So I have a question for you. If you have nothing; your business is gone, you don’t have a job, and the government just took all of your money in taxes; what would most people do? This exact scenario happened to me a month ago, and my parents told me I should get a job.
Naturally, I booked a one-way plane ticket to the other side of the world. Choosing to build a brand new business from a laptop and an internet connection. I am writing this article for you from a café in Granada, Spain; my first time in a foreign country.
My mentors call this Burning the Boats.
When do you stop letting other people’s opinions control you?
When you first make the decision to stop doing things the way most people do things, and the way you’re supposed to do things, virtually everyone you know will try to talk you out of it.
- I faced this as an entrepreneur.
- I faced this when I started to eat a vegan diet.
Once, as a young aspiring entrepreneur, I spent years trying to convince my friends and family that being the entrepreneur was the way to go. That I wanted to quit my job and start my own business.
I had dreams of traveling the world, making passive income, and being able to do all those things my role models are able to do. The more I tried to convince my family about wanting to live this new type of life, the more they resisted. In the beginning, I listened to them.
So my life stayed the same. Life was boring and I felt stuck, wanting something more.
Do you ever face resistance from friends and family when you try to make your own decisions and go off the well-beaten path?
The reason why we face this resistance is because you probably grew up in a family that lived the typical American lifestyle (or whatever country you’re from). Go to school, get a job, mortgage, 1.5 kids, you know the drill.
All of our friends did the same exact thing, so this is what was normal.
What if they just don’t know that there’s a better way?
If you can imagine 99% of society walking down a path through the wilderness, you are the one that wants to break free. You are the one that is getting sick of looking at the same sights day after day.
- This path is safe.
- This path is secure.
- Everyone else in your life is walking the same path as you; so it’s normal.
But you want something more.
You want that excitement and adventure of those who are doing the things you want to do, and you already know that they are the ones who ran off this path. Because they were brave enough to break free from the herd, this is why they are having fun living this new and foreign lifestyle that you’ve never got to experience before.
In this story, they are the ones exploring through the wilderness, far off from the well-beaten path. In your life, they are the ones with the freedom, the cars, the mansions, the money, and the lifestyle.
How do you get to where they are?
Well, as you and I know, if you want to live this life as an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to run off that path, learn how to navigate the wild on your own, and discover what it takes to be the one who makes the decisions in your life.
You have to choose to be strong enough to run off and do the things that you want to do, regardless of how strong the resistance is from others.
But what happens when you take these first steps?
You try to break free from the herd, and every single time that you do, your friends and family try to hold you back.
- They want that safety for you.
- They want that comfort for you.
- They want you to live the life by their standards; not yours.
They tell you that the decision you are making is wrong.
I must admit, this was hardest when it came to my parents’ wishes. My entire life, they were the leaders in my tribe. They made the decisions. They knew what to do when I was sick, when I was lost, and when I had no direction.
Most of my life, I followed their lead because this is what worked for me in the past. But I recently reached a point where their advice not only stopped serving me well; it was holding me back from being the entrepreneur that I wanted to be.
But then a mentor once said to me: “There comes a point in your life where you are faced with a test. Do you continue to be that follower who is pulled along in a direction that isn’t making you happy? Or do you choose to become that leader of your own life who has the courage, strength, and decisiveness to do the things that you want to do, and the things that make you happy?
Nobody is going to ever lead you off this well-beaten path, except people like me who can simply tell you that it’s the right option. The only way you can enter this new life you want to live is to choose to lead yourself. You are a leader.”
What happens if you continue to follow their lead?
If you keep doing the things you’ve been doing, you’ll be marching down this same path your entire life. And then one day you’re going to die.
Fast forward to that day, right now, and look back on your life.
I live for the day I die.
I was once told about a spiritual belief that I’m not a body with a soul, but I’m a soul with a body. When my soul leaves this planet and…wherever it goes, in that moment, literally nothing matters.
In these final moments on Earth, nothing about life ever mattered, except for one thing: The experiences you have along the way.
Those fears and worries are long gone. Those obstacles and speed bumps you once faced don’t matter anymore, because they are gone.
How are you choosing to experience the life that is yours?
When I walked off that well-beaten path, I was faced with the same resistance you are facing right now. Everybody and everything was telling me that the decision I was about to make is the wrong one, and that it would lead to my worst possible fears.
But they were wrong.
When you first choose to be your own leader, you’ll be marching through unfamiliar and uncertain territory. It’s rough, and it’s harsh. That is true.
- But every obstacle and failure you face only makes you stronger.
- When you keep marching forward in your own direction when they say you’re going the wrong way; you build that decisiveness that you need to live the life that you want to live.
And then one day, when you realize that nobody is going to ever take this leap for you, you’ll soon be able to experience this freedom, these amazing experiences, and all the success that is waiting for you on the other side.
When you finally choose to do the things you to do, and have the confidence to tell others that you made your decision; you’ll finally be happy.
Because the only way to truly be successful in this life is to choose to experience it for the way you want to live it.
Because one day you’re going to die; and all those fears that once held you back never even mattered.
Live for the day you die, because that is how you truly get to live.
As I finish this article, I’m about to throw my laptop in my backpack and press forward on my journey through this foreign country. I have no clue where this path will lead me, but it surely beats the alternative.
