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5 Ways To Live Free

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Got a great idea? Then quit trolling the bikini shots on theCHIVE—and turn your concept into a corp.

Recent research  showed that 53% of American adults have seriously considered starting a business. It doesn’t surprise me—it’s a great way to live free—but thinking about it won’t get you there. Being willing to work for it will.

To inspire yourself, you’ve got to rip attitudes from your brain that hold you back. Free yourself by killing off these excuses.

I don’t have the freedom. Freedom is about being true to yourself, following your passion and going after what makes you feel good. Need a steady income? Don’t let that stop you. Start the business while you work in your day job. Skip the CSI reruns or set your Pebble watch to ring at 5 a.m. so you’ll have time.

I’d need to move to Silicon Valley. Bad excuse. There is always money around for a talented team with a good idea. Make the most of technology to start your business from wherever you are—a cafe in Thailand, your car, wherever you happen to be. Customers won’t care if you give them the attention they need. Entrepreneurship is about freedom. Pick up skills to influence, market, design or write and you’ll control where you live. Your employer may be halfway around the world—or the person staring at you in the mirror.

People are dissing my idea. They may have a valid point. Do a factual analysis of what they say. There may be some lessons you can use to make adjustments. Be honest with yourself and focused on truth as you receive the information. Knowing the facts and living on Planet Reality are crucial for winning.

At the same time, you’ve got to move forward if you’re right and the facts agree. Go for it.  People who question your idea may project their own failures onto you and not want you to get hurt. They may be jealous of you and not want you to succeed.  They may have the belief that making money is wrong. Push forward. Surround yourself with people who get it so you stay motivated.

I’d have to be Steve Jobs to pull off my idea. The only way to know is to go on the adventure. You may be better than Steve Jobs in your niche. Don’t buy that you either know entrepreneurship or you don’t. It’s iterative. Steve Jobs kept learning, getting exposed to better brains. He got good at synthesizing what he learned. Even if you don’t have five, six, or seven-figure revenues, it doesn’t mean you’re not an entrepreneur.

I’m out of options. When your inner voice says, "No way, not going to happen,” you need the right comeback. Your rebuttal is the right idea, the right partner, the right financing, the right position where you have flexibility. You’ve got to find the unknown option.

How do you uncover it? Do a forensic analysis. Make a list of all your assets. Can you persuade and influence with integrity? Are you a subject matter expert? Do you have a great product? Go down the list until you’ve considered every asset you can apply to the situation.

Say no to giving up and yes to hanging in there. Do that, search hard and new options will appear. They always exist. Knowing how to find options when they’re hiding will put you ahead of 99.9% of your competitors.

A base jump in a wingsuit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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