On scary decisions

One of my favorite pieces of content is The Risk Not Taken by Andy Dunn. If you've ever had to make a tough decision, I would highly recommend reading it. 

Scary decisions are not unique to entrepreneurs. They are universal as people go from one phase of their life to another. Whether it's dropping out of school or proposing to your girlfriend or moving to a country 10 time zones away. . 

For entrepreneurs, this decision is compounded by the fact that once you take the leap into being involved in a start-up full time, your entire life changes - stability gets thrown out the window, friendships start deteriorating and on some days, stress levels make you question if any of this is worth it. 

Here's the thing - it depends on who you are and your ability to stomach all the ups and downs while building a company, managing your employees, reporting to your board and working on your personal life. The only thing I can say for certain is that it you always need to be pushing forward. Building a company is not an easy task. It is one that requires determination to succeed when the entire world is against you. 

But, scary decisions are easily mitigated by knowing that despite success or failure, you can always go back to your previous life. It may take you a bit longer, but your perspective and outlook on everything will change - regardless of outcome. 

Scary decisions are only scary because of the unknown. And to quote H.P. Lovercraft:

““The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” ”

The best thing about scary things? They're temporary. They last for a quick second and then they're gone. 

Death by Status Quo

I’m writing this on a flight between Los Angeles and New York, with a stop in Dallas. Why? I need the miles to retain my frequent-flyer status with American Airlines.

Last week, I did the same flight, except it was between Hawaii and New York.

The week before, it was Tampa and New York.

It’s been a crazy few weeks and I’ve never been more productive.

A little over 2 months ago, I left my last full-time job to pursue PaLaCart. It was time to give up my last roots to a tradition that has been expected of people for a very long time.

And I couldn’t be happier. PaLaCart has raised a significant amount of money since then. I’ve traveled to Ecuador, Tampa, Hawaii and Los Angeles over the past few weeks and a few more trips coming up shortly.

During this process, I’ve also cut down most non-essential activities and responsibilities to focus on the company and to help other entrepreneurs grow their businesses. As Twitter would say, it’s the #bestjobever.

But – this isn’t a post about my company or a change in lifestyle. It’s about uncertainty and how people deal with changes. As I’ve gone from entertainment to advertising to entrepreneurship, I’ve had the privilege of working with and knowing so many talented people. But, they’re terrified of pursuing their dreams. It’s natural. It took me years to rip off the band-aid. You may not be successful on the first try, but the perspective gained is far more valuable than any form of professional education.

Death by status-quo is the worst form of regret and the worst way to live life. If you have an idea – go out and pursue it. I promise you that the experiences – regardless of the end result.

Thinking Before Doing

As I transition away from working in corporate environment to a full-time entrepreneur, I’ve run into a strange problem lately – passion. Big companies do things because a) they’re easy or b) they’re cost effective. However, the opposite is true for startups. Startups are driven by pure passion and the drive to solve hard problems.

Whether it’s re-inventing e-commerce (shameless plug) or disrupting medicine, there is a lot of work that needs to be done.

Big ideas take a long time to come to fruition and every action needs to be deliberate. When you try to grow too fast – you stumble. When you mix terminology – you lose credibility. When you try and do everything in one single day – you burn out. Once or twice – they’re necessary. However, when they become daily problems – you’re doing things without thinking. And that will ultimately haunt you in the short term and long term.

So, next time you want to do something – think. Even if it is for just a minute. It’ll serve you well in the long term.

Balance

Every few months, I end up taking a solo trip for the sole purpose of clearing my head. That definitely doesn’t sound amazing. Or fun. But, it is exhilarating.

I’m writing this from a no frills hotel in Quito, Ecuador. I arrived here on Saturday night after flying nearly the entire day, spent all of yesterday exploring the city and most of today either working or napping. I depart in a little over 12 hours and I couldn’t have been more glad about this time off.

Being an entrepreneur is a funny thing – you invest so much of your time and heart into focusing on one product, but the reality of the world comes striking down on you at some point. Call it survival. Call it reality. Or, like most people – call it fear. I call it energy to double down and push through hard and fast.

I’m fortunate enough that I have nearly unlimited resources to travel the world without making a significant impact on my bank balance. But, at the end of the day, even a 3 day trip such as this drives people to reality. In this case, reality being that having the best job in the world requires sacrifices that most people will never ever understand.

Ask anyone who has started a company. If they haven’t been through the insane highs and the brutal lows, they haven’t pushed themselves hard enough.

And often times – this is what makes my job the greatest job in the world. It requires a ton of sacrifices, but the rewards and the journey balances the entire thing out.

So, to those with all work and no play – get a balance.

And to those with all play and no work – what’s your secret? ;-)