There are 3 routes that a majority of people take in their working careers. You can either be:
– An Employee
A boss or someone in charge gives you a series of tasks that you must complete either to a deadline or on a regular basis.
– A Freelancer
Works on projects and gets paid upon completion. The more they work, the more they get paid.
– An Entrepreneur
Poke The Box – Seth Godin
Builds a business that enables them to make money, even while they sleep by building a business larger than themselves.
If you have taken the rout of the Entrepreneur, or are contemplating it, there are going to be many failures along the way. You will fail more than you will succeed and at many moments, you will feel like giving up. In his book, Poke The Box, Seth Godin illustrates how we need to be nudged away from conformity and toward ingenuity, toward answering unknown questions for ourselves.
How Do We Use Fear And Pursue Our Own Passions?
1. You Fear What You Don’t Know
Fear is a survival mechanism that is part of our ancient and modern brain. We have a fear of loud noises and authority, as well as failing and becoming homeless. All these fears often stop people from taking any action, resorting instead to do jobs and other tasks that have been done many times over without any new challenges.
2. Take The Largest Risk Possible..
…that will still keep you in the game. We fear that by taking a risk, by not listening to our boss or by doing something different, we will fail and not be able to recover. This is an irrational fear if we always keep ourselves in the game, just.
You never want to obliterate any chances of you coming back and trying again. If there is a risk in the decision you are making, will there be an opportunity for you to try again if it fails? If that’s the case, go for it and get your project out of the door.
3. Stay Curious
When a magician shows us a trick, our immediate reaction is to ask them ‘How did you do that?’ or ‘How does that work?’. Magic seems to awaken a curious nature in us. You must have the same curiosity with the systems, organizations and technology all around you.
By knowing how processes around you are functioning, you will ignite your inquisitive mind, enabling you to come up with new ways to achieve better results.
4. Resist The Resistance
Many employees in organizations feel like they’re stuck. They have no options so they pick the stable career in their company and start the slow and arduous process of climbing up the ladder.
5. Be Willing To Fail
When you start a project, be willing and open to the possibility to fail. If you don’t fail, you haven’t learned anything new. You have simply used old well-known truths and remodeled them for your own. You haven’t experimented and created something new. Failure causes the invention of new ideas and you have to be willing and ready to fail in any new venture.
6. You Don’t Have To Conform
Conformity used to be crucial–fitting in, not standing out. Compliance used to be the heart of every successful organization, every successful career. Compliance is no longer a competitive advantage. Ingenuity is. Entrepreneurs are the motive force the new age demands. They are the person who will shake things up and keep moving forward.
+Bonus Point – Never Settle
You deserve to get what you want and achieve your dreams. Never settle until you have achieved your goals in life. This should be nonnegotiable and unwavering at all times.
