Entrepreneurship & The Choice to Work for Your Own Dreams

We all have a choice in life. We can either choose to work for our own dreams, or we can work for someone else's. Whether you're someone who is currently happy working for an organization, someone who is unhappy in their job, or someone who; whether you love or hate your job, you just have this desire to go out into the world and chase your own dream; this episode is for you. 

This episode gets into  all the limiting beliefs and fears that may be holding you back and how to deal with them. I share about my entrepreneurial journey and some of my lessons learned. Along with the 5 qualities/skills every entrepreneur needs to be successful, and what you can start doing now to prepare for the future you want for yourself. 

If you're going after bigger and better in your life and you're an aspiring entrepreneur, or already are one, this is an episode you don't want to miss!

Resources:
Farrah Gray Quote
Rocky Balboa Quote

Transcript

Welcome to All Things Leadership, where together we will explore and discover what leadership is all about, so that you can start leading the life you want to live. 

My mission is to inspire, motivate, and excite you to become the best version of yourself, at home, at work, and everywhere in between.

I’m your host Jamie Smith, now let’s talk leadership.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening yall! Who knows what time it may where you are, for me it is about 1:30pm in the afternoon on a Tuesday, as I record this episode, and I gotta say, I am having a pretty great Tuesday today. 

Whatever day of the week and time it is for you, I hope you’re in a good spot, and I hope you’re having or have had an awesome day.

Today’s episode is about one really big idea.

An idea that really changed my entire perspective in life.

An idea that when I first heard it, it stopped me in my tracks, and has really just stuck with me ever since. And when an idea sticks with me, it’s bound to show up in this podcast. And I really wish I could remember where I first heard this idea that I’m about to introduce to you guys, but I don’t. I’d be willing to bet though, that it was another podcast. But iit’s been years, and I can barely remember what podcast episode I listened to last week so yea can’t remember.

So, the idea that I’m going to speak to today is really more of a choice than an idea and here’s the choice you have in your life.

You can either spend your life working for your own dreams, or you can work for someone else’s.

I’m gonna say that again. You can either spend your life working for your own dreams or you can work for someone else’s.

There’s also a quote out there by Farrah Gray with the same message. “You can build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”

So good. Right?

These quotes for me have served as such motivational quotes in my life and they’re quotes that I now share with my clients who see themselves as entrepreneurs and need a little inspirational “quote nudge”, so to speak.

When I first heard it, it really sparked some different thinking in me. It sunk all the way down into my soul. 

And what’s interesting and what I think happens to so many people, so maybe you can relate, is that I spent over a decade working for one company. At the start of that decade, I was at a point in my life where I was buying entrepreneurship books and “how to build a business” books. So, the dream of being an entrepreneur has always been there for me, since fresh out of college.

But I got hired at a great company and became a contributor on a team that I loved. I loved the purpose and mission. I agreed with the values. So, I put my head down for over a decade and worked for someone else’s dream. And had a blast doing it! But I was kind of on autopilot just going after one promotion after the next and it’s kinda like somewhere along the line, I just kind of forgot that starting my own business was even an option.

You get sucked into climbing the corporate ladder and you get happily and even willingly sucked into great company cultures like I did. Not saying there is anything wrong with this. I had a beautiful career working for someone else’s dream, that grew me into who I am now and made me capable of doing what I do now. 

So, in saying that, I want to make clear that there is nothing wrong with working for someone else. Most of the world does. You could spend your entire life working for someone else and be perfectly content with that.

I mean when you think about it there are many career paths that you kind of don’t have a choice but to work for someone else right? So, we very much need the people that want to work for someone else just as much as we need the entrepreneurs to continue to innovate and create. 

But for those of you that like me, have always had the desire to be an entrepreneur, this is your friendly reminder, before 10 plus years go by, like did in my life, that you can still branch out if you want to. You can still pave your own way if you want to. That is still a choice that you have. 

You can either continue to work for someone else’s dreams or you can work for your own. 

The emotion this most stirs up for me personally, when I say this out loud, is empowerment. And now that I’ve taken that leap of faith into entrepreneurship, I feel compelled to empower you by sharing this message of “you can do it too”. 

So, the way I kind of see it is, you are one of three people right now. You’re someone who works for someone else and hates their job with plans to either stay at the job you’re miserable at or start job hopping. Or you’re someone who works for someone else and loves their job with plans to stay and grow or maybe just stay in that industry and grow in that industry. Or the third person you might be is someone who, whether you hate your job or love your job, you just want to do your own thing. You want to go out and be an entrepreneur in the world.

So, no matter which one you are, this episode is to all of you.

And just so we’re clear. What I am not encouraging you to do is go and quit your job tomorrow because you’ve decided to chase your entrepreneurial dreams.

There was, you know, an extended period of time between when I first heard this message of work for your own dreams and when I actually took the leap of faith to start my business .There was a lot of thought and a lot of planning and a lot of kind of building the foundation to my business that went in before I took that leap of faith

I'm just hoping to inspire you to look at your life in a way that makes you kind of go, “Oh, I can do what I want, I do have control over my life. I actually do have a choice of whether I want to keep working for this person's dream or if I want to work for my own dream.”

Now is working for your own dreams instead of working for somebody else's dreams scarier? Yes. Is it harder? Yes .Is it riskier? Yes. So, you can either be the risk taker or for the rest of your life you can be the one working for the people that are brave enough to take those risks that you aren’t.

Here are some of the risks I took and fears that I faced on my journey that maybe you can relate to.

I risked not being financially stable. I risked my “resume reputation” in quotes by leaving an industry I was a part of for so long and now having this gap on my resume, so to speak, if I were to ever decide to go back. I’m risking total failure. I was fearful of being judged. I was scared to let go of one identity and try on another for size. I was afraid to burn bridges. All the hard work was scary. The uncertainty is uncomfortable. I worry that I’m not going to be good enough. I get sucked into comparison.

Any of that sound familiar to you? I know I’m not alone here. I’ve heard too many other entrepreneurs and clients of mine that struggle with all the same possible risks and all the same fears, so I know somewhere out there, at least some of you are nodding your heads, and are very familiar with these thoughts and feelings. 

And I didn’t just wake up one day and all of these thoughts and feelings were all gone. I did a lot of work on myself and a lot of those thoughts and feelings are still here with me now.

But I took a hard look in the mirror and said “What do I want to improve on? What do I need to prepare for, if that’s the future I want? What can I learn in the job I’m in now or in my life outside of my working hours, that is going to support the future I want for myself?”

I knew from reading books and listening to podcasts that in order to be an entrepreneur, a successful entrepreneur, and to do the kind of work that I wanted to do, I needed to strengthen my leadership skills. I needed to learn about grit and resilience.  I needed to learn time management and organization. I needed to get comfortable speaking in front of audiences. I needed to learn project management, accounting skills, marketing skills, the list goes on.

So, what I spent my career doing while I was working for someone else’s dream, was I intentionally grooming myself for the role that I now have. The future that I wanted.

I researched and worked on my leadership skills. I learned to be a better communicator and speaker. I mean, every time I spoke in front of anyone, in my mind I was like, “This is practice for the bigger stage one day”. I learned time management and organization. I learned how to take a project from the start line to the finish line. I learned how to make spreadsheets and handle accounting. I learned how to market and sell. I learned about teamwork and collaboration. I learned about how to deal with failures and set backs. 

My career was my playground for developing myself into the entrepreneur that I am now.

Once I really decided it was time to get serious about taking the next step, I started to really plan and start, what I refer to as, my foundation building. 

For probably the last 3 years I was at my full time job, I was laying the foundation for my one day business. I am someone who likes to set myself up for success and I believe that failure to plan is planning to fail. 

Now everyone’s path looks different, so this is not to say that you have to do 3 years of planning or pre work before you can try starting a business of your own. This is just what my path looked like. 

I didn’t like the idea of leaving my job and having to start from scratch, ground zero. I wanted at least the pillars of the home and the flooring for me to walk on to be built you know? The “roof over my head” part would come next and until then, I was okay with dealing with a little rain.

Here’s some of the pillars and foundational work I’m referring to. So all before I left my full time job: I did lots and lots of research about what I wanted to pursue and build a business around.

I got some further education on what I wanted to pursue; coaching. I found a weekend online certification course that I was able to fit into crazy 60 hour a week schedule. 

And I mention that because I feel like so many people I have talked to are like I don’t have time for my passions. I don’t have time to work on a side hustle.

Let me tell you friends, if you want it bad enough, you will make time for it and find something that works for your schedule. I promise you.

I started my podcast while working a full time job and worked on it only on my two days off from work. And this is while I was pursuing certifications, while I was applying for my LLC, while I was creating my logo, and while I was working on building my own website. Why would I build my own website you ask? Because I’m glutton for punishment that’s why. I don’t recommend it. Let someone help you.

But the point is, I did a lot of foundation building to get my business to a point that I personally felt comfortable diving in head first when the time came. But again, not to say that your path has to wind up the same way. 

Maybe you plan it to where you can and do start from scratch after you leave your job. Whatever floats your boat, but I do recommend at least doing some research first and getting all your questions answered before you dive in.

So, if it brings any of you any peace of mind.You can not have a website, not have a podcast, not have an LLC, or logo, and still get your business off the ground. For the most part. By just meeting people, and networking, and word of mouth marketing. The most powerful tool there is especially in early stages of a business. Word of mouth marketing.

I would say more important than doing any of that stuff, is working on some of the qualities and skills necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. And I’m going to give you the ones based on my own experience as an entrepreneur and the research I’ve done around it that I agree with the most.

And here are the five things I feel you absolutely need if you want to be an entrepreneur.

Number one is self-discipline, or self-leadership. You have to be able to lead yourself first before you can even think about leading anyone else. And if you are going to be your own boss, self-discipline is kind of a must.

Number two is time management. When you become an entrepreneur life changes. You make your own schedule. You set your own deadlines. You follow up with yourself and you report to you. Unless you hire on employees of course, that’s a different story but I’m a solopreneur so I’m speaking to my own experience more here. 

 It’s All Things Leadership, LLC party of one over here for now. But successful management of time, sets one entrepreneur apart from another. When you have so many different hats that you have to wear and you are only one person, you have to have the ability to plan ahead, to time block, you gotta stay disciplined. 

Number three is confidence. In order to inspire other people with your product or service, you need to feel a certain amount of reassurance within yourself first to get out there and to enthusiastically share about your business.

There is a lot of risk taking in business and in order to take risks you have to feel a certain level of confidence. You believing in yourself, and in your business has to come first, in order for anyone else to believe in it. 

Number four is resilience. Setbacks of all shapes and sizes are inevitable and you have to be able to bounce back. One of the truest testaments of a great leader is how they face failure and obstacles that come their way. You have to be able to display some tenacity too , it’s a marathon not a sprint. 

You have to be able to just keep going no matter how many times you get knocked down. To quote one of my favorite movie stars, Rocky Balboa, “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!”

Gosh, I love that movie and I love Rocky don’t yall? Alright.

Number five is self-awareness. You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses. You need to understand your values that drive you. You need to be able to control your emotions and not let them get the best of you if you’re going to run your own business.

Now I could keep going and say you need computer skills, financial skills, customer service skills, collaboration skills… but I think a really solid starting point is with the five. Self-leadership, self-awareness, confidence, resilience, and time management. I was working on these five, long before I got into anything like the financial side of things for example. 

I think it’s helpful for some people too, to know or be reminded, that people weren’t just born confident, resilient, self-aware, great leaders. These are skills you to have to cultivate. And we all have the ability to do that.

Now, I’m not going to lie to you guys. Building a consistent business from the ground up is no easy job. It is not all rainbows and butterflies. But at no point ever, no matter what my revenue has been for each month, since I left my last job, have I regretted my decision to chase and work for my own dream. 

Which to me, just goes to prove that at the end of the day, happiness and fulfillment don’t come from how much money you’re making. It’s that you’re doing work that fills you up each day that matters. Yes, the bills need to be paid for you to feel safe and stable, but think about it. As long as you have that and you’re happy with what you’re doing, you’re in a good spot my friend. At least from where I’m sitting. 

So, let’s say you’re at the stage now where you know you want to start your own thing one day, but right now is just not the time, well then what can you be learning right now? What skills can you be homing in on to serve you later in life? What mentors might you call on to start grooming you for your future? What small steps can you start taking today that are gonna make that dream of yours start to become a reality little by little?

Or maybe the stage you are at is you have done all the brainstorming and all the research and planning and you are just plain stuck. You got one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes and just can’t seem to move forward.

Ask yourself, honestly, what you are afraid of, or what you avoiding. Once you have clarity around that, you can start to address the real problem, the real thing that's holding you back. Then ask yourself what you would be losing if you didn’t take the chance for yourself. Ask yourself if you are okay with fear and doubt being the reasons you never pursued your dreams.

I vote no siree no ma’am no how, not in this life. 

I choose to chase after my dreams as scary as it is. I am scared all the time yall. It’s part of the journey and I know its normal so I don’t let the scary feelings scare me away. I use those scary thoughts and voices to fuel me now, because I understand it’s all part of the equation, so to speak, and I also have the ability to bounce back from those self-sabotaging thoughts like pretty quickly after all the mindset work I’ve done.

It's like this. I have the self-sabotaging thought of, “ I could never be that successful.” I recognize how I feel, as a result of having that thought. I ask myself, what a thought is that would serve my best interest that I could choose to have instead. And I construct a new thought in my mind that creates a better emotion for me so that I am able to take action from that “higher self playing field” instead of from the “negative Nancy” energy I have when I think “I could never be that successful”.

I picture myself when I say that just as this pathetic shriveled up little girl in my mind and that to me is unacceptable as a way to show up in the world. So, I shine a light on that scared little girl, that’s all shriveled up in my mind, and I tell her I love her and that I understand why she’s scared, because this is scary stuff. And then I tell her it’s okay and we are going to do this anyway, together, because no successful person ever did everything in or on their path to success with zero fear. It didn’t happen. That’s not reality. 

 It's choosing to move forward with the fear that sets you apart and creates that future success that you seek. 

This is no easy feat, and one that so many people need help with yall. Not allowing fear to hold us back anymore or getting past those limiting beliefs about ourselves that are sabotaging our lives.

I know for example that more than half of my clients thus far have ben entrepreneurs, and fear or doubt shows up somewhere, each slightly different than the next maybe, but it shows up for all of us as we go after bigger and better for ourselves. 

It's new, of course it’s scary! It’s you putting yourself out there, of course it feels uncomfortable. Of course, you’re afraid of being judged. Of course, you’re afraid that if you do actually start it, and fail at it, oh, what will people think of you? Oh, but it seems like a whole lot of hard work so rather than even attempt to get help or break it down to tinier steps, you put it off all together. 

Feeling uncomfortable and scared and full of doubt are all natural parts of doing new things in life. It means you’re growing. So, to me these emotions are worth experiencing in order to move towards the vision I have for my life. 

Is your dream worth risking feeling uncomfortable and scared? What’s at risk for you if you don’t go after your dream? 

Three things I’d really like for you to take away from today’s episode are: Going after your dream and working for yourself is an option. You can have all the fear in the world and still go after it. And when making drastic life decisions/life changes, such as choosing to become an entrepreneur, spend some time reflecting and asking yourself all the questions. Ultimately how will this choice affect my life positively, negatively, and in what all areas, and who else might this effect, and in what ways?

And if you need someone to help guide you on your entrepreneurial journey, if you need someone to help you get past all the fears and limiting beliefs that may be holding you back, schedule a complimentary discovery call with me. I’d love to be your coach in life to help you create the results you want for yourself, to help you make your dreams become a reality. And I can share all the ways that I can help you do this on a call. 

The call is free and there are no strings attached. So, if your curious about life and leadership coaching with me, click the link in the show notes to schedule a complimentary discovery call when it works for your busy schedule. 

And if you enjoyed today’s episode, please do take a second to leave that five star review or write a quick written review. And you can pat yourself on the back right after, for helping my shows audience grow, and know that I am over here high fiving you thanking you for doing so! 

If you have any feedback for the show or suggestions for what you’d like to hear me talk about on the show, send those in! Id love to hear from you and so far, you guys are proving to be a pretty quiet audience, and I’d like to change that. Let’s connect! Let me hear from you! Its lonely on this side of the mic. 

Alright yall, I’m out. Until next time, go out there and lead the life you want to live. And remember, you can either work for your own dreams or you can work for someone else’s. 

Bye!