Stop chasing your dreams and start building them. That was my mantra that I eventually listened to back in 2013.
My dream? To start a business before I turned 30.
My reality? I managed to do it with 39 days to spare.
Why does it take us so long to listen to the voices within? And what is it about risk that so many of us our fundamentally averse to (until we take it)?
The National Institutes of Health say that more than 74% of the population in America is risk averse. And at the same time Forbes did a study and found that 79% of the population in America believes they would be happier if they made more money.
WOW.
The good news is there is hope, but the problem is it takes risk.
The biggest steps you can take right now to change your life are often small ones.
For years I sought out mentors and professionals to help me overcome the limiting beliefs in my own life to get to the next level. It took monumental effort for micro-cosmic results. For example back in 2012 I was working at a $100M Nonprofit making about $40,000 a year. I gave everything to my company — working late nights, giving monthly out of my paycheck, and volunteering on weekends. I missed key moments with my kiddos (first steps and first words) all because I was convinced if I just worked harder and produced more, I would eventually get paid more.
And I was right, kind of.
In December of that year I met with my supervisor and was guaranteed a $10,000 raise to start immediately on January 1. I felt elated and that all my hard work had finally paid off. My wife and I often lived paycheck to paycheck so for once we celebrated and splurged on Christmas knowing the bill wouldn’t be due until after my first paycheck in January of the following year.
But when January hit, the money wasn’t there. It was the same as my old one. I thought it might be a glitch so I let my supervisor know and then waited. Another paycheck two weeks later came in and another wrong paycheck.
Do you ever have moments that scare you? We were already scraping buy but now I was in a real jam. So I called a meeting and met with my supervisor who assured me it would be taken care of. This went on for months until April 2013 when FINALLY my hard work was rewarded.
But then I realized something (and this is the moment I want you to pay closer attention). I realized that I had put hours of effort and wasted hours of frustrated time simply trying to be paid less than $417 more per check and less than $1K a month.
You have to experience the frustration to gain a new perspective to help give you the motivation to make a change.
What are you dealing with right now that you need to step back from and get perspective on? I’ve worked with so many leaders since that moment that tell me they’re just stuck. But the reality is they just need to get a new perspective and find the motivation to change.
Change is hard but the way to do it is to take the next step.
For years I tried to moonlight as a freelancer while working a full-time gig. I gave up family vacations and time with my kids in the name of making a little more $$ on the side. The real reason for this was I was trying to provide for my family and as the sole breadwinner I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. But I struggled to make sure I was putting all of my energy into the right places.
First I tried going deeper on design. Then I tried building websites. Then I helped friends make Facebook pages. Then I created some videos. But I never really sat down and planned my next step with an end goal in mind.
I just knew I wanted a change. And sometimes, that’s all it takes.
Craig Groeschel said in a sermon at our church one day, “To step toward your destiny you have to step away from your security.” My wife and I looked at each other and I knew that was the moment. I was going to put in my resignation and start a company.
What was the business plan?
To take the next step.
That was literally it. I had no clue on what I would actually do or how to do it, I just knew what I was supposed to do next.
I’ll continue to share more of my journey and how I got here along with what you can do to start building the confidence within you to live by faith and not by sight.
For now just know this — the greatest accomplishments are met after some of your deepest frustrations.