You may have heard this before, “I tried to do <nature of business> on the side (or worse, full time!) but it didn’t work out. I was barely making ends meet, so, I quit and got back working for someone else.” Or perhaps some variation of it. I most certainly have. And I must confess — a few years back, I said a variation of that statement myself.
It was a bleak attempt at making things work by hoping, praying and ideating things that if implemented would have made me a multi-millionaire. That’s literally what I did in addition to blowing up close to $60,000! Where did that money go? Signing up for expensive workshops, seminars, and training programs in the hopes of gaining in-depth knowledge that would make me a success.
Did I succeed? In a way, yes. I turned my “for-profit” organisation into a “non-profit” one! I don’t have anything to show for the money I’d spent that year trying to know-it-all and hoping things would work out just fine.
And that was moronic! My inability to understand the difference between intent and execution was simply epic! I should’ve known that I can have the noblest of intentions but it wouldn’t amount to anything if I’m unable to convert that into reality. I failed to understand that I had to make things work out for me. Not the other way around.
It’s a simple lesson but I was an idiot to not know it. You live and learn. And what I’ve learned from my experience is this — you never jump into conclusions. Starting a business isn’t a child’s play. It takes time, effort and a massive commitment to make it work.
The best part (now that I know) is that you don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars investing in yourself. I think that bit is overrated and at this point in time overused and abused too! The gurus out there are making a killing teaching you the things that you already know. That’s not investing in yourself. It’s called fooling yourself. Trust me, I now know better.
You don’t have to be an expert to get started or even become a successful entrepreneur! You just need to be committed to delivering results and mastering your psychology. Most importantly, you must remember that you can’t buy your way into being called an expert. It’s the people who will acknowledge and position you as an expert based on the results that you deliver for them. Thankfully, you don’t need expensive investment/education for that.
When it comes to intent vs results… the latter is what matters. And it’s always powered by action.