Your Entrepreneurial "Come to Jesus" Moment? (FTE!)

[bkypes]

My senior year of high school my brother took an idea too me and I didn't think much of it. 4 months later I was ready to go to college but had no idea at all what I wanted to go for. After watching The Social Network my mind jumped back to the idea from 4 months ago. I hopped on the computer and with no knowledge in sourcing I started piecing the product together. This happend in perfect time because I was able to withdrawal my deposit back from ASU the day before the deadline and used part of that to pay sample fees. I told everyone in my AP class I wasn't going to college and they all told me how stupid of a choice that was but I knew deep down that our idea was going to be successful and so far it has and it continues to grow.

 

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[infinitus]

For myself it was a series of moments, but a big one was picking up "If you want to be rich and happy dont go to school" by robert kiyosaki, which was like an atom bomb of breakthrough for me ( I was in high school at time ) When I picked up Rich dad Poor Dad my life and mind was never the same, it was a moment of mental joy. In later life it was MJ's book cementing a lot of wisdom I intuitively knew

 

[infinitus]

Reading "If you want to be rich and happy dont go to school" by robert kiyosaki

I was in high school at the time and this brilliant book floored me. It is a must read if you are considering having your kids subjugated to this soul destroying institution, and this book set off a true learning process that hasnt stopped yet

 

[randomnumber314]

These are are great stories.

 

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[andviv]

These are are great stories.

Yeah...

So, what's yours?

 

[SteveO]

I was never really good with authority

This was major for me. I had serious problems in high school with teachers and others that thought they were "bad a$$". Kept getting booted from schools. Joined the Marines at the age of 17 when it was clear the high school path was not working. Got booted from there as well. At the time, I was not able to reconcile all the really strange decision making and the random "shit-headedness".

I did real well on my jobs as long as my bosses left me alone. When they didn't, I would change. I worked for HP for 19 years but had 15 different jobs while there. Had about nine different jobs before I went to HP. Very recurring theme.

I quit my job as soon as I had enough income from my investments to live on my terms. The only job I had since then was a part-time job as a commercial leasing agent. Only did this for a few months so I could learn the biz.

It has been 14 years since I have been on my own.

 

[Martinv678]

Mine was around 3 years ago. I wasn't much of an entrepreneur and hadn't never really thought about starting anything by myself until a turn of luck left me jobless. I had to think on my feet and act quick, at this time the iPad 1 had just been released along with the iPhone. I spent one evening doing courses on how to fix screens for both devices. As not many people were doing it I could charge big bucks for the repairs which was great for me.

As time went on I learnt how to code and I no longer needed to fix the screens as I got to the point where I set up a business coding major companies websites. This is where I started studying business and reading books on famous Entrepreneurs and then TMF and 4HWW and finally decided I would fill a need and no longer build websites and apps for others. Now I have a 2 big projects I am working on but one of them will soon be outsourced to other developers. I'm still in the slow lane but changing lanes in April!

 

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[randomnumber314]

Yeah...
So, what's yours?

My first four years in the military I busted my a$$ harder than anyone around me. I was always the hardest working guy in any room I was in. I got promoted quickly, but I was still harder working than anyone else around me with the same responsibilities/pay. I dawned on me that I was working really hard, for equal pay (per position).

So...my coworkers had less work to do, because I was doing it all. THEY benefited from MY work ethic. After the military I tied pay to my work. Now I'm working on tying my pay to the hard work I put into building a company. Remove MY time from the equation.

 

[marklov]

The moment came to me when the I realized the thoughts of having to play it safe were not my thoughts but everyone's else and that the almost painful feeling of greatness buried deep in my life is elsewhere.

But what solidified this idea was a conversation two years back with my father who asked me..... what is it that I "wanted" to study?
This was after I gave up on pre law (peer pressure)and I said engineering ( peer pressure again ) he showed a slight disappointment but reinforced his belief and words when translated means "pen and paper makes money".

I remembered this only 4 days ago and so I reflected on that and almost hit myself for how stupid I have been....


In truth I enjoyed the massive amounts of writing in pre law but listened to my friends aspirations to become engineers and mistakenly made it mine as well but there are no regrets because I have found my road.

 

[ck4750]

My parents showed me exactly what I wanted to do and exactly what I didn't want to do.

My mom is an entrepreneur and my dad has worked a construction job for going on 30 years now. So for me it was simple. I've not once heard my dad say something positive about his job. Not once in my 24 year existence. My mom on the other hand loves what she does. No brainer.

Football believe it or not really opened my eyes to what I'm capable of if you work your a$$ off. It was my vehicle that showed me the level of sacrifice and dedication it takes to be successful.

 

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[marklov]

My first four years in the military I busted my a$$ harder than anyone around me. I was always the hardest working guy in any room I was in. I got promoted quickly, but I was still harder working than anyone else around me with the same responsibilities/pay. I dawned on me that I was working really hard, for equal pay (per position).

So...my coworkers had less work to do, because I was doing it all. THEY benefited from MY work ethic. After the military I tied pay to my work. Now I'm working on tying my pay to the hard work I put into building a company. Remove MY time from the equation.

I think this quote might resonate with you.

When I was ten years old I got this thing that I wanted to be the best in something, so I started swimming. I won championships, but I felt I couldn’t be the best. I tried skiing, but there I felt I didn’t have potential. I played soccer, but I didn’t like that to well because there I didn’t get the credit alone if I did something special. I just avoided team sports from then on. Then I started lifting through the other sports and I enjoyed it the most. I won the Austrian championship in 1964 but found out I was too tall. So I quit that and went into body building. Two years later I found out that that’s it-that’s what I can be the best in
~Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

[Bigguns50]

@SteveO...wonder if we're related ? I've used the phrase "Kiss my a$$." many many times. Yea, I've had a lot of jobs too.

 

[Lippy]

I experienced my serious "moment of commitment" around 2 months ago, when I couldn't order what I really wanted at a McDonald's because I thought the prices were too expensive, and that I didn't have enough money.

Now I've always been thrifty and really good at saving money and sticking to my budget, but the I thought: "Do I want to spend the REST OF MY LIFE like this?!?!"

Before this in a span of around 4 years, I've started and crashed 2 businesses, and went into unemployment and depression. I found my self frustrated, bitter, confused, in pain, and broke.

There were days I didn't bother getting up from bed because I felt there was "nothing for me", and I believed that. The experience, however, has showed to what I needed to change and improve, starting with my mindset.

I'm coming from a wantrapreneur mindset, and my moment has actually spurred me to take action, and to actually go out and do it! It's been terrifying at times, but I'm hoping this will lead me to a better place, and a better life.

 

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[JustKris]

Mine was looking at my Social Security statement. Seeing how much (or in my case, how little) I made in 12 years of working was eye-opening.

 

[handog]

My mother happened to work at a science museum right next to where the 4th of July celebration took place every year in my town. One year we decided to sell water and beverages and we were so busy that that was my first dose of experiencing "entrepreneurial heroine". It was a long time ago and have been trying to duplicate that feeling. I'm really fortunate to have had her instill a creative and entrepreneurial mindset into me.

 

[B. Cole]

Not to sound too much like a fanboy, but mine was reading TMF . I was browsing amazon, looking at “get rich” books because I was quickly outgrowing my generous government salary, and looking for a way to grow some more. Admittedly, I ordered it and didn’t think too much of it, looked like every other book and I could have easily picked a different one.

A week later, it came in the mail, I browsed the intro and set it aside. Picked it back up intermittently, but then one day it hit me like a tick bite on the wiener. I couldn’t quit thinking about it, the analogies connected with me and it was truthful. It didn’t bullshit me down a path of promises, MJ told me it was going to be F*cking hard, and I was ok with that, because he was being honest and the promise was real, as long as I did my part.

Now here I am. 2 years later, with a reconditioned mind, on the cusp of launching an invention from scratch.

True story.

 

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[EnvisionEd]

Not to sound too much like a fanboy, but mine was reading TMF . I was browsing amazon, looking at “get rich” books because I was quickly outgrowing my generous government salary, and looking for a way to grow some more. Admittedly, I ordered it and didn’t think too much of it, looked like every other book and I could have easily picked a different one.

A week later, it came in the mail, I browsed the intro and set it aside. Picked it back up intermittently, but then one day it hit me like a tick bite on the wiener. I couldn’t quit thinking about it, the analogies connected with me and it was truthful. It didn’t bullshit me down a path of promises, MJ told me it was going to be F*cking hard, and I was ok with that, because he was being honest and the promise was real, as long as I did my part.

Now here I am. 2 years later, with a reconditioned mind, on the cusp of launching an invention from scratch.

True story.

I can't say that mine is that different. Although most of my life I knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial, I was too hesitant to take the leap of faith because everyone around me convinced me the risks weren't worth it and that the slow lane was the way to go. It wasn't until I read Unscripted that I realized they were wrong and that I had to just take a chance and get the ball rolling. It challenged me to think in terms of legacy systems and it validated my belief that it's a crime to sell your only valuable commodity (time) for money. Couldn't be happier that I'm on the other side. Thank you, MJ.