When I tell people I’m starting a company they somehow think I’m taking a huge risk. To me it’s the next logical move for …
When I tell people I’m starting a company they somehow think I’m taking a huge risk. To me it’s the next logical move for my career. I could have gone back and finished the masters I quit three years ago, applied to B-school, or gone and worked at another startup or big company. But none of those options seemed romantic. At this point in my life I don’t have anything to lose, I don’t have any traditional obligations: kids, mortgage, or debt. I take care of my parents when they need me and I look out for my younger brother. I’m an exroverted loner who loves to work. Being an entrepreneur seems to be a logical and emotional fit more so than some huge risk. If I fail people will talk, but they already do…
Throughout the last 27 years of my life people have been telling me that I’m going to fail at whatever my current goal or ambition is. What’s funny is that this list includes the following people: my dad, boyfriends, teachers, coaches, professors, and bosses. Surprisingly this includes people who are supposed to be considered my “support- system”. Did they do it to be malicious or hurtful? Call me an optimist but my response is no. They were guiding me towards the safe path in life. They wanted to shelter me from the evils of the universe. I thanked them for their safety net, then proceeded to tear it apart.
I recently met up with a professor I hadn’t seen since I graduated from college and the first words out of his mouth were: “You haven’t aged a bit, and you still have a smile on our face.” The way I see it I have no cause for complaints. Here’s how I’ve learned to live the life I’ve dreamt of having as a child:
- Got my bearings then built a support system. When I moved to the bay area I didn’t know anyone. I was burnt out after college and needed a year of 9-5 to recuperate. I went to yoga everyday to work off the freshman 15, read a ton of literature, and watched Netflix. At the start of year two I started my masters, networked, and made friends everywhere I went.
- Knocking is overrated, learn to bang on doors. I tried this once with a little startup and it worked… There are some people for whom things seem to land on their lap. I’m not one of them, so I’ve learned to engineer opportunities. People are always going to tell you no, if its something that you really want you just have to get the cajones to either ask for it or prove to them that you deserve it.
- Give 110% and expect 1% max! I give my all at everything I do, which includes work, relationships, and friendships. People say I do too much for others, I don’t care. I’m not doing it because I’m an altruist – look at my bookshelf and you’ll see who my favorite author is. I do it because I enjoy being benevolent. I don’t want to be the person who makes your day shitty. And yes there are times I get burned or people don’t reciprocate but I’ve learned to trust the universe to be there for me when I’m in a bind. You can’t think of how people will help you out, you have to take chance on them and realize that building close personal relationships is vital to happiness, and being happy == success.
- Stop doing things you suck at and start doing things you rock at! In junior high I got cut from the basketball team, because I was by far the shortest and scrawniest girl trying out. That day I sat alone on the bus ride home and sulked. Two weeks later I joined the debate team. I haven’t played basketball in years, I speak publicly all the time and I love doing it! Doing what you rock at boosts your self-confidence.
- Get your ass kicked and your heart broken. I’ve literally and metaphorically had this happen to me every year of my life. It’s awesome to know how much physical and emotional pain you can handle. You learn that you can survive through both and from that point on life becomes more manageable. It’s not about being unbreakable, its about going through the process and knowing that you will still emerge smiling 🙂
