What's the worst that can happen?
Seriously. I encounter so many friends/family/ex-co-workers that WANT to take the plunge like I did and start a business but I know the majority never will. One of the things that helped me overcome my fear of leaving my career was asking myself what's the worst that can happen? In my case, people were telling me how promising my engineering career was and how crazy I was to give up the "guaranteed" (I would dispute that) career advancement and financial success I had coming at the company I worked for. People told me I'd be crazy to forfeit the great pension plan my company had, as if retirement 40 years from now is a reason to be miserable for the next few decades.
Despite what they said I quit my job to run SportsLizard, which at the time was making very little money. I think most of my co-workers thought I was nuts when I told them I'd make little or no money my first year. But seriously, take a step back and take a look at the worst case scenario: I move in with my parents and go absolutely broke trying to make the business work. Six months later I'm looking for a job. In that case, I could jump right back into my engineering career at the ripe old age of 24. I have a great degree and solid work experience so I've never had a problem getting plenty of offers.
Thankfully things worked out and my "risk" paid off and I should be able to do something I love for the rest of my life...but if what I presented above was the worst case, was that really that much of a risk? Going after something I love and giving up...well to me, I really didn't give up much more than a steady paycheck and a pension plan. Seems silly in hindsight.
Whether or not other people decide to take a similar plunge is up to them, but I think people need to check themselves and realize that going after something you want, be it a new career or a new girl, isn't as big of a risk as you think it is. I'd imagine the majority of us are lucky enough to never have to take risks that will be putting our basic needs of food/shelter/water in jeopardy. And if that's the case, it becomes more of a situation where you need to overcome fears and leave your comfort zone to pursue your passion, and less of a situation where you're taking a real risk.
Despite what they said I quit my job to run SportsLizard, which at the time was making very little money. I think most of my co-workers thought I was nuts when I told them I'd make little or no money my first year. But seriously, take a step back and take a look at the worst case scenario: I move in with my parents and go absolutely broke trying to make the business work. Six months later I'm looking for a job. In that case, I could jump right back into my engineering career at the ripe old age of 24. I have a great degree and solid work experience so I've never had a problem getting plenty of offers.
Thankfully things worked out and my "risk" paid off and I should be able to do something I love for the rest of my life...but if what I presented above was the worst case, was that really that much of a risk? Going after something I love and giving up...well to me, I really didn't give up much more than a steady paycheck and a pension plan. Seems silly in hindsight.
Whether or not other people decide to take a similar plunge is up to them, but I think people need to check themselves and realize that going after something you want, be it a new career or a new girl, isn't as big of a risk as you think it is. I'd imagine the majority of us are lucky enough to never have to take risks that will be putting our basic needs of food/shelter/water in jeopardy. And if that's the case, it becomes more of a situation where you need to overcome fears and leave your comfort zone to pursue your passion, and less of a situation where you're taking a real risk.
posted by Adam McFarland at
7/11/2007 08:42:00 PM
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