Words to live by from one of my favorite and timeless authors. Dr. Seuss may not have realized how often we all need to be reminded of our endless possibilities. We forget that we steer our ship. We are responsible for the direction we take because we are the people who make the choices. Now the choices in front of us may not always be fantastic but we always have a choice.
As someone who has been in business for myself for well over 8 years I know how complex and scary some of the choices are that are put before us as entrepreneurs.
1. Should I bring on a partner or stay solo?
2. Who can I trust? Who should I not trust?
3. Do I need a line of credit or do I get investors?
4. How will I support my family if I lose a client ? To be my own boss or work for someone else?
6. Who’s pitch do I listen to? There are so many.
7. Should I just go back to my corporate life or do I stick it out ?
Choices are boundless. But that is a great thing. That means no matter what we do we have an opportunity to learn from the last choice and then take another step with our feet in our shoes and choose again!
The key is to embrace the fear of the unknown and know you can steer your ship. The key us to be open to opportunities so your choices expand. The key is to use the brains in your head combined with imagination and faith and the know future possibilities are endless.
Take a look at some if the most successful people in history. They steered their ship.
Look up President Abraham Lincoln and you will see how many times he failed before being elected president.
Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star in 1919 because his editor said he “lacked imagination.”
Vera Wang failed to make the 1968 U.S. Olympic figure skating team. Then she became the editor at Vogue, but was passed over for the editor in chief position. She began designing wedding gowns at age 40 and has a business worth over 1 billion.
I look forward to watching you steer your ship or joining you in that adventure! Keep me posted! I will do the same!
You can live your life watching opportunities pass you by, blaming everyone else and every situation you experience as the reason you have not achieved your dreams. Or, you can learn from experience and accept all that happens as one step closer to achieving your dreams. I choose the latter. I control my destiny. That doesn’t mean times have not been tough on this road to being the CEO of me. Of course it has. I would be lying if I told you the last 9 years have been smooth sailing. But what I can tell you is that I have learned to be open to new adventures. I have embraced networking. I assume “no” is a given and I move forward. It will take you sometimes 100 No’s to get one Yes, but when it happens, the feeling of success is so sweet! So if you have dreams of working for yourself then make them a reality. Be prepared to put in the effort because contrary to popular belief success does not happen over night but it does come to those who work every night putting in the effort.
The thought of creating a website, updating a LinkedIn and Facebook profile, starting a newsletter, sending out emails and instant messages-these tasks can be daunting for new business owners. Most people who want to start a new business become paralyzed by the sheer thought of these tasks. For many, getting the word out and landing their first customer seems to be so far into the future, they give up before even starting. DON’T GIVE UP!
Poolhouse CEO 