I had a dream that one day I’d be fabulously successful.
I was either going to own my own business, or I was going to be the CEO of a really big (like, Fortune 10) company. Both would provide dramatically different lifestyles, and the latter would be really challenging to have a family life also (I assumed).
I figured the “own my own business” route was just about impossible, at least to acheive the crazy things I thought I wanted in life. So I did the right stuff to be a CEO of a company… business degree, MBA, solid first job, etc.
Things went well until that day. You know the day I’m talking about – for me it was the week of Friday the 13th, in January of 2006.
I started my job search, which didn’t go well.
I also started this crazy little website called JibberJobber, which was getting favorable reviews from career experts.
Eventually it was obvious that no one wanted to hire me, which made that dream fade quickly (not a fun realization). But people were really interested in JibberJobber… and the dream I thought I could never have, that of owning my own business, and perhaps even building a “better mousetrap,” started to become a reality.
I never imagined that dream could become a reality.
But it did, and I’ve lived the dream for almost three years.
I bet you have a dream. A crazy dream. A dream you put off to become an accountant, perhaps? (or maybe your dream is to become an accountant!)
This evolving economy provides a great opportunity to dust off your old dream, stop thinking of all of the reasons why it won’t work, and start figuring out how to make it work. If you don’t have the guts to do it, read this post.
I give you permission.
I firmly believe that the economic recession will push some people to follow their dream and pursue what interests them most. If you’re not working or your’re on the verge of getting laid off, you might as will think about yourself and what you really want to do. Since companies are laying off people left and right, you might as well pursue what matters most to you.
You always have something positive and motivating to share. You’re also willing to help others by promoting their brand, talking about their endeavors and offering advice.
It’s no wonder that you’re having all the success you dreamed off!
Colin Powell said: “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”. You definitely follow those words.
Congrats to three years!
Your dream is the current beneath your ship. If you steer into that current and follow that dream, it can be amazingly powerful and you go so much faster, and find it more satisfying, than if you fight the current. And it will move you along, if you let go of your fear, your rationalization, and just lt it pull you.
Thanks, Jason, for bringing us this service, and for modelling entreprenuerism!
Thanks Jason and congrats on 3+ years of super posts. “People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.”
Just do it. 🙂
One of the great challenges when we have to unfortunately lay people off is to help them dig up those dreams and turn a negative into a positive. Its a hard job in so many cases where people have hard-wired limiting assumptions.
I actually remind myself of my dream in two ways. First, I have a life plan I review that contains my overall vision – and I tweak it over time as it grows. Secondly, I keep a booklet for brainstorming ideas. So I’m ALWAYS thinking of my dreams now.
Maintaining the presence of your vision is important.