This note got triggered while I was innocuously browsing through facebook newsfeed and happened to notice a blog shared by one of my connections.
The title was instantly eye grabbing - "How Quitting My Corporate Job For My Startup Dream F*cked My Life Up" !!
I had quit my corporate career in 2011 and had some of my own experiences and it is no wonder that the title attracted my attention. As I read, I resonated with everything written by Ali Mese, the author of the above blog and it brought back the memories of situations I experienced.
I decided to share Ali's blog and once I did that, I could not stop adding my comments to elaborate on what I had experienced. Soon my comments took on a life of their own and I decided to pen these musings and capture them in one place.
Ali writes in his blog - "If you have friends and family who are not entrepreneurs, they won’t truly understand what you are trying to achieve".
In my experience, even if you have friends and family who are entrepreneurs, they still won't understand what you are trying to achieve. They won't even try. They just won't !! They will think there is something wrong with you especially if you have quit your “fancy” job, once or more in a short period of time.
Its far easier to denounce someone's decision and pour heaps of derision on someone than to actually support them in the journey of entrepreneurship.
Friends & Family - the true meaning of this is realized when you embark on this journey. You will realize - there isn't any family, there aren't any friends. There's just a status quo.
And you have upset the status quo - so you are the one who will be punished !!
How dare you challenge the status quo of established relationships and question the collective wisdom of your friends and family , those who have stood by you in all your difficult times as long as you maintained the status quo.
But now that you have disturbed the equation - you do not deserve to have anyone stand by you !!
Ali writes further in his blog - "it was so sad to see many of my entrepreneur friends breaking up with their girlfriends along the way."
Absolutely !! But just in case you are already married and if your spouse does not support your decision , does not truly support your decision heart and soul - then you are in for a far rougher ride than you could have ever imagined.
And if you have children - get them ready for the rough ride as well because when your spouse cannot get you to change your decision, she/he will pour it out on the children, use them, abuse them - anything to get you to disembark and return to status quo.
So buckle up before you take that step.
Ali writes - "Day by day, I was getting lonelier and more depressive as I avoided social occasions."
In my case the pain of continuing to be in a social circle which demeans your effort, one that not just questions and doubts but also casts aspersions on your capabilities, was far too great. So much that in comparison, excommunicating myself from that social circle was an orgasmic pleasure.
So I chose pleasure over pain and I have never been more satisfied with any other decision of my life than this one.
Ali writes - "If money and public success are what matters to you the most, you are likely to have a hard time along your journey."
Absolutely the case. Money is far harder to come by than in a salaried job and even when it does, it is filled with uncertainties of when , where , how as well as the uncertainty of how, when and where it will be lost.
So if you are not driven by a deep, passionate and obsessive, compulsive desire to create something of your own - then don't bother embarking on this journey solely for money. You will lose a lot more than your dignity !!
But if you have this deep, passionate and obsessive, compulsive desire to create something of your own - Then DIGNITY & SELF RESPECT is your reward !! Probably your ONLY reward for a long time before your financial rewards pour in.
Dream On !!