I have been running a micro consultancy (just me) for a few years now and I am not going to lie, it hasn't been the easiest and it definitely hasn't returned huge amounts of wealth. It has been hard work and often stressful as unlike a salaried job, there are no guarantees on income month to month and with a small child and a wife going back to school, this instability compounds.
But, it has been very rewarding in so many ways and has helped me better understand my abilities and further develop my personal values and philosophies that I use to negotiate the world. I have learned a great deal that without being in this position, I do not think I would have discovered these areas of myself and life at this depth.
I am unsure where, but when I was fairly young I heard that an entrepreneur is willing to do what others are not for a few years. My view of this is the ability to push without guarantees of return, the force to continue into the unknown waters without a compass.
Of course, that is just a visual representation of the process and the reality is much less romantic and much more bland. Essentially, it is the willingness to work hard when others are not without relative security, present or future.
The human mind has a security complex and continually searches for a platform on which to plant itself psychologically. This leads to an unwillingness to try new or venture into places where it feels it may fail or experience discomfort. Struggling to make ends meet while attempting to do something for a future that is clouded by uncertainty is definitely uncomfortable.
This is also why those that can successfully negotiate the waters through a mix of skill and luck are so heavily rewarded as they are the ones that chose to do differently than the group. There is obvious value in being among the first to discover or present a new way to the masses.
Being within the group comes with the security of the group but it is also largely limited by the averages of the group. There is nothing wrong with being there per se, but it should also come with an understanding that by enlarge, there are ceilings and walls that are likely insurmountable if also wanting the group's protection.
Heading outside of the confines of the group is a scary proposition however as it means that one must move largely alone and in the circumstances of failure, accept the risk that there is no help forthcoming. In most societies, those that try and fail are often shunned for the failure, not celebrated for the attempt.
We can see that those who often make the largest material gains in society are the people that are willing to do what others are not. But this is also true for those who make the most gains in anything. The people who are the most despised and most celebrated are often the same in their willingness to work for whatever they have chosen.
For most however, there is a desire to have the results but the hierarchy with security generally restricts them from investing into the work required or the risk inherent in uncertainty. This obviously limits their potential at reaching their desired result.
How each person negotiates their experience is up to them as individuals but often we outsource our actions to that of the group even though we may understand that we want something different than the group can offer. this creates conflicts in experience and can lead to a whole range of internal competing positions.
It can also lead to feelings of resentment towards those who have been able to get what another desires, and a minimisation of their effort to achieve what they have. The issue often here is that the focus becomes the results of achievement and ignores the work and acceptance of uncertainty to get there.
Yes, some people get lucky and some have a far more supported starting point than others but this in itself is no reason to minimise the effort that goes into attempting or becoming successful at something, no matter what that something is.
For example, in the cryptosphere we currently reside, there are a whole range of people attempting to do various things to take advantage now or make gains in the future. There is a lot of uncertainty in starting a new service or investing time, effort and capital deeply into something that is in its infancy and is largely unsupported.
For me, this concept of what others won't do affects my behaviour in many aspects of experience and drives me to explore parts of myself that were hidden, takes steps I have avoided for too long, try things that scares me and pushes me to work and work and work.
Perhaps, all of this work will amount to nothing in the long run and I would have wasted my time and effort when I could have been enjoying what others enjoy. But, this uncertainty means that it may also bring results others will want in the future but not realise in the present. And the most important factor is of course, I actually enjoy this process of investing in uncertainty a lot more than what I was doing previously while playing it relatively safe.
We live in exciting times where there are many new and emerging possibilities for a large number of people to really sink their teeth into and do some very cool things. The problem often is though that to delve in deep means to take the feet off the solid ground of where the majority stand. It means to accept the consequences of facing uncertainty.
Everyone is capable of deep levels of strength and resilience yet due to the construction of modern life, most have never tested this. Everyone has the possibility and the opportunity to do something different than what they currently are or, stay the same. It is up to each of to decide if we embrace some level of uncertainty, rather than suffer it.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
Here is the true motivating factor. So many people work their entire lives doing things they hate in order to make money that will buy them material junk that supposedly will balm those wounds and fill that emptiness. That's the big lie. If you aren't enjoying what you are doing you are wasting your precious life.
Who defines success? Are you content to let other's define your success? Is having a Lambo being successful or is finding a way to live and not need a car at all success? Is having a big house with central heating and air condidtioning, a dish washer and a garbage compactor being successful when the very nature of that lifestyle fosters resource wars, impoverishes other people and destroys the environment on which everyone depends.
Sometimes I look at street people and think they are the most successful of us all. They use very little and what they do use is recycled. They live day by day without the perpetual enslavement of employment. They pay no taxes to governments that oppress. They aren't servicing debt and enriching the financial criminals and they are free to move about to wander in the open countryside or shelter in the city.
We must be able to look beyond our cultural programming and ignore those around us who lack the will or the capacity to open their minds to throw off accepted norms. Only then will we be free to chose how to live our lives and become truly successful.
So much of it is driven by competition in the self. Self worth comes from being able to perceive oneself as better than another which very soon gets extended to what one has. I am better because I have...
There must be a 'happy middle ground' somewhere which I think lays in the lack of identification with the material goods. Which would mean there is no need to have anything unless actually useful. perhaps through there would be enough to distribute rather than a relatively small minority hoard the majority.
Why would we spend time collecting what we don't need?
Learning to recognize the difference between want and need is probably the biggest problem people face. Some folks never get it. The more domesticated you are as a human, the more you think you need. I've lived without running water, indoor plumbing, refrigeration and electricity for the last few years. When I can use those facilities--something like endless streams of hot water running from a tap--I recognize what luxuries they really are. I've found I don't really need them and as such my want for them has subsided quite a bit. The simpler the life, the better and more satisfying it becomes. Most would never agree, nor even try it.
Estoy de acuerdo contigo @citizenzero y como se hace cuando das todo pero tu bello pais esta pasando por una situación económica difícil y de verdad que no lo quieri dejar aqui ewta rodo lo que me hace feliz, saludos desde Venezuela
Gracias por tu comentario. Los problemas de Estados Unidos son notables en comparación con los suyos en Venezuela y creo que sus problemas son en su mayoría causados por el imperio estadounidense y su búsqueda del dominio mundial. El mundo entero está sumido en la confusión y, mientras las personas sientan que deben tener más de lo que realmente necesitan, nunca se calmarán.
Sabes que tienes toda la razón no habia pensado en eso que triste que somos borregos y siempre estado ciegos de mentiras manipuladas
Wow, what a great read! I loved how much this whole piece really spoke to me. It's something that I, too, have come to notice about life. Those who really succeed are the ones who were willing to go where no one else had gone before, do the things that no one else was willing to do. The people who have the "try it anyway" mindset instead of the "I'm scared to fail so I won't bother trying" mindset that is so prevalent in today's society.
I particularly loved this one:
That's the reason why so many people are afraid to take those chances and take that leap of faith that is necessary to see a project through to the end. We have become conditioned to fear the possibility of failure so much because we are afraid of what others will say about said failures, that we don't even bother trying in the first place.
This part also really struck a chord with me:
I've recently decided to take my feet off solid ground myself and truly invest into Steemit/Steem. I did so by throwing down $100 into Steem Power the other day. I plan on investing more and more periodically because that's how much I believe in this platform and how much I just know that it's really going to explode someday. I was so certain that bitcoin would explode, back in 2011 when I first discovered it. I was right about that, and I know I'll be proved right about Steemit, too.
I'm doing this because I've been working hard at bringing my creative friends from Facebook over into Steemit, and I want them all to see how much I truly believe in this platform, to the point that I am diving in deep and investing my fiat currencies from my labor at my day job, and turning it into Steem Power so that my curation will actually be worth something/mean something to the people whose content I upvote.
I've lost my train of thought now, sorry for leaving such a hefty comment on your post (^_^;)> I definitely enjoyed reading it, though, and if this is the kind of stuff you write all the time, consider me your newest follower!
Bro i dont mean to butt in but i couldnt help myself to say how right you are when you mentioned about how people are so conscious of what other people might say if they fail at something. That fear of being judged and failing cripples many a man. That is such a wrong mindset to have. Id rather fail in a lot of things than to not do anything for fear of being judged. I mean who are they to judge us right? And who says failing is bad? Failing comes with it the lessons and experiences you get that they can never teach us in school. Hell, even the school system itself has already conditioned us to avoid failing and convince our minds that failing is a bad thing.
Thank you for replying to my comment @andywong31! No need to feel like you're butting in, haha, any and all engagement with my comments is not only welcome, but truly appreciated! Thank you for considering my comment worthy of a response, it really means a lot to me! It's true, failure has such a negative stigma in today's society, and people often feel like they will be looked down on if they fail at something that they do/try to do. But nothing in life ever comes without risk, and truly, the best things in life are worth taking that leap of faith!
The most successful businessmen and women are the ones who have failed and failed and failed and kept on going and kept on trying until they found something that stuck. It truly takes that kind of winning mindset to advance and progress in life, and we as a society need to shift away from stigmatizing failure and making people feel inadequate for their failed projects. We need to instead be congratulating the efforts they make and reassuring them that they just need to keep on trying and keep on learning from their failures until they finally accumulate the knowledge and experience they need to really get one of their projects to take off. Failure is a beautiful thing because it can become a catalyst for real success.
Its my pleasure bro! For me, success is the culmination of all the failures a person had gone thru in his endeavor. Rarely can you hear a story of successful people without them experiencing failure at one point or another. Thank you for taking the time to reply on my comment too bro. Appreciate it!
Amen to that! That's why failures should be looked at not as a stopping point, but as a learning point. The key to succeeding is never losing sight of the end goal despite all the failures you might come across on your way to get there :)
Hefty comments are most welcome even though I don't always have the time to answer all with such weight, they are read and appreciated.
I believe that there is a great deal of potential here also and even though I was not part of the original Bitcoin movement, this latest shift with blockchain tech I plan on being a part of. A big part of all of our chances of realising large gains is that the majority look at the volatility and choose not to enter, rather than explore, learn and invest a little bit. I had a lot of fear and the hurdles seemed to large before, now I am a part of it. and looking to keep it driving onward.
Welcome back any time :)
I couldn't agree with you more! My account had been approved for probably a month or more and I never actually made any posts or participated in the community much at first because it all seemed so daunting and I didn't really understand too much about it at first. Then one day I just sat myself down and said, I've been shown this opportunity, I owe it to myself to really explore it and see where it takes me!
So I went and started reading articles and watching YouTube videos on Steemit to really try to learn it all. Then I came on here and finally made my #introduceyourself post and started getting involved in the communities, and WOW this place is amazing!
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to respond to my comment! I really do appreciate the engagement, and I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future!
The best way to learn is to throw yourself into the mix and interact I think. It can be scary though at first as I think the hard part is to find decent people to interact with. There are many out there though. :)
Yes, I agree! It wasn't until I finally got over my initial hesitation to dive into the whole thing, that I finally started to really learn and find cool people to interact with. The folks over at Minnow Support Project have helped me so much :)
@tarazkp Great post, and really great topic! I think 'certainty' and 'security' are simply illusions. We think we are more secure when we are working 9 to 5 jobs but the truth is that when someone else (employer) controls the strings we actually have even less control over our future. I now work as a freelancer but I used to work for a fortune 500 company so I have been on both sides and neither is easier than the other but what I do feel and I may be completely wrong is that there is no such thing as security and certainty. When we least expect it things happen that we never thought would happen, both good and bad and we got to get up and respond to the best of our ability.
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly with you that security is an illusion. I would suggest that it has also been 'hacked' and hijacked as a control mechanism. It is natural for us to look for security (physical) but this system i increasingly used to search for psychological and emotional stability. Once this is the hierarchy in play, it can be manipulated in numerous ways to dictate action and limit our range. The more we take responsibility for ourselves, the less control others have over us.
I feel fortunate that my entire career has been based on contract work and uncertainty. It's given me the freedom to work in different roles, different cities and different countries. In my last "real job" in govt, one of my work colleagues told me that not having a full time permanent job would be one of the most stressful things she could imagine. To me it sounded like torture - not having a fixed end date, meaning I could move on to something else.
Sure, I've had periods of unemployment, but I've always planned for them in advance so it's never been a problem. And I definitely wouldn't be living my dream right now if I didn't have years of all this behind me.
Most people have come to rely heavily on an a 'guaranteed' income even though that guarantee is becoming less and less certain.
I can imagine that you have felt a little bit like me at times though. I have been freelancing the last 15 years and sometimes fantasise about a desk job and then realise how much I actually hate them :)
I agree that everyone has the opportunity to do something different than what they are currently at right now. I guess its just a matter of people having the stugots to do it or they would just rather stay safe. But i dont blame them if they choose the latter. I mean its a given that we humans are creatures of comfort. We like to play it safe. But if we think about it, most successful people are where they are now because they challenge themselves. They are willing to do things that most people wouldnt do because of the uncertainties that comes with it - be it the financial rewards or the ROI for their efforts. Most people are content with doing the things that are proven to work by all the people before us. In reality, people are doing the herd mentality. I understand its the practical thing to do but one should also note that there is also a chance and opportunity for greater rewards by facing and embracing uncertainties. As they say, there are many ways to skin a cat. And that also holds true for finding your success in life.
Indeed, there are many ways to skin a cat and this pathway is unlikely to be suitable for many. It is not that they can't however and for some it is because they don't realise it is a viable option. The herd mentality is part of the reason why there is a huge disparity between those that do and the rest that don't. The only way to really become a billionaire is to provide something for the masses. If there are no masses?
The last paragraph is an almost perfect description of my life. Now at the tender age of 72, I've embarked upon the life of a writer. The artist that does the paintings for my Night Gods series and I are going to self-publish a book. I'm putting my future on the line with this- but I've always (usually out of desperation) been a risk taker!
I think they are likely to be the best thinking years in someone's life as there is the experience of the past, the time in the present and still enough wisdom that the future is still not set in stone. Out of necessity, true creativity is born.
I actually haven't been following you previously but your name has popped up often the last week in my wandering, so I will correct that.
I just started following you as well. Taraz is an interesting name.
It is appreciated.
The name is a Persian word (not really a name) that means ornament. My parents have given us names from all over the place. There is also the Ukrainian name Taras made famous by Yul Brynner in the movie Taras Bulba.
This is a great post I've read this weekend. It is quiet deep and through provoking. I've also tried my hands at freelancing(along with daily job) but I couldn't continue of long. It requires lot of hard work, balancing the priorities, handling the client, timezone issues etc etc. Indeed many of them here on Steemit have similar experience. Thanks for sharing. It was a great read @tarazkp.
II always admired entrepreneurs.... while I also live this life of uncertainity... it's because I hate being fixed in one place (unless that place is in front of my computer)... and I value my freedom.
Recently I went back to writing stories, I'm still not good.. but I hope they deserve reading at least. (will probably put one on steemit soon~)
I think Steemit is a great place to explore various talents and meet up with and learn from others. It also offers a wealth of inspiration too.
yeah, I've already met many great people in my 3 months here...
Thanks for sharing this information, I learnt new level of strength and resilience, surely its up to anyone to rewrite his story. All levels of life are attainable.
You inspire me today
Wow!,much inspiration from this your post..more grace to you @tarazkp
Resteem
that's the spirit !
Willingness to take risk rewards in compound. Again and again throughout the history of mankind, it's a fact that the wealthiest people are entrepreneurs and investors (excluding royalties)!
A wonderful piece indeed. Believing that we should keep on doing the same thing the same way
for eternity is nothing short of the lack of the will to make progress. Moving around the same stone continuously is a clear display of lack of vision at best. The fear of failure will always keep one at the same spot for life. If the only thing ever constant is change, why not try your hands out on something new and give yourself a new definition, and let the world rejoice with you. Failure is not meant to stop you in your track, but to repackage you for something greater and brighter. When you fall, you dust off yourself and get re-positioned for success. Learning is a great thing while focusing on your goal. A fall is only embarrassing when your focus is on others. You are the one with the vision to do something brand new, not they. It is too much to allow others, who do not own your dream, to discourage you. Granted, there are many cynics out there ready to kill a rising spirit. Successful people try and try again until success is achieved. It is those who get to the finish line that shape the world. Not those who give up!
I'll vote for you, comment, you follow me, vote comments. Please.
I will assume you are very new, but these comments don't work and will normally be met with a flag.