I Don't Want To Die With Any Regrets

As a follow up to my post; Fear Of Change - Why? where I wrote about the fear employees have with change within an organization I now want to write today about the fear of getting into business for yourself.

Too often I hear from people who like the idea of being in business for themselves but think the risk is too great. Business ownership in their mind is for the risk taker, the entrepreneur. This thinking could not be farther from the truth. I have not met a business owner yet who did not calculate the odds, weigh the advantages and disadvantages, examine their skill sets, identify their weaknesses and strengths before making a decision to go or not to go. We work too hard for our money to just gamble it away. In fact that risk taker is sitting in a casino playing the slot machines.

True entrepreneurs differ from the masses in one unique characteristic, they are optimists. They see the glass half full, not half empty. Why is that? Is it their astrological sign that predetermines their outlook on life? Is it in their schooling? Is it in their upbringing? Ahh...I think we may have something here.

I watched my father growing up in Toronto, Canada, in the 1960's working a job to pay the bills and my mother working nights so she could raise us during the day. But they were always looking for ways to make extra money. My dad started a painting business and would market himself door to door and provide his services on the weekends or late into the night. My mother, originally from Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, grew up hooking rugs which are a very popular item in the arts and crafts collectors circles. She would hook rugs and send them back home to make extra money.

Watching this as a child I must have picked up that this is life and work and being creative to earn money is normal. For example; I had 3 paper routes, shoveled snow, cut grass, anything to make a buck. In fact, we use to collect 'etch -a sketch' toys that were thrown into the garbage by Peter Austin and rebuilt them into working condition. We planted ourselves outside the Toronto and Ontario hydro and sold them for one dollar each to the workers as they exited the buildings going to their cars. We even developed, marketed and operated a couple of neighborhood fairs to other kids for a .25$ entrance fee. For attractions we had guess the number of marbles in the jar, sit in the new car for a fee, play in the water, music, etc. We were young entrepreneurs.

I'm sure our parents had a great impact on how we live our lives today. They can also have a negative impact on how we live our lives today. How often have you heard from your parents the words; NO, or DON'T, or THAT IS NOT SAFE, etc.

We are conditioned through repetition by the words of our loving parents at an early age to embrace caution or to not try . The good news is that we can over come this conditioning. We can change. Positive affirmations spoke out loud to yourself daily is one method and writing goal cards and staring at them everyday is another. The list goes on and any one of Tony Robbins seminars will be helpful in this regard.

What motivates me to succeed is the fear of sitting on my rocking chair when I'm old wishing I had tried. I'm not afraid of failure. If you fail you brush yourself off, take stock of what you learned and then move on. But to never have tried, that scares me. I don't want to die with any regrets.

Let me know what motivates you to succeed where others have failed? What motivates you to be successful in business? What drives you to change? Are you motivated by fear (running away from pain) or motivated by pleasure (running toward your big dreams)?