off.
3. Make lofty goals. Set a course/schedule for reaching them. Make effort every day to reach goals, no matter how small.
4. You need confidence to bet on yourself and go all in. This requires you to stick with it and ensure you can keep making progress even when you are at low points.
5. You need to be creative. Think freely and document your thoughts. Don’t dismiss ideas too hastily. It is OK to produce many bad ideas to yield a few good ideas.
6. Time is your scarcest resource. Ensure you are valuing your time properly. Beware the temptation to micromanage or do everything yourself for too long. Hire good people. Delegate tasks that you don’t want to do or are lower than your “pay grade”. Accept that the task will be done ~80% as good as you can do it. This will allow you to focus your time on your core values: business growth, health, family, friends, etc.
7. Growth is key to long-term business success. Even a highly profitable business can fail if the leadership gets complacent or is unable to continue to create growth.
Despite all this empowering education, I am still looking for the catalyst that will motivate me to take the leap. In my defense, I am maneuvering on a path that should set me up for success. This includes getting my house in order (finishing a remodel + ensuring wife and kids are on board), gaining flexibility at my 9-5 (I just formally requested to work 4x10s to have Friday's off), and continuing to save/invest for startup funding or down payment on a business acquisition. I am also spending a lot of time living vicariously through others by interviewing business owners. Some year soon I hope to take the plunge...
Hopefully some of you can relate to my journey and please feel free to share your thoughts.
These are some key messages that have been resonating with me:
1. Set your mind on success. Don’t give up. Don’t stop until you hit your goal. Don’t talk yourself out of your goal. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be valuable.
2. It is going to take hard work and time. It many cases it could take 3-7+ years of consistent effort to see your business finally take off.
3. Make lofty goals. Set a course/schedule for reaching them. Make effort every day to reach goals, no matter how small.
4. You need confidence to bet on yourself and go all in. This requires you to stick with it and ensure you can keep making progress even when you are at low points.
5. You need to be creative. Think freely and document your thoughts. Don’t dismiss ideas too hastily. It is OK to produce many bad ideas to yield a few good ideas.
6. Time is your scarcest resource. Ensure you are valuing your time properly. Beware the temptation to micromanage or do everything yourself for too long. Hire good people. Delegate tasks that you don’t want to do or are lower than your “pay grade”. Accept that the task will be done ~80% as good as you can do it. This will allow you to focus your time on your core values: business growth, health, family, friends, etc.
7. Growth is key to long-term business success. Even a highly profitable business can fail if the leadership gets complacent or is unable to continue to create growth.
Despite all this empowering education, I am still looking for the catalyst that will motivate me to take the leap. In my defense, I am maneuvering on a path that should set me up for success. This includes getting my house in order (finishing a remodel + ensuring wife and kids are on board), gaining flexibility at my 9-5 (I just formally requested to work 4x10s to have Friday's off), and continuing to save/invest for startup funding or down payment on a business acquisition. I am also spending a lot of time living vicariously through others by interviewing business owners. Some year soon I hope to take the plunge...
Hopefully some of you can relate to my journey and please feel free to share your thoughts.
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