For Leap's Sake

While perusing one of the thrice-daily www.helpareporter.com updates that I receive, I came across a website of a guy who I believe embodies the essence of “taking the leap” into the world of entrepreneurship.  The gentleman’s name is Jonathan Fields and his website is Career Renegade.  He has a book by the same name and I found it to be an appropriate addition to this blog.

Jonathan took the leap about a dozen years ago and hasn’t looked back.  Why is Jonathan Fields an appropriate topic?  There are several reasons:

POINTING OUT THE POSSIBILITIES

I can totally relate to the circumstance that Jonathan wrote about regarding the “pain” (my word) that is often associated with the realization that comes from climbing a corporate ladder that leads to nowhere.  After years of schooling and the attendant debt from loans, and after years of politicking and getting on the right track to success, you begin to realize something:  you’re not free!  You’ve set something in motion years ago only to find out that this particular trail actually leads nowhere; it actually is a loop and you’re destined to go in circles until you’re retirement day (Jonathan referred to this a treadmill).  You get the promotions and the perks only to realize that you really don’t have the true passion for the tasks that you’re performing on a daily basis!  Your new responsibilities begin to eat up all of your spare time and you begin to ask yourself, “Is there a different way?”

But then as a way of giving hope and pointing out what may be possible for you, Jonathan asks the question, “What if no matter how entrenched you are in the life you’re leading, it was possible, very possible, to extract yourself from a misery-drenched, life-sucking job and grow a future defined…by taking the opportunity to love what you do, enjoy life today, and create an equally secure tomorrow?”

Everyone who is NOT totally thrilled and ecstatic about the thing that they are doing each day and who have suppressed their dreams for the sake of being “realistic”should ask this question: “What if it were really possible to enjoy what I do for a living and actually make a living?”

IN PURSUIT OF PASSION

Another reason I like Jonathan’s book is because he threw caution to the wind,  and left a highly successful career to pursue his passions.  There were plenty of people who told him, “You can’t do that!”, but he persisted and found what truly made him happy.  The book also introduces us to a myriad of other entrepreneurs who pursued their passions in unconventional ways and yet were still able to achieve the allusive dream life.  There are so many individuals in this book and the strategies were so varied and creative that I am certain that you can find a way to love what you do and still make a living.

Pursuing your passion will allow you to get up earlier and stay up later, because you’ll be doing what you love to do!  Pursuing your passion will see you through the dark times when you’re not quite sure exactly where you are on the path.  Pursuing your passion will allow you to push through the times of uncertainty and doubt.  And pursuing your passion will allow you to enjoy each and every moment of it!

PRACTICAL STEPS

Finally, “Career Renegade” offers some very practical advice and techniques of how you can ACTUALLY begin to create the work life that can fulfill your heart’s desires.  Along with the examples of the entrepreneurs who have succeeded in finding their niche and their passion, Jonathan gives tools to use to find whether your particular passion is something that can be reasonably monetized.  He discusses business plans, market research, marketing, tools and tips, and public relations. He provides all of this in an entertaining, behind the scenes, transparent manner.

Many people fail to start their own business, or even consider doing so, because of fear.  The fear typically comes about because of the “great unknown” or the fact they’ve heard so much bad news: bad news about the economy, about business failure rates.  But having objective resources and evidence at hand helps to dispel the myths and the fear associated with starting a business. Being an entrepreneur (or a Career Renegade) takes having a different mindset than most people…and the book discusses this as well!

 POSTSCRIPT

So why did I choose to focus on “Career Renegade” this time? Because this book serves as yet another example (actually many examples) of what can be achieved if you really get beyond the fear of the unknown and seek to pursue your dream!

So….check the plane engine, test your harness strap, adjust your goggles… and go ahead and take the leap!

For the thrill of the jump,

Dino Herbert

“You know what”, he said.  “I guess I’m just one of those people who needs a boss”.  I couldn’t believe it!  Here I was, having lunch with a colleague who worked for one of my former employers.  A man who I have the utmost respect for and who I admire in so many ways. As we sat in the sun drenched restaurant sipping on our colas, he basically admitted to me that he would always be an employee and would never be an entrepreneur.  I sighed to myself…I guess perhaps everyone isn’t meant to be an entrepreneur!

I hadn’t seen my colleague for some time (several years in fact) and we got together for lunch to catch up on old times.  He was asking about what I’d been up to since we both left the place where we were formerly employed.  I was telling him about what I was doing: doing architecture projects, managing some real estate holding, looking for real estate to buy- believe it or not (that’s a whole other discussion), speaking and writing to encourage people to find their potential.  He was telling me about the employer he is with currently and the one he’s hoping to go to next.

Serial Employee

You see, my colleague is what I call a “serial employee”.  I know this because I was one of them. A serial employee is one who is always looking for the next best “gig”, the next job that will somehow fully satisfy the longing in the heart to find fulfillment; to find your purpose, your calling, your reason for being.  As a serial employee myself, every five years on average, I would get “an itch” to go somewhere else to find my calling.  Actually, it was more like a wrenching feeling in my gut that would compel me to seek greener pastures.  Inevitably I would look across the aisle to the adjacent desk and see someone 15 or 20 years my senior doing the exact same job as me, with the same responsibilities.  It wasn’t that I disliked my jobs – in fact, I enjoyed most of the jobs that I’ve held – it was just that I didn’t want to be doing the same work, the same activities, the same routine, for the next 15-20 years! And this is what led me to leave.

So my colleague was telling about the advantages that going to his next employer would bring: how much better the responsibilities would be and how much more satisfied he would be at the next place.  Then he shifted gears a bit and told me that he had tried being an entrepreneur several times.  He had tried and had come to the conclusion that the life of an entrepreneur was not for him.

The areas that he couldn’t  address to his satisfaction were as follows:

Setting Goals

My colleague said that he couldn’t come to terms with the fact that he needed to set some “big, hairy” goals (I didn’t coin that phrase).  He said that his goals were not compelling enough to move him to make the necessary “sacrifices” that he needed to make in order to keep going at those times when it seemed as if the results were not coming.  He said that he set goals, of course, but they just didn’t “move” him.  (Napoleon Hill called this a “burning desire”. It’s definitely something that entrepreneurs need).

Setting Priorities

My colleague also confessed that during those times when he had “too much on his plate”, it was tough deciding which task needed to be completed first.  We’ve all been in this situation: the To Do list is 3 pages long and you don’t know where to start.  Entrepreneurs MUST be able to make the tough decisions on a daily basis – it’s a prerequisite for the job.

Setting Deadlines

Finally colleague confessed that he wasn’t good at giving himself deadlines.  Procrastination was simply too comfortable for him.  I told him that I too suffer from procrastination quite often.  Architect practitioners are taught early on – not formally – but by example and by the sometimes unreasonable workload that is piled on unsuspecting underclassmen, that “all nighters” are to be expected.  So I’ve developed the habit of sometimes doing things at the last minute.  I confessed to my colleague that there is a certain adrenaline rush that comes with finishing with a flurry, however!  I told him about a friend of mine who said that a trick she employs is to overcome procrastination.  She said the way to overcome this ailment is to set an “unreasonable” deadline for yourself in order to recreate the adrenaline rush associated with accomplishing tasks at the last minute.  So, for example, if I know a project will take 3 weeks, I should give myself 1 week to accomplish it.  This way, I take immediate action and I focus on the critical elements of completing the task.

My friend admitted that he had tried similar ideas, but he just could not perform when he was one who set the deadline.  If he set a deadline in this way, he always knew that it was arbitrary and that the “real” deadline was further out.  If, however, he needed to meet a deadline that someone else had set, he would perform as required.  That’s when he made the “confession” that started this blog.

My Disappointment

You see, I’ve been operating under the assumption that everyone can be an entrepreneur.  Or at least anyone who wants to take control of their life can be, if they really want it.  My mission, in fact, is to get as many folk as I can to “cross over”, to “take the leap” as it were (hence the title of this blog) from the life of bondage to a life of freedom.  Freedom to decide how you want to live your life, spend your time and to spend your days.  So, the question is, “Are you meant to be an entrepreneur?”  Let me know.

For the thrill of the jump,

Dino Herbert

www.dinoherbert.com

“Passionate about helping people find their potential”