(By the way, the ALL NEW MyBodyTutor website is launching soon…)
I’m going to try to explain why I bought a website.
It’s kind of weird when I think about it in those terms. But it’s something I had to do. Well, I don’t have to do anything. It’s something I need (must!) do. I could have kept my website the way it is and done well. But I’m not interested in doing well.
I’m interested in doing insanely well.
Last week the President of my old fraternity asked me to do an interview for an Entrepreneurship Class he is taking. One of the questions he asked me was ‘How do you define success? What is success to you? Are you successful?’
Without getting all philosophical and telling him my true definition of success I told him success for me entrepreneurially consists of two things:
One: Impact. How many people am I helping? Am I doing something worth doing? Does it matter? If my business went out of business would it be missed? Do my clients appreciate, love and respect my work?
Two: Profitable. Is this making money? After all expenses (insurance, phone, webhosting, advertising, taxes and on and on) is there anything left? (Notice I didn’t include time. I enJOY (actually love) spending time on my business. It is fun for me. It’s thrilling.
So how much do you believe in what you’re doing? The more ‘successful’ I am the more I believe in what I’m doing.
Wrong! No! Not at all! Not even close!
I believed in what I was doing from day one. I believed in what I was doing when I was sitting in my apartment all alone without anyone to help at 4:40 AM. I believed in what I was doing (or going to do) when I was sitting with the HR Lady at Ernst & Young telling her my plans after I gave my two week notice.
And the ultimate belief test came from my mom. “Are you prepared to not have an income?” “Do you understand you will not have insurance after 6 months?” “Do you realize that going out with your friends might not be possible?” “Do you know how many people would kill to have the job you have?” “Why can’t you just appreciate what you have?”
“Do you know and realize and on and on and on and on and on…” (If it were a movie or a TV show it would have been one of those scenes where the questions get faster and faster and the fear builds and builds.)
My mom was relentless, for a long time, but there was nothing she could do. I have been and am fully self-sufficient for a long time.
I asked her why she was so inspirational to her students yet when it came to me she was the complete opposite. “Why did you inspire Terry to go after his dreams but you don’t with me?”
Read this article! (According to Terry, my mom is the one who inspired him to go after his dreams!)
What finally made my mom stop was when I said something like, “Listen, I know you want the best for me and I know you love me to death but I think everything you worry about and fear for me are things you worry about and fear for yourself. I need to do this, I want to do this and I’m going to do this. And I have to do this!”
If you don’t believe in what you’re doing before anyone has any clue about what you do, you’ll never get anyone to believe in you.
If it’s going to take selling products or positive feedback in whatever it is you want to do to reassure yourself of what you’re doing then you don’t truly believe in what you’re doing.
(Sure, it can make you believe a little more but you have to believe a lot from the start! Before anyone else is on board!)
Or else do not bother starting! Because you will never, ever, finish what you started. And you’re better off using your time finding something that you do believe in with every molecule of your body.
And if you don’t believe in what you’re doing when you’re all alone, when your mind tries to demolish your idea and if you don’t WANT to work on your idea, product, business, dream career, dream job and if you aren’t sincerely obsessed with what you’re doing whether you’re making no money at all and getting no positive feedback or making a billion dollars or have million and millions of people pulling for you, you’d never, ever, pick the website over the car.
Adam, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I just wanted to thank you for your passion, dedication, and the commitment it takes to share yourself with the world! I really appreciate how multifaceted your posts are – they are always thought provoking and inspiring.
great post. I forget who said it, but it really is true: the depth of your conviction is more powerful than the height of your knowledge.
That true belief in yourself and your cause is the “it factor” — it’s what separates the people who should succeed from those who ‘shouldn’t’ but do anyways. I’m still trying to find that “it” for me.
Leslie – Thank you so much and I really appreciate your kind words!
Max – Do not give up on finding that “it”! It’s different for everybody. But once you find “it” there will be no stopping you!
It may take a while. “IT” may be working for someone else and joining their mission. Just keep your eyes open though! It’ll happen.
Definitely, the website. For all the reasons you state so well!