I remember when I struck out on my own into the wonderful, but very foreign world of the "entrepreneur". People said I was brave – that it took a lot of courage to start my own business. I never really looked at it that way. I spent my entire career "climbing the ladder" to senior management before it dawned on me that I was living my father's dream. My dreams involved more autonomy, creativity and at least the perception that I was making a difference. So in a manner pretty consistent with how I make decisions (when I decide, I'm all action), I woke up one day and said “enough is enough” and I resigned.
Okay, so I won’t recommend that course of action for most people. I looked at my financial situation, what my future commitments were and how much leeway I had. I was lucky in that I could afford to take sometime to figure things out. I thought long and hard about what would make me happy. I read and did the exercises in What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles (if you are contemplating a change, this is a must read!). I compared my personality & skills to what is required to run a consulting business. I talked to a lot of people doing consulting. I researched, I planned, I budgeted and I dove in head first. I did all this right before one of the worst recessions in the last century.
So where am I today? Well, I’m not rolling in the dough, but I’m getting by and my business is growing rapidly, so the future is bright. The most extraordinary thing of all has happened, however… I’m happy and I love what I’m doing. Seriously, I look forward to working and best of all, I'm making a difference. I'm helping people improve their businesses and their lives.
Why am I sharing this with you? I guess to point out that it’s never too late to change.
No comments:
Post a Comment