[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]HEN YOU THINK and behave differently than those around you, people can label you a black sheep, as if it is a negative thing. Society is conditioned to believe we must all fit in a box, living and doing things the same way “everyone” else does. If you stray from this formula, you often meet with resistance, and this is actually what stops a lot of people from living the life they want to be living. This thinking was actually instilled in the industrial age, when corporations needed people to work to fill the assembly lines. They made big promises of job security, secure weekly paychecks, benefits, etc. However, as we all know, today there is no such thing as job security. The only security there is, is the willingness to create your OWN job security through self employment. This is something that everyone should be considering in today’s economic climate. Think for example all the work that is being done in robotics, which will replace a lot of jobs.
So why haven’t you started your own business?
Have you fallen into this pattern of thinking and believe you must only do things others consider as “normal”? Those that are considered “normal”, follow this type of pattern….. Go to a job everyday, have a mortgage, a car loan, 2.5 kids, etc. As soon as someone goes a different direction than this, they are considered abnormal, black sheep, or sometimes even crazy. You may have had someone say to you “why would you leave a secure job/great job/this job to start your own business…what if you fail, you are throwing away everything you have worked for”. This type of well-meaning advice has held so many people back in life. They end up second guessing themselves, and accept that maybe they are crazy to be thinking of such a move.
So how do you avoid this mindset and take on the mindset of a successful entrepreneur?
Recognize that all successful entrepreneurs think differently than the masses. They don’t fit in a box. They don’t do what everyone else does. They don’t need other people’s approval. They trust their own hearts and are willing to go against the grain of “popular” opinion, regardless of who approves and who doesn’t. Successful entrepreneurs follow their inspiration, not the advice of other’s that have no credibility or experience to give that well-meaning advice.
Know what is right for you and don’t be swayed by the opinions of others. If you are not happy and fulfilled in the work you are doing, you are wasting your potential, and missing out on the power of your own intuition, which is there to guide you in the direction you should and want to be taking. Be empowered to take the direction you know is right in your heart. When you live your life following the path that is in your heart, you feel happy and in control.
People around you don’t want to be left behind and will often attempt to hold you back where they are. You will hear things like, it’s not normal, it’s too risky, what if you fail, etc.
Ask yourself DIFFERENT questions
- Is it normal to leave the people you love every day for a paycheck or is there a better way to work?
- Is it normal to drive through stopped traffic, snow storms, long commutes to pay for a house I am never in?
- Is it normal to work hard and still have trouble making ends meet?
- Is it normal to carry a car loan of $500-1,000 per month to go to a job I hate?
- Is it normal to take our children to daycare for someone else to raise and experience their firsts?
- Is it normal to have to work “mandatory overtime”
I could go on and on. The last thing on earth I would ever want to be is NORMAL! When I lived a “normal” life, I was unhappy, stressed out, miserable, and I brought that home with me every day. It wasn’t until we had our first child that I stumbled upon entrepreneurship, simply as a way to be home with our child. My desire to be with our children was stronger than my desire to go the “normal” job route, so I was willing to go against the grain, to be the black sheep and to carve my own path. Get totally clear on the REASON you want to be an entrepreneur.
If I am considered a black sheep, or a square peg, or whatever other label could be put on me, I am GRATEFUL for it! It is because of this mindset of finding my own truths, my own solutions and being self-reliant and self responsible for my own life that has allowed me to be in love with every aspect of my life, living a life of purpose, on purpose.
