Over the last few days I’ve been stripped of every safety blanket in my life. I got comfortable and my day job became my safety blanket. I assumed it would be there for a while and I could keep working on building my media empire on the side. With the safety blankets gone I’m standing far on the edge of success with adversity as the catalyst, and I fear that I may fall. For the second time in my life I’m confronted with the power of hitting rock bottom.
- My day job will end in a few weeks and I don’t have anything lined up
- Due to changes in their business our sponsor for BlogcastFM has been forced to end their agreement with us.
- The growth and revenue on my personal projects isn’t quite where I want it to be and I’ve contemplated the idea of returning to cubicle nation to make ends meet.
It seems like everything that could go wrong in the last few weeks has gone wrong. It’s no secret that I have a higher than average tolerance for risk. I’ll do crazy things like on a whim like sell everything I own and leave the country in less than a month. I’ve been known to be a bit extreme when it comes to my decisions and many of my friends call me just stubborn enough or even damn stubborn. I can’t argue with them. Once I’ve made to do something come hell or high water it’s going to happen. In some cases this has served me well and in others not so much. At the current moment I have no idea how it’s all going to turn out and I feel like the lone traveler with a surfboard in hand searching for for my next good wave.
On the Flip Side
A few days back I had a brief chat with Marcus Sheridan and he said something to me that really made me think. He said “I think you’ve been selling yourself short by staying at this gig at Flighster. It’s held you back, and being forced to leave it is going to move you forward.” With a 100 degree fever and cold that was making me stir crazy, I forced myself to ask that one simple question that could make a dramatic difference. The potential outcomes for how this could all turn out all of a sudden seemed much more appealing and I’m going to stick to my mission and go the whole nine yards. There’s definitely an element of truth about what Marcus said because my greatest talents were being underutilized. I had stopped growing in my role, and the execution of my best ideas had been tabled for quite some time.
Putting it All on the Line and Betting Big
It’s likely you’ve heard the saying the bigger the risk the bigger the reward. If you want to really find out what you’re made of I recommend you tattoo that across your forehead or put up a reminder of it somewhere so that you see it every single day. The the other day my friend Julia asked the really important question of whether we should take a gamble or play it safe. When we play it safe we stay in our comfort zone, and no progress occurs inside the comfort zone. Half assed commitments generate half assed results.
But when you’re willing to put it all on the line that’s when amazing things happen. The post that your terrified to push publish on is the one that we all want to read. If there wasn’t potential for it to be read by so many people than why would be so scared to write it? My friend Farnoosh Brock understands this kind of thinking. She walked away from a six figure corporate job that allowed her to work form home because she believe in something greater.
Embracing Uncertainty
At this point I’d say it’s a safe bet that no matter how prepared you might be, a few things won’t go according to plan. After all if it was completely predictable it wouldn’t be very interesting journey. One thing I’ve found is that in the depths of uncertainty, some of our greatest breakthroughs occur. The beauty of an uncertain future is that it’s open for being written according to your desires. If there was no room to adjust according to the circumstances you’d be limiting your ability for peak performance. AS I’ve said before too many plans limits your potential.
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I know I'm super-late to the party, but I have totally and utterly been there, Srini. I am so please to read this. Really.
I was homeless (twice!), arrested (falsely), betrayed, lost all my possessions all in one year. I 'failed' 11 businesses in my life, and despite having no safety net, and not even a friend I felt comfortable turning to, I made it through with a smile :)
Actually, I can add to this, because what happens when you're able to work without safety nets, but you have people in your life who are far too comfortable in their comfort-zones?
I am totally posting on this topic -- thanks for the inspiration!
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