This article is going to be short & sweet. The only takeaways I have for you are that regret is poison and life is too short. I've been on cloud nine the past few days because I took the leap and started a small side business. It's something I had been thinking about for the past two weeks prior to December 1st (when I launched). Normally, I would have thought about it, strategized, then thought about it some more. Much like you have for that project or business you've been thinking about for the past year (or five, or ten). But something inevitably always stops us. It's fear of failure, or a myriad of other excuses that says you cannot succeed. But I challenge you to quiet that voice in your head that says you can't do it and just go for it!
The reality is that you're going to die. It's a fact. We all die. Some way too young and some of us live to be 98 years old. If the fact that you're going to die isn't motivation enough to go for it, I'm not sure what will get you to take action. I've read a lot of books and listened to many speakers that all say the same thing. When they speak to the elderly and ask them to reflect on their life, the common denominator is that they all have regret about one thing or another. They wish they traveled. They wish they pursued their dream job instead of sticking to the safe one. The list goes on and on. Gary Vaynerchuk has coined the term "regret is poison." This is something he speaks about throughout many of his videos, YouTube shows, Facebook Lives, and books. Two of his best videos on regret are below.
The reason I decided to jump in and start my business was simple. I did not want to see this opportunity go by and then a year from now have intense regret that I didn't just try. I'd rather fail and know that I tried than have that regret (although I have no plans to fail!). Right now I'm all in on this new venture and I'm going to give it all I've got for it to succeed. If something happens along the way and I change my mind or it turns out that I don't have what it takes, that's fine. I will live happily knowing I tried.
You can do this. Stop thinking. Go for it!
What project or business do you want to start? I'd love to hear in the comments below. Thank you for stopping by!
