This is a year-end note to everyone who’s taken the road less travelled. It’s that time of the year when you must be thinking “Ok what next?” and “How much longer do I go on like this?”
Being an entrepreneur or someone who does things differently is great but it’s also hard. You are your own boss and that means you are not answerable to anyone. But that also means you miss out on normal successes. Like a big fat raise. Or a promotion. Or an award.
Everyone else seems to be scaling heights. Except you. You’re still chipping away at the dream.
So you think, “OK this is it, in three months if it doesn’t work out, I’m taking that job at IBM and making some real money and leading a more respectable life.”
Or you may think, “OK if this doesn’t work, I’m lowering my rates and taking that project with ABC company.”
This happens because you realise it is difficult to do quality work in the space of your dreams. Especially when so many others are doing average stuff, selling it for less, making a lot of money, and getting publicity. That can be hard to digest.
So what next?
Start doing average stuff for less and make money?
In the life of every professional who’s serious about their vision, this is a choice that comes sooner or later: stick to quality work or give in to popular work.
Well, an old friend once told me, “When you’re faced with a tough choice and an easy choice, take the tough choice.” That’s what I’ve been telling myself lately. And it’s what I want to tell you too.
Don’t compromise.
Remember why you started.
You had a vision.
A vision that was different and energizing.
Don’t dumb it down for more ‘likes’.
Don’t dilute it for money.
Stay true to yourself and your vision.
The tough decision involves not giving in to panic and despair and then chase the wrong thing so you can be busy and make money. That’s called ‘selling out.’
This is a note to all those who are working hard to make their entrepreneurial ventures work. And who are dreaming of selling out. And getting more respectable.
Repeat after me: I started this to become awesome. Now I am going to figure out the next steps.
Don’t sell out. Sell your dream back to yourself.
About the Author:
Sandhya Reddy is a leadership & transformation coach based in Bangalore, India. She is the Founder and Principal Coach at Chapter Two Coaching, a coaching consultancy that enables everyone from CEOs to work-from-home parents to achieve their goals by replacing self-imposed limitations with enabling stories.
Many of us in our thirties experience a disquieting realization: what brought us to middle-management may not take us to senior-management. This is true. To chart a new career path, one needs to think and do things differently. This is where Sandhya can help. She is a coach. Life coaching, executive coaching, business coaching, personality development, leadership coaching… they are all part of her forte. Her Executive coaching programs helps tomorrow’s leaders set new goals, make new plans to achieve those goals, get that elusive promotion through a blend of knowledge, action and image-building, enhance influence among the leadership team, be more productive, get more out of one’s team, and be known in the company as an indispensable performer and future leader.