Startup blog friend and movie maker Ryan Spanger has some kind of a secret project happening called creative.biz – I’m not sure what it’s all about but here’s a video which is on the home page. I reckon this is one entrepreneurs should keep an eye on given the solid advice in this short video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK-48E9tW20]
This is the fourth of my crowd sourced blog entry ideas as suggested by Lani Pauli. Lani wanted to get my thoughts on the following: How to overcome the fear to take the leap and do your own thing.
I’ve written about this a few times. And I’ll start by pointing out previous entries on De-gearing, Quit your job and The number 1 reason being an employee sucks. But to make things contemporaneous here’s my thoughts on the topic today, off the top of my head.
Two important words come to mind when I think about the fear of pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors.
Having & Doing.
And as far as I can tell these two words are what we worry about when it comes to finance. We want to do cool stuff (like build a startup and pursue dreams), but in the short term it can have a big impact on our lifestyle and consumption patterns – the having part.
But most people don’t realize this important fact until after they have made the leap:
“The having is in the doing”
In my view we often replace our dreams and goals with consumption. And society promotes this ideal. We use money and steady income as a means of consumption based happiness. When in reality, we’d be much happier if we just did what we wanted to and had greater fulfillment in the hours of our days.
We have to make a decision on what’s more important to us; having lots of stuff and security, or doing cool things. I believe the latter creates a more enjoyable existence, and often leads to a virtuous circle where you realize how little we really need.
The real bonus is this: it’s easier to be successful when you are really into what you spend your time on. And when success comes to entrepreneurs we get the best of both worlds.
Startup blog says: Dream chase now!
Incentives shape behaviour.
It’s true of all people, at all times. It’s deeply coded in our DNA, and unlikely to change anytime soon.here’s some thought starters on the depth of the phrase.
Incentives: are not necessarily monetary, rather ideas which will improve the perceived situation of the decision maker.
Shape: for things to be shaped it takes time, they must be moulded, caressed, developed and iterated.
Behaviour: is action related. It is about what people do, not what they think about or like, it’s about motion.
Whenever I make a decision as a marketer and an entrepreneur I think deeply about these 3 words.
I had this discussion yesterday. I walked past a hole in the wall cafe. (Tiny cafe which serves take away and stand up coffee in inner city area)
Friend: Wasn’t Joey going to open a business like that?
Me: Yeh, I remember him talking about it before I had even seen one of these in the city.
Friend: What happened to it?
Me: I don’t know, I guess he just didn’t get around to it in the end. Got distracted.
Friend: That’s a shame, looks like a good little business model. What’s he doing now?
Me: He’s in the same job.
Friend: Oh. Ok.
We keep walking …
Don’t be Joey. It at least try and fail. The old job will be waiting for you if you have to return.
