| It's definitely the opportunity cost, like twobyfour said. What if you fail publicly? Who cares. As long as you do not have a big ego, or talk more than you walk (I'm looking at you Theranos). Then nobody is going to judge you. It's 2017, apparently starting your own business and "pivoting" (ie failing) is what all the cool kids are doing. If someone puts you down and blindly says that you are going to fail. Then stop talking to them, and get them out of your life. They are probably too small minded to have a legitimate conversation with anyways. (At least in my experience) What if you go broke? That's fine. How much money does it take for you to be truly happy, with no external influences? For me, I need a workshop, a laptop,the gym, the local library, and my significant other. I can theoretically sustain that lifestyle working a minimum wage job full time. Not being spartan, just minimally comfortable. So if I go broke, I know I have the skills and work ethic to make at least what a full time min wage worker makes per month. So in my mind, money doesn't matter. (This changes a lot if you have kids. On the flip side, if you go broke your kids will have such an enormous respect for money, that they will probably be financially responsible when they are adults. In a really twisted way,you might be doing your kids a favor by going broke. Opportunity cost? This is the real killer. Let's say your 25 years old. You start your company and put 5 years into it. Now your 30. Your business isn't a unicorn, but you didn't explicitly fail. So lets say your making $150k profit a year (non-passive), working 40+/hrs a week. Plus the weight of the business on your shoulders. You look at your buddies working at Google/FB/MS/AMZ, they are pulling in $250k+, working less hours with less stress, and they spend more time with friends and family. Your other buddy wanted to bring you into his early stage business when you were 25, you declined and still struck it out on your own. Your buddy just made a 7+ figure exit. Did you make you make the right choice 5 years ago? This hypothetical question is what keeps me up at night. Here's what scares the hell out of me. Once you lose time, you will NEVER get it back. You are that much closer to being dead. How do I deal with it? Ask yourself this question. Am I happy(but stressed) right now?
If you say yes, then nothing else matters. When I was working for the Fortune 500's, I would look out the window and wish I was working on my own project with my own terms. That's what I'm doing now.
After starting my business,I never for a second, wished I was working for a Fortune 500. I only wanted the Fortune 500 paycheck, not the daily work/routine/office politics. Perspective is an incredibility underrated way to manage stress. |