I wanted to channel my own version of a speech I listened to by Alex Hormozi today regarding incompatible desires, and how to get answers through action.
Choose what you’ve chosen. Commit. Do not sit in indecision. Just look back. You already know it always feels better to get the answer whether it’s the one you hoped for or not.
When you look at other paths you didn’t choose with envy, realize, there are hidden costs, trade-offs, and pain there too (just like with the one you actually chose), and the upside probably isn’t as good as it seems from the outside.
Recognize that you cannot have it all. So many of our internal conflicts could be solved by just accepting that often two things cannot be obtained at once. Focus. You can only truly pursue a path once you have given up the others.
Applying this to my life, logically:
- I cannot have a business with minimal downside (low cost, difficult to mess up, not that bad if I do), that also requires very little work and makes me wealthy.
- I need to choose.. do I want to accept some risk, make some temporary (but serious) work life balance sacrifices until I learn, grow into the leader I need to be, and develop the confidence to hire, delegate, and grow an already established business?
- OR — Do I prefer less risk (perhaps solo-preneurship), but with a likely even harder grind to grow something from nothing, learn from my own mistakes, with fewer resources, etc. I will probably have to work harder, longer, for less in the short run… but I get to choose what I build.
- Can I approach businesses who might be looking to exit, but not yet.. Ask for mentorship.. become a trainee, show my value, and prove my ability to take over.. Maybe I get a better deal via trust? This is lower risk than buying something I’m inexperienced in with limited support. What kinds of businesses would I do this for? Would I be willing to be an employee for some time, or do something for free as a risk partner (marketing, art, etc)
- Do I truly start from scratch.. can be done with little risk (only scale once it’s proven — start minimal), but probably hardest path of all — could enable me to pursue something less traditional, more niche. I get to become the niche.. but I don’t know what value I have to offer. I have to figure that out.