Not at any one thing in particular but in life in general. Not sure why or when that happened. probably in my late 20's, early 30's.
It just sunk into my hard head one day that even though I was fairly happy, had a few friends, was healthy and had a decent job there was some thing missing. Couldn't put my finger on it at first but slowly it dawned on me that there were a lot of people I knew that had a lot more than I did.
They had more money. They had newer, better cars. They had houses while I still lived in an apartment. Their clothes look way better than mine. They ate out in places I couldn't even think about. They went on Vacations! Heck, I hadn't been out of town in a decade. Some even belonged to Country Clubs. I could only play there if I was an invited guest. Those that had kids sent them to the best schools. A couple of guys I knew even had maids and people doing their yards.
I remember thinking, when all of us were in school together, I finished with better grades than most of them. What was I doing wrong. If was as if they all just walked out of graduation and into a perfect life. Like it just magically happened. Most made more money in a week than I did all month!
Then one day while I was watching TV and feeling sorry for my puny existence I realized something. Each of my friends, especially the ones doing really, really well all had their own businesses. Hmmmm? Not one of them had a job. No 9 to 5s. No shifts. No bosses.
Damn...why did that idea take so long to materialize?
Anyway...I started have a few in depth conversations with the 2 or 3 of these guys about how they decided to start a business. Also, why they did it. What made them decide to go against convention and shun the normal 9 to 5 existence for a more somewhat chancy 'start your own' business lifestyle.
Please remember, this was in the 1970's. No computers. No affiliate marketing. None of that. No Facebook and way to reach 1000's of people with your offer with just the push of a button.
If you wanted to be in business back then it was real brick and mortar stuff. You had to actually leave your home and go to your place of business and figure out how to make that idea work! These were entrepreneurs that were in the trenches. Some did hard labor. Some faced labor disputes. An employee would occasionally steal from you.
You had to deal with zoning issues. Licensing. Employee benefits. Advertising costs. Inventory costs. Late hours and early mornings. You had to meet payroll deadlines. Geez...and we fuss about a mere $40 sign-up fee to be an affiliate. lol
One friend started a Beauty Salon. He now has several of them through our home state. Another friend started cutting grass. But he didn't do the work himself. He hired a bunch of men to do all those yards for a piece of the fee. He now has a huge Commercial Landscaping Business and two big Nurseries. My other friend started a restaurant. He now has locations up and down the East Coast.
Here's the most important each of these guys told me. The compelling reason each decided to take a leap of faith and go out on their own was this. None of them believed they were meant to be ordinary. Living a regular life just didn't seem like something they should or could settle for.
Is that you? Is that something that resonates? It did with me.
Talking with them woke me up to what my possibilities could be. Another thing that struck me when I spoke with them was that once they started their businesses they each committed 110% to making it work. They had setbacks...sure but, they never gave up. They overcame whatever problems and pushed through. Success wasn't just a Goal it was their Life!
They saw themselves as Successful and worked at it until it became their Reality.
Nowadays we have the Internet and doing our own thing is a bit easier and cheaper to start and to run. But the same principles apply.
1. You have to start.
2. You have to Commit to it.
3. You never quit until you Succeed.
Have you been frustrated and want to make a change? Have you even tried a few things only to be disappointed? If you are looking to get out of the 9 to 5 rut and take charge of yourself Lisa and I would be proud to help you do that. We're easy to talk to. Come visit us at: http://donaldandlisa.com
All the best,
Donald Gaw