“Running a start-up is like chewing glass and staring into the abyss. After a while, you stop staring, but the glass chewing never ends.” – Elon Musk
First thing’s first:
Thank you.
The response to yesterday’s email was both inspiring, and surprising…
Especially since I almost didn’t send it.
I worried it was too un-relatable — too personal, too uncommon, too.. weird?
No, that’s not the right word for it, but whatever it was, I was wrong.
It struck a deep nerve, and I’m so grateful to everyone who reached out and reinforced my belief (my hope) that there are others who share a higher vision for what entrepreneurship can be.
(full details in yesterday’s email, here)
Now, on to today’s lesson…
After speaking about entrepreneurship all week, it might come as a surprise when I say:
Most people should not be entrepreneurs.
Unpopular opinion, maybe.
But it’s the obvious, plain-as-day truth, and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably making a profit on the other side.
Now, please understand:
I’m not saying most people can’t be entrepreneurs:
Many can, and have the capacity to do it.
But I am saying that if they knew the honest, blood-and-guts reality of building a business, they wouldn’t want to do it in the first place.
Entrepreneurship sounds romantic, at first:
Full of freedom and creativity and money falling from the sky like rain.
And while it can be all of those things, those things don’t make up the full picture.
In the full picture…
Freedom comes with chains that bind you to your business 24 hours per day:
Never letting you fully escape it.
Creativity comes with total responsibility for your destiny, and crushing pressure to create a sustainable income.
(or you and your family don’t eat)
And, speaking of income, it’s all on you:
Nobody is coming to bail you out with a paycheque at the end of the month, and every loss comes straight out of your pocket.
So real-world entrepreneurship looks a lot more like slaying dragons than laying on a beach with your laptop.
And for some, that’s exhilarating:
(“Sharpen my sword and sound the battlecry, you can take my head but you’ll never take my freedom!”)
But if you want my honest advice, I’ll say this:
Only choose entrepreneurship if you can’t not do it.
If doing anything else is unthinkable to you…
If you’d give a limb before you’d give your time to a boss…
If an idea is burning you from within and your only release is to get it out of your head and into the world…
…Then welcome to the hard path, and let the battle begin.
Just don’t choose entrepreneurship because it sounds like a good way to make a lot of money while doing very little.
Instead, choose the thing you can’t not do:
Whether it’s a job that inspires you, an art form that consumes you, or, yes:
A business that drives you to make your mark on the world.
If you don’t know what that is, yet, don’t stop.
Keep looking.
And never, ever settle until you’ve found it.
- T
P.S. If you’re one of the blessed and cursed few who can’t not build businesses:
I may want to work with you.
Here’s the deal:
All week, I’ve been accepting applications for a new one-on-one business coaching program.
However:
I’ve turned away far more entrepreneurs than I’ve accepted, and I only have one spot left.
So if you’re still interested, reply today to let me know:
Who you are
What business you run (include a link to your site)
Your current monthly revenue
Your primary goal for the business
Why you are a good fit for coaching
If you’re a good fit, I’ll reply with more details about the program, and we’ll set up a time to chat.
If not, no hard feelings (like I said, I only have one spot left, so I need to be extremely selective).
And, if you want more details, click here.
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