How to Take Intelligent Career Risk (and Win Mentoring from Reid Hoffman, Chairman of LinkedIn) 566 Comments
(Photo by graziedavvero)
The following post is co-authored by Ben Casnocha and Reid Hoffman. In the conclusion, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be mentored by both of them.
Ben Casnocha is an award-winning author and serial company-builder, whom BusinessWeek has labeled “one of America’s best young entrepreneurs.” Reid Hoffman is Co-founder and Executive Chairman of LinkedIn, a Partner at iconic venture capital firm Greylock Partners, and #3 on Forbes’ 2012 Midas List. Last but not least, he’s often referred to in Silicon Valley as “The Oracle” for his seemingly prescient start-up-picking abilities…
Ben and Reid are the authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform your Career, which argues that everyone should apply the principles of entrepreneurship to their lives, even if they never plan on starting or running a company.
Enter Ben and Reid
Roll the clock back 15,000 years and play through two scenarios in your mind.
Scenario 1: It’s nearly dusk and you’re sitting on a fallen tree to rest. Suddenly you hear some rustling in the brush behind you. Instinctively, you shoot your head around. Your eyes dart back and forth searching for the source of the noise. It’s quiet for a few moments and you hear your heart pounding in your chest. Unsure what caused the noise, you spring to your feet and decide to run back to safety with the rest of your tribe.
Scenario 2: You’re walking along a dirt trail near the river. Far across the water you see the carcass of a recently killed deer. It could provide several days worth of meals but traversing the river would be arduous and time-consuming. The sun has set and if you misjudge the water depth, you might be swept away and unable to find your way back in the dark. You decide it’s not worth the trek.
Both of these decisions make sense in their own way: If you choose to stay in the woods and the rustling noise is a hungry wolf, you’re dead. If you skip going after the deer carcass, you’re not going to starve. You’ll find other food or another tribe member will. This logic is ingrained in our brain: It’s more costly to miss the sign of a threat than to miss the sign of opportunity.
The world has changed, but our brains have not
We live in a different world than that of our ancestors. We do not sit around fires and wander forests in search of food. Civilization has changed greatly, but our brains have not.
Evolution via natural selection shaped the human brain over millions of years to achieve a simple goal: stay alive long enough to reproduce and raise offspring. As a result, we react faster, stronger, and harder to threats and unpleasantness than to opportunities and pleasures. There’s a red alert in our brain for bad things, but no green alert for equivalently good things. Sticks get our attention and carrots do not, because avoiding sticks is what mattered to staying alive.
Neuropsychologist Rick Hanson sums up this “negativity bias” nicely:
“To keep our ancestors alive, Mother Nature evolved a brain that routinely tricked them into making three mistakes: overestimating threats, underestimating opportunities, and underestimating resources (for dealing with threats and fulfilling opportunities).”
Overestimating risks and avoiding losses is a fine strategy for surviving dangerous environments, but not for thriving in a modern career. When risks aren’t life-threatening, you have to overcome your brain’s disposition to avoid survivable risks. In fact, if you are not actively seeking and creating opportunities—which always contain an element of risk—you are actually exposing yourself to more serious risks in the long term.
What kinds of career risks should you take?
Risk is personal—what might be risky to a friend may not be risky to you. It’s also situational—what may be risky in one situation may not be risky if the circumstances are slightly different. But for anyone and everyone, a risk is good when the possible upside outweighs the possible downside, when the reward justifies the risk.
“All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively.” – Machiavelli
Indeed, risk is an unavoidable constant of life, so your focus should be on taking the right kinds of risks that offer the right kind of opportunity.
The problem is the negativity bias — we tend to exaggerate the riskiness of certain moves and underestimate the opportunities of others. Here are some examples of frequently overstated risks, along with their associated opportunities:
Jobs that pay less in cash but offer tremendous learning.
People focus on easily quantifiable hard assets—like how much they’re getting paid in cash. But soft assets—knowledge, connections, and experiences—matter more when you’re younger. Jobs that offer less cash but more learning are too quickly dismissed as risky.
- Internships
- Apprenticeships
- High-level assistantships
Part-time gigs that are less “stable” than full-time jobs.
Many dismiss part-time gigs and contract work as being inferior to full-time jobs. But in reality, doing contract work is a terrific way to build the skills and relationships that help you pivot into the next opportunity.
- Freelance writing
- Programming
Working with someone with little relevant experience but high learning clock speed.
Fast learners make up for their inexperience in spades. The flip side of inexperience often is hustle, energy, and a willingness to learn.
- Taking a chance on a smart, scrappy person just out of college
- Partnering with someone mid-flight in a career who’s pivoting into a new industry and feeling re-energized by the challenges
An opportunity where the risks are highly publicized.
The more we hear about the downside to something, the more likely we are to overestimate the probability that it will occur (this is why people tend to become more afraid of flying after news of a plane crash is splashed across the headlines). If the media, or people in your industry, talk a lot about the riskiness of a certain job or career path, it probably isn’t as risky as most believe, and that means there’s less competition for landing the opportunity.
- Starting a company
- Working in a high tech industry
Overseas adventures.
International career opportunities involve uncertainty. There may be confusing cultural nuances or low transparency in the government. Spending time in other countries “feels” risky in part because when you’re not from a place, you initially do not understand much of the day-to-day life around you. But the best opportunities are frequently the ones with the most question marks. Don’t let uncertainty lull you into overestimating the risk. As Tim says, “Uncertainty and the prospect of failure can be very scary noises in the shadows. Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.” This is true, and especially worth remembering when contemplating an international adventure.
- Foreign assignment within your company
- Attending a conference or seminar in another country
- Volunteering overseas
In all these opportunities, the worst case scenario tends to be survivable. When the worst case of a given risk means getting fired, losing a little bit of time or money, experiencing some discomfort, etc., it is a risk you should be willing to take. By contrast, if the worst-case scenario is the serious tarnishing of your reputation, or loss of all your economic assets, or something otherwise career-ending, don’t accept that risk. Asking yourself whether you can tolerate the worst case scenario is a quick and dirty way to size up risk in situations where you don’t have much information or time.
How often should you be taking risks?
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you encounter situations of risk often.
Working remotely, say, or self-experimenting with unconventional diets and blood tests. These sort of exploits introduce risk into your life in the way of volatility and uncertainty, but they are not necessarily risky things to do. The risk level doesn’t cross a threshold so as to become irrational. In fact, by pursuing new opportunities like these all the time (and accepting their associated risks), you are actually creating career stability for yourself.
Traditionally, people hold the opposite view. In 2004, two economists estimated the riskiness of working in different industries, according to the consistency of income streams and average unemployment levels of people in those careers. They referred to income fluctuations, including bouts of unemployment, as “shocks.”
By their account, risky careers (more severe shocks) included:
- Business
- Entertainment
- Sales
Non-risky careers (less severe shocks) included:
- Education
- Health care
- Engineering
The risky careers were thought to be more volatile, full of regular risks and issues, and non-risky careers were thought to be more stable. Risk-averse people are teachers, doctors, and lawyers. Risk-takers may be starting companies or trying out on Broadway.
But it’s exactly the opposite.
A low risk career is “stable” in the way a country like Syria or Saudi Arabia is stable. Dictatorships do not allow much day-to-day volatility, but when there is a fire, it can quickly turn into major chaos or even revolution. By contrast, Italy has been dealing with constant political turmoil for centuries, and has experience in responding to unexpected crises. As Joshua Ramo explains, Italy is resilient to dangerous chaos because it has absorbed frequent attacks, like “small, controlled burns in a forest, clearing away just enough underbrush to make [them] invulnerable to a larger fire.”
In the short term, low volatility means stability. Over the long run, however, low volatility leads to increased vulnerability, because it renders the system less resilient to unthinkable external shocks.
This paradox—high short-term risk leads to low long-term risk—holds true for your career.
Fragile careers vs. Resilient careers
IBM, HP, General Motors— stalwart companies that have been around a long time and employ hundreds of thousands of people. At one point in their history, each of these companies had de facto (or even explicit) policies of lifetime employment. They were the stable employers of yesterday.
While today’s employers don’t offer lifetime employment, a handful of industries still offer some semblance of stability: it’s relatively hard to be fired, your salary won’t fluctuate much, and your job responsibilities stay steady. These are the careers generally deemed less risky: government, education, engineering, health care.
But compare someone working full-time in state government to an independent real estate agent. The real estate agent doesn’t know when his next paycheck is coming. He has ups and downs. He has to hustle to build a network of clients and keep up with changes in the market. His income is lumpy, and sporadic big wins (selling a multimillion-dollar home) keep him alive. The government worker, by contrast, gets a steady paycheck and an automatic promotion every couple years. He always eats well . . . until the day comes that government pensions explode or austerity measures wipe out his department. Now he’s screwed. He will starve because, unlike the real estate agent, he has no idea how to deal with the downs.
Or compare a staff editor at a prestigious magazine to a freelance writer. The staff editor enjoys a dependable income stream, regular work, and a built-in network. The freelance writer has to hustle every day for gigs, and some months are better than others. The staff editor is always well fed; the freelance writer goes hungry some days. Then the day comes when print finally dies. The industry crumbles, the magazine folds, and the staff editor gets laid off. Having built up no resilience, he will starve. He’s less equipped to bounce to the next opportunity, whereas the freelance writer has been bouncing around her whole life—she’ll be fine.
So which type of career is riskier over the long run?
Today’s world is full of change and unpredictable disruption. Unless you take frequent, contained risks, you are setting yourself up for a major dislocation at some point in the future. Inoculating yourself to big risks requires taking small, regular risks—it’s like doing controlled burns in a forest. By introducing regular volatility into your career, you make surprise survivable. You gain “the ability to absorb shocks gracefully.” You become resilient as you take risks and pursue opportunities.
Take, for instance, moving to Santiago, Chile for nine months.
I hoped an international living experience (distinct from a travel experience) would jog new sorts of learning and opportunity. I went to Chile with no set plan, no fluency in the language, and never having lived in another country outside of the US. I had butterflies in my stomach when I was packed my bags. There was immense uncertainty. I swallowed through that uncertainty on the faith that the cultural stimulation alone would be worth it, even if my social/professional/linguistic goals weren’t realized.
Looking back now on those nine months, it was an unmatched growth experience for me.
What will be your unmatched growth experience?
Final thoughts from Reid
For my first job after grad school, Apple hired me into their user experience group. Shortly after starting on the job, I learned that product/market fit—the focus of product management—actually mattered more than user experience or design. You can develop great and important user interfaces, and Apple certainly did, but if customers don’t need or want the product, they won’t buy. At Apple, and in most companies, the product/market fit questions fall under the purview of the product management group, not user experience. And because product management is vital in any product organization, work experience in the area tends to lead to more diverse career opportunities.
I attempted to iterate into a product management role within Apple. But the product management jobs required product management experience. It’s a common catch-22: for jobs that require prior experience, how do you get the experience the first time?
My solution: do the job for free on the side. I sought out the head of product management within the eWorld group at Apple and told him I had a few product ideas. I offered to write them up in addition to everything else I was doing, and I did. It was a risk: my boss could have been annoyed I wasn’t focused on my existing responsibilities; given my lack of experience, there was a decent chance the product ideas I wrote up were going to be bad, thus making a bad first impression to product folks within Apple; my youthful proactiveness could have been seen as naïve brashness.
But the risk worked out in the end–I got good feedback on my moonlit product plans, and I ultimately acquired enough experience to land a full-time product management job at Fujitsu after Apple. Of course, not all risks work out—but this story of volunteering-to-do-extra-work sticks with me as a career risk I am very happy I sought out, as it set in motion a series of other key opportunities.
[On one other risk that paid off]
I joined the board of PayPal while I was working at Socialnet, my first company. Normally entrepreneurs are told to maintain extreme focus on their company and day job, so joining a board of another company at the time was a risk. I establishedprotocols with Peter and Max to make sure the PayPal commitment wouldn’t interfere too much with Socialnet – e.g. I promised to them back by midnight if they had questions, which meant discussion in the evening hours, not 9-5 normal workday hours. As it turned out, Socialnet was soon to be winding down operations so I pivoted to work at PayPal full-time in January, 2000. The board position risk proved wise in hindsight because, in addition to being a learning opportunity in its own right, it set me up for a full pivot to Plan B. In other words, the PayPal side-project risk meant I traded down on focus in exchange for a broader set of learnings and increased mobility for my next career move.
4 keys to becoming a more resilient, intelligent risk taker
1. Remember your negativity bias will cause you to exaggerate your evaluation of certain risks. Whatever it is you’re thinking about doing, there’s probably not as much risk involved as you think.
2. Identify—and take on—risks that are acceptable to you, but that other people tend to avoid. Are you okay having less money in savings and taking a low-paying but high-learning job? Or maybe a month-to-month employment contract as opposed to something longer term? Go find a project with these sorts of risks. It will differentiate you from others.
3. Say “yes” more. What would happen if you defaulted to “yes” for a full day? A full week? If you say yes to the conference invite you were tempted to skip, might you overhear a comment that ignites your imagination for a new business or new research or a new relationship? Perhaps. Might it also lead to some dead ends, mishaps, and wasted time? Sure. But trying new, small things every day introduces regular risks that, over time, build up your resilience to big disruptions.
4. Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment on this post, introduce yourself, and tell us:
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
We’ll select the person who leaves the most thoughtful comment no later than 5pm PST, June 21 (Thursday), and personally invest in making that person’s next career move successful.
Here’s what we can offer:
- Over email and in a 30-minute phone call, we’ll suggest relevant opportunities, key people to meet, and provide motivational support. The initial 30-minute call will be with me (Ben), and the follow-up emails will include Reid.
- Two signed copies of The Start-Up of You.
- Your story will be highlighted in our LinkedIn Group.
- Free Linkedin Premium subscription
Think of this as a personalized high-impact session on how to take your next best step by embracing (or creating) the right types of risk.
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Odds and Ends: App Contest Winner
Chad Mureta has chosen the winner of the app contest in his previous how-to post on building an app empire. Thanks to all for your submissions! Here’s his announcement:
The winner of the contest is Alex Kourkoulas. His app idea: “Legend: Put meme-like captions on your photos and share them with friends.”
Our top two favorite runner-ups:
Dina S. Her app: “Teacher Text: Quick, easy SMS communication with teachers. Students can text questions about homework, quizzes, tests, or class projects. Students can also register to receive texts containing project or assignment details, due dates, quiz & text reminders, resources, class announcements, etc. No personal phone numbers would be displayed within the app, just usernames. Teachers can add and group students based on their class period, allowing for easy group texts of vital class-related information. Parents can register to receive a copy of all texts sent and received, allowing them to stay in the loop.”
Bill Rosado. His app: “Phone Home: Automatic calling/texting a designated number when the phone arrives at a predetermined destination. Great for teenagers or elderly parents!:”
Posted on June 14th, 2012
566 Comments
Anthony — June 14th, 2012, 6:33 pm
I load up Tim’s blog to send a design suggestion to a graphic artist … and I get first comment?
(crosses fingers and toes)
– Anthony
PS – that recent Buffett post kicked ass Tim.
Graham — June 14th, 2012, 7:41 pm
Jeally.
zula — June 17th, 2012, 8:07 pm
Since 2 years ago i’ve graduated from university..and tilll know idon’t have any job to do…iam joblees..but iknow that’s my streght because i was not bound by some job.As ive is free.ican do anything what i want to do…basketball training..power lifting…write novels..and esspecially thingking about new career in bisnis.Because i don’t have any money i just thingking about start up bisnis with little needed of investment…like make organic compost..it is free and if talk about risk..there is no risk because i’m joblees..if you joblees make that to be your streght..because you can do anything what you want..no resist…and having fun everyday with your own project
Cyrus — June 18th, 2012, 4:35 pm
Brillant article, I just discovered the 4HWW book two weeks ago and it has already changed my life. I’ve just started reading this blog and love the many ideas on it.
I’ve taken some risk on and moved to Shanghai, China 5 years ago to begin my career as a golf professional. I’ve been teaching golf to the Chinese for the past 5 seasons and have built up a good clientele. I’ve learned the language and culture but now have a strong desire to take a bigger risk and bring it to the next level.
I want to begin to diversify my career as only a “golf instructor” and become an author writing a golf instructional book targeted to the Mainland Chinese market. I want to then parallel the success of this book into developing my own golf company in China, establishing academies and performing golf clinics throughout the entire country. Finally I want to establish a golf link between China and my home country (US) promoting golf between the two countries with travel trips, summer camps, etc…
In addition to my golf career I want to continue writing on my travel blog, establishing myself as a travel expert and one day work free lance publishing travel articles in my spare time.
Josh H. — June 21st, 2012, 5:07 am
I’m a third year college student and I’ve come to accept the fact that I suck at doing anything that I don’t want to do, and I’m usually good at whatever I’m interested in.
I can’t work a 9 to 5. I’m not capable of doing that well. I can work consistent 15 hour days in anything that interests me because it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like fun; and fun is not mentally draining.
I’ve recently become obsessed with getting an developing android and iOS apps but really, I just want a source of money that doesn’t stop me from living my life. At some point in my life, I want to work as a hair stylist, programmer for google, bartender, venture capitalist, writer, marketer, news reporter… I basically want to try my hand at everything I’ve ever found interesting on a quest to find my passion.
“Life only avails, not the having lived. Power ceases in the instant of repose; it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state, in the shooting of the gulf, in the darting to an aim.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Harry Guinness — June 14th, 2012, 6:42 pm
My risk, starting my own company! In the next few weeks I’m launching our first product along with Bawdy Zebra itself. I have four products lined up for release this year, the first one is finishing development at the moment (I should be doing that, not posting here!), the second two are going into development in July and the final one is in development for a Christmas release. Exciting times! This really is make it or break it (temporarily).
How am I thinking about the risk? Well for me the risk is odd, Bawdy Zebra hasn’t taken much to create financially. Time and effort – but not too much cold hard cash. Unless something goes drastically wrong and my digital product kills someone, my financial risk is entirely manageable. More pertinent is my fear of what happens if I fail. I’m at the point where it’s very very easy for me to take risks with businesses and ventures; I’ve taken four major risks in as many years. However, this isn’t going to continue, the longer I remain taking risks without success, the more likely I am to end up in a position where I cannot take risks. In a strange sense, my fear is that if Bawdy Zebra fails, I will no longer be able to take risks because I’ll have to cave and do something boring and reliable. So yeah, not too scared of taking risks, I’m scared of not taking risks.
George Mihaly — June 14th, 2012, 6:43 pm
Hi, I’m George. 25, Degree in Economics, living in Portland, OR, selling tea part time, promoting a chip company and chocolate company part time, and creating videos and practicing handstands in my free time
-I will to do less of the work that is a means to an end and focus on the work that that gets me excited to wake up. My decision on what to do comes from asking the question “Is this activity in someway enhancing my abilities to create the future conditions that I desire?”
-The risk involved in this move does not create an un-repairable worst case scenario, therefore it is a risk worth taking. Not working for works sake (sorry for sounding like a broken record..:) will allow me to give an idea the execution it deserves.
Thanks for the inspiring article. -George
Graham — June 14th, 2012, 7:43 pm
I love this! “Is this activity in someway enhancing my abilities to create the future conditions that I desire?”
Am I just trading time for dollars or am I getting some greater value out of my input of time. Great thing to think about.
Michael Gonzalez — June 14th, 2012, 6:44 pm
I dropped by the book store today to pick this book up. Learning is what people for get when they start working in there careers. Never stop being hungry for new workable knowledge. Fanatic post…..
M Donk — June 14th, 2012, 6:50 pm
Risk is a constant. I’m not talking about risk always being around, I’m talking about how we all accept a constant amount of risk.
If the risk is too high, we avoid the behaviour. If it’s too low, we find something more risky or increase the risk. This is of course a completly personal level of risk. A free solo rock climber accepts a certain amount of risk that others never would (myself included) – they do so to keep their risk at a constant level and keep climbing more and more difficult surfaces. But with more difficult climbs, their risk remains the same because their skill has increased.
This risk is constant with investments, travel, learning, jobs and everything else in life. It’s our skills and abilities that vary on context, not the risk we’re willing to accept…
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 6:29 pm
@ M Donk: Yes, risk is both personal and situational. What may be risky to you or me — scaling a tough mountain — may not be risky to a professional rock climber. So nothing can be called “risky” in an absolute sense; it’s always relative to the person and situation involved.
Tommy McDonald — June 15th, 2012, 7:14 pm
@Ben : Tonight daredevil Nik Wallenda will be crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope, secured by a harness only at the insistence of event sponsors. Any way you look at it, the endeavor is risky, be you an amateur or a professional. Think about it – if it weren’t risky to the pro, why would he even dare it?
Sure, in the broad philosophical sense, there may be no absolutes (or as Tim likes to say, “reality is negotiable”), but this does not legitimatize circular reasoning to say that risk is always relative. Risk is a reality and should be evaluated realistically using reason and evidence.
David Ngo — June 14th, 2012, 6:56 pm
I want to change my focus from looking at high level things (business model, deployment strategy, etc) and focus on coding front end. This is for my own trip that I’m founding with two friends. One of our biggest goals for this startup is to be able to retire out parents within the next 2 years.
The risks going through my mind is: I’m suppose to be CEO, have an eye on everything but right now it doesn’t feel fulfilling enough. I feel like I should be on the battle ground. On the grounds building our product together. Im more of a fuzzy than I am a techy. Coding scared the shit out of me before but it’s gotten better. I’m not afraid anymore. Im just sucking… For now. I’m afraid by focusing on the nitty gritty, I’ll lose my ability to be creative and create awesome ideas:).
Rob — June 14th, 2012, 6:57 pm
Thanks for the post gent’s. I felt a bit sceptical about high risk-short term = low risk-long term, but it does make sense. Comparing it to a country would suggest China is going to have a big explosion at some point in the future too, a Tiananmen Square on a larger scale maybe.
I’ve got an ever growing long term to-do list, and one that’s been sat there a while is getting a new website started (I have 3 ideas, 2 already have URLs) but I’ve not made a move as it’s risky.
The risk is I am also studying for my degree which I’ve fallen behind on and it’s currently got my priority as well as needing to upkeep my travel blog which although I’ve raised from 850k Alexa rank to 170k in a couple of weeks, is also getting a bit rejected and not generating as much income as it used too, hence the need to diversify.
Help!
Nate Desmond — June 14th, 2012, 6:59 pm
I am currently working as an accounting clerk for a medium-sized startup while finishing my bachelor’s degree remotely. This month has been a big month of change for me as I am looking into a project management position in the agile programming world. While this would be a fairly major career change, I think it will give me valuable experience to be familiar with both the accounting and programming disciplines, and I am excited for the challenge.
I would be thrilled to get advice from the two of you and also from anyone in the programming world.
Majid Hashemi — June 14th, 2012, 6:59 pm
This article hit home. It’s been two years living on contract to contract basis, or on a quarterly basis, not just with one client, but several. The used techniques I learned in my Vipassana meditation course to overcome the anxiety I experienced nearing my roll-off dates, especially when I decided to buy a home without financial foresight. I had faith in the thought that if I remained strong in my present state, it’ll pave the path in to my future state, which would be as prosperous, or more than my current state. This was the mantra I repeated to myself.
I validated my faith by journaling my feelings. Whenever I felt anxiety, my meetings would conflict, creativity would seize. The future didn’t look promising. But in a matter of hours (talk about being bi-polar), I cleared my mind by going on spirited motorcycle rides and immediatly after, doing something artful. I would produce good creative, either for the client, or for myself. When that occurred, the anxiety would fade, and I my promises would be delivered to my clients and the clients would offer more projects, a handful at a time, actually
The best way I could describe my behaviour, is as “fluid”. Rarely I would say no, or rarely I would say yes, I would simply agree, and say perhaps. I would go back to white board an design UI, a workflow, and deliver the iteration. This allowed me to have multiple contracts, and be in two places at once (from a virtual office).
I am writing this message from my new home, 4mths into my mortgage and I feel good about the future! I get consulting offers at least once a week via Linkedin.
Matt B — June 14th, 2012, 7:03 pm
I have seen too many honest businesses and people suffering because of the crisis. I want to start an exchange traded fund (as opposed to a hedge fund, which is only accessible to the rich) that protects people from global downturns like the current one. Ideally this would be available to the Australasian market as we are very vulnerable to what happens in major markets like the US, EU and China.
Christian Fager — June 14th, 2012, 7:08 pm
My risk was just taken. Having two apps developed for iPhone after seeing an opportunity. Will be getting out of the military in less than a year, and stretched myself to the limit knowing it puts me in a vulnerable position financially.
How am I thinking of the risk?
It doesn’t matter that much if I lost 10k or 10mil because I can recover from it, and just have to make sure I improve myself from it.
P.S. The first one will be on the App Store in about 3 weeks.
Trae Baker — June 14th, 2012, 7:09 pm
Without too much “fluff” the biggest change I am seeking to make in my career currently is growth. I have been in my current role for a little over a year now, and really feel that I have gotten all that I can out of it. Everyday I do the same thing, and there is no real challenges that I face on a day to day basis, this frustrates me.
I’m actually pretty unsure what my next move is going to be though. I have been taking online courses for SQL because the foundation of my companies software is SQL, and I was hoping to get an opportunity with our data team with this knowledge as well as some freelance opportunities outside of my company. But, as soon as the course I completed was over a job became available that seemed to fit perfect with what I have been working on. However, they deemed that I was not qualified for that role because I did not have an IT degree.
In addition to this a past job that I applied for as recently been opened. The only thing with this job is that it is completely unrelated to what I have been working on, and is in sales. I’m not sure how this move from one end of the spectrum to the other will be viewed within my company, or if anyone has even noticed. Another side note a recent former colleague of mine took a job in Charleston, SC roughly two months ago. He loves and has been asking me to apply to a position down there but I have yet to pull the trigger. The biggest issue I have is that I have a lot of student loan debt and I’m not sure I can afford the cost of relocating, but I think my biggest issue on this one is just that I am being a wus.
Thanks for reading this I hope to hear back from ya’ll would love to get some more specific insight on the stuff that I am doing, but finding it hard to fit in this one comment box.
Brad — June 14th, 2012, 7:11 pm
Hi all! My name’s Brad and I’m from Perth, Western Australia. I’ve been playing around with technology my whole life, right from when I was 5 coding my first game on the Atari ST until now at 30 I find myself in an advertising agency running the digital strategy team. I have no formal qualifications and am entirely self-taught and am earning unbelievable money based on that.
The thing is though, I’ve never taken a serious risk in my career. I love technology, but I’m in a tiny market. I know I should branch out and move out of this City but I’m comfortable.
I have the skills and the curiosity and passion required to be successful in this field and in business but I just can’t seem to take the leap. I have a negativity bias.
My goal is to start an App development company. I have 2 apps launched (Perth Zoo App and CSBP Insights) both for clients and loved the experience. Check them out if you have the time.
I have a list of about 60 app and start up ideas and I just need a little push to get started. Thanks for your time!
Brad
John — June 15th, 2012, 6:51 am
Brad – I am in the same boat as you, I am in a market in the U.S. with the goal of putting together a creative team for App Development and Starups. I’m not sure how or where to get started.
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 6:43 pm
@Brad – Cool to hear you’re thinking about how you can take more risk and perhaps turn your side project of app development into a full-time thing. You might think about how whether there are app developers / entrepreneurs in your professional network — and, if not, how you can develop more relationships with people who are taking the risk you’re thinking about. Your network can give you the nudge you need, as well as guide you on specific next steps.
Gavin Williams — June 18th, 2012, 7:46 am
@BenCasnocha I’ve reached out to Brad as we are in the same city and potentially the same boat. 1+1 = greater than 2.
p.s. very much looking forward to reading the book. I wholeheartedly agree that now more than ever an entrepreneurial approach needs to be applied to career development.
Thanks..
Gavin Williams — June 18th, 2012, 6:44 pm
Hi Brad, my name is Gavin Williams, I’m the Career Advisor at the Emirates Western Force rugby team here in Perth. I’d love to chat over coffee. I think we could be on the same wavelength given I’m into tech and about to launch my first app.
Can you please get in touch with me via LinkedIn.
I’d love to help you with your career development.
Brian Roberts — June 14th, 2012, 7:13 pm
Presently I am a 20 year old part-time sales associate at Best Buy whom made the decision to forgo college and any aspirations of landing a “steady job”. I always felt that my goals would not be reached nor my ambitions satisfied any sooner with the attainment of such things.
In the simplest terms: I always wanted more then what conventional wisdom offered and I didn’t want to wait until I was old, grey, decrepit and in a wheel chair to get it. I heard all of the objections from friends and family ad nauseam yet still have kept calm and carried on – never losing sight of my end game.
My intention with Best Buy upon employment about 5 months ago were simple: infiltrate the organization from the inside, figure out whom all the key decision makers are (ie: those whom can write a check for the value I offer) and transition from a regular, hourly sales associate to a contracted consultant, speaker and trainer with the company. You know: travel around from store to store across the United States, help improve company performance and employee moral all the while making a name for myself and earning a commensurate return considering the one I provide. A real “quid pro quo”.
They would be my first credible, large client and from there I would be able to transition to other large companies doing speaking and consulting. I love helping folks and this was my plan. That, write books and ultimately: establish credibility in the marketplace.
However, the road has been filled with quite a lot of obstacles – many of which I did not anticipate would be there considering my point of origin (coming from the inside then up versus the outside in). To sum it up plainly: despite my emails, phone calls, outstanding sales performance and insistence I am getting no where.
The plan now? To either find a way to do the former with Best Buy or leave the organization and pursue such work elsewhere. Keep in mind: I have no fancy initials after my name but I do know I have tremendous value to offer.
Ben. Reid.
Lend me a hand.
Joel — June 14th, 2012, 7:21 pm
There is a definite “call to YOUR action at the end”
——————
In the last few years, I realize many many things. For the past 6-7 years, I’ve been wanting to start web projects and startups and always fell in the same traps: procrastination, never-ending organization & planning, doing ALL myself because I thought it would be easy and waiting for everything to be perfect before launching. What happened? Well, I never launched anything and had to continue build websites for small & medium interprise in my city to make some money, which I again did everything alone: cold calls, finding contacts & references, selling, marketing, my own websites, business card design + print, programming, wireframing, graphic design and CSS & HTML coding.
Although I consider myself good in certain of those things, I hate it. Then while reading Tim Ferriss 4HWW, 100+ Mixergy interviews of successful entrepreneurs and many books on self-improvement, it finally slowly and slowly ‘clicked’ in my head:
1- I need to surround myself with great, positive minded entrepreneurs with tons of drive. Right now, although my friends are great, I feel that whatever I say nobody understand… They’re just not entrepreneur and I seem to be trying to nudge them to think like such but they’re not: I’m wasting my time and annoying them!
2- hire people and delegate MUCH more before I drive myself insane (80 hrs/week) with low revenues
3- and very recently: focus on my strenghs. God, that one took me time to understand and grasp. I was always trying to know everything in every domain thinking I would, somehow, someday know a lot and cool down and take it easy. It does not, the more things you learn, the more average you are at everything and less focus you have for what you rock.
Now that’s the key point I got: my biggest, biggest strengh is that I have an -endless- flow of ideas. Great ideas. Ideas that works (tested and proven on my clients websites). And when they don’t work, well I analyse, check, double-test, and go on until I get it to work. I have so much ideas in fact that it gives me trouble sleeping, because I wake up every 15 minutes to write down a new idea for whatever customer or project I’m working on. What’s amazing is that it’s actually effortless for me: ideas just pop out of nowhere.
So I thought: “What is it that’d be REALLY awsome, that I would wake up and be amazingly happy to do and that I’d actually be good at doing, working on a real strengh and (here’s the important part:) ONLY work on that strengh?”
The answer: Website consulting for innovative companies, web 2.0 websites, high-traffic blogs like Tim’s 4HWW and Mixergy, etc.
Here’s my risk part:
So 2 weeks ago, after listening to the 100 Andrew Warner free podcast from itunes (Mixergy.com), I subscribed to get the 600 others and noticed something: his website has SO much potential it’s freakinly amazing. I believe Andrew is simply the best interviewer I’ve ever seen, because he doesn’t get carried away by the guess success, he ask the right questions, etc. He’s amazing and his interviews quality are -outstanding- BUT his website is really bad.
It’s beautiful, but this is a content website… with courses (premium $$) and if I’m a blogger or popular website owner, I can’t find the content I want at all… So I don’t stay… or pay. And mostly it lacks a clear AIDA design: Attraction, Interest, Desire, Action that could be easily achieved. No access to the content = don’t know it’s there = no sales.
So anyway, I prepare a long email with pictures with arrows and examples and a list of amazing ideas and send it directly to him with no expectations (at least a ‘thanks, I’ll take a look’). But nothing. In the meanwhile, I continue working on other projects and keep having new ideas for his website so I send a second email the next week with the new ideas. Still no anwser. I send the same email to his employees hoping for the best, and no answer either. Then I set to find his personnal phone number which I find and I call him 3 times, each time getting the message saying he doesn’t anwser his phone…
So anyway, in the meanwhile, he finally reply one of my email saying he doesn’t have the time to read too many email, just send it to my employees…
****************************
So here’s my call to action:
****************************
I believe my ideas for his site are amazing. If they’re not, I’ll work until they are. And I’d like to do my first consultation & management of the easy, incremental changes I want to propose him to improve conversion, access to content and raise in a major way his sales.
Although I can program everything myself I have no interest in doing so (not my strenght), what I want is get the best ideas, TEST them, then improve them. I believe I can DOUBLE his sales with those changes (in part because there is SO much opportunity on his site)
>>>>> BUT I NEED YOUR HELP: Does anyone KNOWS Andrew enough to HELP ME get in CONTACT WITH HIM to work FREE for a month on improving his site in the most incremental and safest way for his customers as possible. I will work FREE until I DOUBLE his sales, it’s that simple.
If someone is ready to help me, I have prepare a case study to convince Andrew with screenshots, comparaisons, split testing cases, etc that I could send to you to ask for your opinion, and forward to Andrew.
What’s in there for me? Well, if I get to work with him and really improve his sales, then:
1- that could make an AMAZING 1rst CASE STUDY for my new consulting business.
2- He’s interviewed 700 high profile guests and it would be amazing to help them after, adding value to their site.
3- It would allow me to FINALLY surround myself with amazing, talented, positive, entrepreneurs
4- It would allow me to travel
5- I would LOVE it
6- I’m a thinker, this is what I want to do
CAN YOU HELP ME AND GIVE ME A PUSH FORWARD?
Thanks a lot to all
Joel
Graeme — June 14th, 2012, 7:23 pm
Ben and Reid,
Do you guys read Nassim Taleb. This mirrors his philosopy, and it’s very readable and practical. I’ve shared it in many places; I’ve never seen one article so clearly state what I’ve been trying to do since leaving law school.
I’ll get to my 30-60 day change, but first some background – the near term change is a culmination of the past year and a half.
I left law in December 2010 without a plan – seemed less risky than continuing with a career I didn’t want. All I knew is that I was good at teaching people the LSAT, and that I could probably make some money off that.
Every step of the way, I took the sorts of risks you’re talking about. For instance, I said “yes” to writing some LSAT explanations, even though there was no short term benefit. The downside was low. When the early numbers justified it, I kept on writing for six months, with very little short term income. I could see the long run value.
No one understood at the time, but now that I make a decent income in royalties, people understand.
I’ve used this income to forego work in the short term and invest in new skills. I’ve been learning computer programming since January.
In the next several weeks, I’m going to launch a webapp to help people learn LSAT logic. I’ll be able to find early users because I am the new moderator of http://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT – a subreddit I restarted two weeks ago, and am continuing to grow.
There are no certain gains to starting an LSAT subreddit, or making an LSAT webapp. But there are no downsides, either, and the upside potential is huge.
As an anonymous internet commentator put it, I am investing my time, rather than spending it. The start was difficult, but things have been getting easier with each passing month as the seeds I planted grow ready to harvest.
In short, I aggressively managed my downside risk, and exposed myself to as many events with large upsides as I could. Enough of them have paid off.
Like Reid, my worst case scenario keeps getting better as well. If my app doesn’t provide me with a full income, I can now take a programming job, and get paid to improve my knowledge. I already have one lined up for September.
Thank you for writing this excellent article,
Graeme
TLDR: In the next several weeks I will forego income to launch an LSAT webapp. Might amount to nothing, but there’s no risk beyond that. Could turn into something great.
Jon — June 15th, 2012, 5:06 am
Yes, this post needs a big NNT stamp all over it.
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 7:00 pm
@Graeme – Great story, and love your distinction between “investing” your time and “spending” your time.
@Jon – We cite Taleb in the book itself (where there’s a more in-depth discussion of these ideas). Taleb, among others, has commented on these themes, but we were more influenced by Ramo’s discussion of resilience, which is why he’s cited/linked to in this particular blog post.
Robert — June 14th, 2012, 7:40 pm
Hello, my name is Robert, a young biologist working for the Japanese government. I’ve been here for two years, and the first year was very difficult. I love my job now–I am organizing an international DNA design contest this summer–but my government contract expires immediately afterwards. The prospects in Academia look pretty bleak right now, though I would be happy living either in America or Asia. So I am thinking about either (a) start a company here in Japan designing ornamental transgenic plants (b) freelance writing grants (c) searching for big industry jobs in America as I have no idea how to go about that here or (d) sell all my stuff and live on an island and learn to surf, then crash with friends in San Francisco next winter until I find something. So many possibilities make it difficult to recognize the real oppurtunities, thanks!
Graham — June 14th, 2012, 7:41 pm
Some smart dude once told me to ask myself “what’s the worst that can happen?” and if you can live with that consequence, do the thing you want to do!
I’ve been back in school and working at a job that pays very little but is flexible enough to let me follow my dreams! It’s totally worth it!
Kristina Trew — June 14th, 2012, 7:41 pm
Hello! My name is Kristina. I’ve never posted a comment on Tim’s blog, although I do read most of his posts, except for the body posts (not much into that). But, after reading this article and Tim’s last post featuring Derek Sivers (and his blog) I have decided to post a comment. You see, I am trying to say YES, where I would normally say no. When this post ended with a call to post something, I said NO, I am not going to post. But, I reminded myself that I am saying YES now. This is a risk for me, and I plan to YES, where I would normally say NO for the next few months and see where that leads me.
As far as the career move goes, I have no idea of what risk I could take. I have a small shop on etsy where I sell vintage, upcycled home decor and bohemian style decorative pillows. I’ve been working on some new designs of my own to create and sell. Maybe I could try that? I do fear that no one will buy my designs or they might come off as amateur or not well made. My worst case scenario is that I make these items and they won’t sell. The worst thing that could happen is that I lose money on the supplies and my labor to try these ideas out. My best case scenario is that people like them and they sell. I believe I should take this risk, I have nothing to lose in doing so, only embarrassment and time wasted if I fail.
Kristina
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 7:04 pm
Kristina,
Saying “yes” is a great default for generating more opportunities in life! Check out our post on Eric Schmidt’s recent commencement speech on why saying yes is starting point of most good things: http://lnkd.in/49tKE6
Orge — June 21st, 2012, 5:31 pm
Hi Ben,
Great article. I’m replying to your post because I have posted three times, well within the 5 PST limit, but it seems to get erased. Other than a tad long, I don’t think is bannable. Here it is:
Thought provoking article.
In short, this is a comment about breaking away from the certainty of a career in law and, by offering FREE labor, get a high level assistantship with a tech or marketing company.
When I think of risk, I think of when man first discovered fire. What was that like? What was it like approaching it? Something so frightful and dangerous. Fear of taking risks is like that fire: small and managable can give warmth and help you posper, yet once too big, can paralyze you from concern of getting too close, or if too close, burn you to death.
Starting this comment with fire is my risky “choice” to embrace that fire, to risk, get noticed and matter, or blend in and die irrelevant. The choice is in all of us. Except that in this brand new world of ours, as The Startup of You suggests, taking risks is a choice no more. It’s a necessity. A necessity stemming from the need to stand out, to push past the crowd, the business as usual, the 9 to 5 for 9 to 5′s sake, to be part of this tribe of early adopters, to dare to be different. It’s a necessity because in a flat world of ever decreasing entry barriers, anyone can be the same. It’s a necessity because this flat, unbound world is not much different from a blog article like Ben and Reid’s, with a sea of comments, where all you see is the sea and not the individual water-like comment molecules that make it.
In essence, what The Startup of You suggests is that while taking a risk with one’s career will not eliminate risk itself (after all, it’s systemic), it might just be the best insurance from irrelevance, because deep down, we want our existence and our life product to matter.
The most fundamental question you can ask about anyone or anything under the Sun (be it an action, event, product, business, non-profit, person, idea or risk) is: does it (s/he) matter? The Startup of You helps so that you may answer that question for your own life with a resounding YES.
Here is how I want to matter, what I want from you Ben and Reid, and what I’m willing to do for it:
I want an in-house assistantship with a high-level entrepreneur, preferably in a tech or marketing company. And, Ben and Reid, since you are trying to help me, the least I can do is make it as effortless as I can for you to reach your goal. While I realize there is no such thing as a free lunch, I can get as close to it as possible by working for free, working a lot, while requiring virtually nothing.
I will work for free. I have 14,916 dollars and 58 cents saved in the bank and will work for free for as long as that money will last (and trust me, I can make it last). Getting paid would be great, but I’m not planning on it, as experiential knowledge and having the chance to learn from a great mentor is infinitely more important.
I will work a lot. While the proverbial “nothing was handed down to me” applies, examples might prove more helpful. First, because my parents could not afford to send me to college, i worked full-time while going to school full-time, graduating debt free. Also, 60 hour weeks were a common occurence building a Wall St trading firm, but just as common were the 100 hr weeks during its last dying breaths in the peak of the Great Recession.
I don’t need much. Phrases like “company perks” and “during business hours” don’t apply to me for I am hungry and I am humble. I don’t need a company computer, personal office, fancy title, job description or relocation package. I will do what needs to be done, and if that means having to clean the floor, I will do that too.
Finally, I dont need to be babysat. Having sat on both sides of the hiring table, I deeply understand the management-employee relationship, what it means to “own a problem,” and believe that a good attitude is at the center of the work universe.
What I am giving up?
The two main risks we take seem to be either forced (surviving) or deliberate (thriving). One grows out of scarcity thinking and the necessity to meet our immediate needs – e.g. old company downsized so now one searches for a new job, even in a different industry. This type of risk is no risk at all because the alternative (the jobless status quo) sucks.
Thriving, deliberate risk is true risk, not born of necessity and as you note, innitially appearing as a worse alternative to the comfort of the current status quo. I’d like to think the risk I’m taking is a deliberate one.
I just graduated from law school and have a good law job lined up. In short, by taking the above proposed “risky” path, I risk forgoing and likely “will” forgo financial safety, prestige, giving up the savings I have accumulated, leaving behind the certainty and comfort of the environment and people I have known, or just looking foolish in general.
I also have a big fear of screwing up and making both you Ben and Reid look bad for recommending me (I have yet to make a recommender look bad, but maybe it’s because I am so afraid of it
While, by living the comfort of law, I will risk a lot of external, safety oriented things, what I will not risk is what drew me to law in the first place, the ability to analyze problems and manage the risk in each. When I think of lawyers, I think of risk management machines, looking at the downside, costs and flaws, always analyzing them more than any potential benefits. Just as the sole function of a speed governor in a car is not to let you go past that speed of no return, it is the job of a lawyer to manage and calculate risk for a living.
As a side note, as i started to write this comment, my risk governor kicked in, calculating the risks of writing this comment and the trade-off between the highly uncertain rewards of winning a contest and the dead sure sunk costs of lost time. I actively had to shut up the lizzard brain that was whispering ”shouldn’t you be studying for the bar”?
Here are some things I think I’m good at and that you might find useful when trying to help me:
* Sales
I started selling when I was 9 years old in my home country out of necessity, when both of my parents were let go of their jobs because of their political beliefs, starting as an ambulant seller of chocolates, chewing gum and tabbacco, and progressing to a flea market business of shoes, buckets and silk flowers that my whole family continued operating for 8 years. Best thing that ever happened to me.
I sold ballroom dance lesson programs – to the extent that one of my students casually observed she had spent more in buying dance lessons from me than she had spent in her new Mercedez. I also taught and competed in ballroom and latin dancing .
I cold called and rased funds on Wall St (as noted above).
* Advertising and Marketing
I supported myself through law school writing ad copy and advising on branding and marketing strategy businesses from large gaming companies in Bulgaria to solo practicing attorneys in the U.S.
* Law
I can help with anything legal, having previously worked for top brands’ legal departments. The experience gained in the business world helps me better understand legal issues at the intersection of law and business.
* Human Resources
I have hired and fired, but can also follow directions well, considering my positive attitude as my greatest asset. My greatest passion is the study of people, how to read and relate to them.
* Learning
The learning bug got me. From the fluency of foreign languages, to the ass kicking of Mixed Martial Arts, I enjoy learning new things about people and the world more than anything.
In closing, through this assistantship, I want to go on to change the world, leave my mark on it while bettering the lives of those around me. However, if my free work can as much as get that entrepreneur mentor I may have the chance to work with to spend five less minutes at the office and five more minutes with family while leaving me richer in friends and know-how, I would have changed the world already.
Best,
Orge
P.S I have found that genuinely helping others get what they want, brings the karmic boomerang back, often multiplied. So ideally, before telling you about what “I” wanted from you, I would have liked to know a bit more about what “you” want to accomplish. Even beyond the scope of this contest, if my skills and past experiences would be useful to you or can fit in any way to help in the pursuit of your lives’ mission statements, ping me! I’d love to help.
Alan C — June 14th, 2012, 7:48 pm
I’m going to be honest, I haven’t heard of the book you guys co-authored. I’ll probably be picking up a copy tomorrow morning..
So, let’s see…
These next two weeks I decided to take unpaid vacation, rented out my apartment on airbnb to cover the rent, and I find myself here re-evaluating the past four years of my life (I graduated college in 2008).
The comment on ‘negativity bias’ is exactly right: I have been avoiding risks, with potentially long-term positive pay-offs, at the precise moment in my life where I should have the least worry to take (what I perceive to be) huge risks.
1) I have been (re)-learning Python these past few months, and I just signed up for AngelHack NY. I have a few crazy ideas in mind, I know I can’t execute them on my own at this point, but maybe I can convince a few others who can? This isn’t really a risk I’m taking, but more of a step towards ‘doing’ rather than ‘talking about doing.’
2) Last week I spoke with Shereef Bishay at devBootcamp. This post just pushed the likelihood of spending 10 weeks in SF during the Fall class. This feels like a big risk (changing cities and leaving the comfort of a steady paycheck), but is it really? I think I can say now that the bigger risk is spending the next twenty years unsatisfied. Right now all I risk is the short-term benefit of a paycheck.
And what’s the payoff? It could be huge, not just from the things I will learn, but also the people I will meet and the experience in itself.
-Alan
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 7:25 pm
@Alan – Great contribution, and I love your point that the payoff would include “not just from the things I will learn, but also the people I will meet….” Agreed that expanding your network is important upside.
And enrolling in something like Dev Bootcamp, to me, represents the perfect kind of risk to take given your circumstances: it has the opportunity to rocket your career forward by helping you develop valuable skills and networks in a short period of time, all while having capped downside risk.
Ryan — June 14th, 2012, 7:49 pm
I don’t think I need to reiterate what others will say about how this is a fantastic post, but I will: Thanks Ben and Reid! You guys definitely hit the nail on the head with this one in terms of risks.
What you said has basically been my risk mindset for quite some time now, thanks to reading books and blogs from people like you two guys and Tim, and also Seth Godin, as he talks about the “lizard brain” all the time.
Anyway, I am writing this comment from Seoul, South Korea. I took a risk 2 years ago coming here to teach English right out of college. I got lots of criticism from friends and family for coming here that it was risky, especially with tensions between the North and South and the language barrier.
But I really didn’t see it as a big risk at all. Sure, it was uncomfortable to fly halfway across the world (I am originally from a suburb of Philadelphia) into a different culture with a completely different language and to be away from friends and family. But I knew this would be a tremendous learning opportunity and experience I would never forget. Besides, when I thought about the possibility of moving here, I was excited. Once I felt excited and slightly uncomfortable, I knew I had to do it. The downside was that I was out of my native environment and that I had a girlfriend in the States that I had to leave behind. The upside was that this was a great opportunity on many levels, and it was even higher paying than my job that I had to get immediately out of college while I filled out all of the paperwork and processing to get here to Seoul.
This comment is dragging on, so long story short, 2 years later, I am here in Korea, I am learning the language, I got introduced to Jiu Jitsu, I’ve gotten to travel to 8 countries, and have been able to travel home a few times. I also have a new (Korean) girlfriend who is beautiful and treats me well. And I have time to work on new business ideas and think about new risks—I am launching my blog next week. My life has changed completely because I decided to pack on up and move to Seoul for a few years.
Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing right now if I didn’t make that choice and “played it safe”…
Sima — June 14th, 2012, 7:59 pm
What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days?
I recorded some videos teaching people how to make their own cosmetics. I’ve been struggling to figure out the right formula to launch it. In the mean time I wrote a booklet about wedding planning and so far by exploring options for my little book, I’ve come up with a number of ways to market my classes and I’ve written another booklet about business planning mostly to document what I’ve learned in the past two years, but hopefully people will find it helpful enough to pay for it 
Lol. Make some money would be nice, otherwise applying for a job as a chemist again
(e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
I don’t think there’s much risk involved. A few years ago I took a huge risk proving to myself that I could do things on my own. Now, how quickly I can turn a profit will determine whether or not I have to start looking for a full time job again. Part time I’m a holistic therapist which gets me by, though I have moved to cheaper accommodations and as much as I don’t want to, if things don’t turn around I’ll have to sell my car
~S
Bennett Russell — June 14th, 2012, 8:03 pm
Hi guys,
My name is Bennett Russell. I am finishing up my bachelor degree right now. I have a few classes left and then the next step of my life is somewhat in limbo. I have always desired to go an entrepreneurial route, but I have had some issues figuring out what levels of risk I should adopt in life to be able to make that a reality. I have an amazing wife who supports me in whatever career path I ultimately want to pursue, even if that is a ‘riskier’ path in general.
I have real goals that I want to put into play. I read your entire book while at the bookstore and the idea of keeping my life in permanent beta is what I know I need to do to make my career goals a reality. I saw what you guys are looking at doing with one reader here and I want that opportunity to be able to hear from you and ask you some questions. It sounds like a truly once in a lifetime opportunity. When I read an opportunity like this, it reminds me of the Eminem song from from the movie ’8 mile.’ Having one shot or one opportunity. Sometimes you only get one shot or one opportunity to make that initial push in a particular direction. If I don’t get picked, I will forge my own, but the opportunity would still be absolutely spectacular and could be one of the more influential moments of my life.
Please consider me as a choice.
Warmest regards,
Bennett Russell
Gloria Kim — June 14th, 2012, 8:04 pm
Hey Reid, Tim and Ben,
I’m a 22-yr old iBBA grad from the top business school in Canada (depending on which magazine/newspaper is reporting the rankings that year.. seriously.. soo flawed) and I just quit my job to pursue my dream of becoming an entrepreneur. When i say “just”, I literally mean JUST quit my job- it happened on June 13th, 2012 at 10:00AM EST.
So I think i might be disqualified because I already took the biggest risk of my life (it’s a weird feeling of relief and extreme fear) but the timing of everything, right down to reading this blog post, freakishly all came together.
I officially graduated from undergrad June 14th, 2011 (exactly one year ago) and unlike my other friends, I did not have a job lined up at an investment bank, accounting firm or CPG. For some reason, none of the information sessions or talk about salary/promotions at those companies info sessions particularly tickled any form of excitement in my body- not even in my pinky. Jobless and a complete disappointment to my 1st-generation parents, my sister and I picked up and went over to Thailand and Korea. Not so secretly the best decision of my life—got laser eye surgery while in Korea (better technology + half the price), tried all sorts of food, saw firsthand how behind North America is with technology.
Fast forward 2 months later, and we were back in Canada…the second the plan landed I received a call from a budding fashion label that was under the Umbrella of one of the top CPG’s (Joe Fresh) for an interview. At the same time, my friend’s father who is the CEO of a medium sized company asked if I would come and work for him full-time. His industry does not attract business school s students and is not sexy AT ALL.
Seriously, so so not sexy…I went from jobless to two job offers: fashion label vs. trucking/transportation/storage Company.
Risk #2: I took the job with the Medium-Sized company working directly for the CEO because I had my heart set on becoming an entrepreneur; what better way than to learn from an entrepreneur and one of the most well-connected individuals in Toronto?
“So so so not sexy” So not sexy to the point that my first battle was tactfully telling all of senior management ALL of their mktg materials were awful and using ‘moving’ language made no sense at all the everyday person. Taking on that position I was forced to innovate and create within smaller budgets; reach far far far out in my network to see if anyone out there could fulfill design specs, build websites (which we also eventually learned how to do), seek partnership opportunities/build relationships… that position literally forced me to become a “jack” or “Jill of all trades”.
Along the way, I was asked to build a private health clinic from scratch and create all the marketing materials, web content, design, interior design etc… it was all a great learning experience. There were huge ups and downs, but let me walk you through the past 3 months…
I started feeling restless and started wondering if I had made a mistake about not going to a CPG. Hearing my classmates talk about their jobs and all the fancy business jargon being used so fluidly in conversation made them sound so professional and accomplished. I couldn’t discuss what I had done during my days, picking out paint swatches for the interior of a clinic, guessing/taking a risk on a possible initiative without knowing if it’d be successful etc… I began to feel like I had fallen behind and started to seriously question everything. Everyone around me was saying successful entrepreneurs get their foundation + skill from working at a large company first. Did that mean I wasn’t going to become a successful entrepreneur?
I had the great blessing of having a fellow school-mate and someone who had successfully started a few of his own businesses work alongside me at this medium sized company. I would talk about my concerns openly and one day he told me to read up on Tim Ferris. Hence, I began following you on twitter two days ago, and this blog post showed up on your twitter feed, TODAY. The Day after I quit my job which was the day I took Risk #3–the biggest risk of my life.
My friend re-assured me that CPG wasn’t the end-all/be-all of successful people. At this point at work, I had fallen into a bit of a very comfortable routine. Soon after, another friend who had recently quit her job to join a start-up told me this over coffee: “you’re not square enough to be doing a square job.”
That’s when it hit me: i had legitimately let my ‘risk’ analysis talk me out of pursuing entrepreneurship and to create excuses.
At that coffee meeting, she also suggested I travel with her to Hong Kong in July. It was a quick comment in passing, but she followed up. and followed up. and texted. and facebooked.
I took a step back, looked at my life, goals, career-desires; I could not get there by being where i was. At 22 years old, I could go to a CPG and get that ‘training’ but I’d have to stay there for a few years to climb high enough to gain real experience. Realistically, being an ABM, I’d be doing repetitive work day in and day out on a spread sheet…
that idea immediately was axed.
That left one thing: do my own thing or join a start-up.
I still don’t know 100 % what it is I will be doing, but I quit my job to travel and force myself to take on this decision. I quit so I could learn more and become excited about life again.
At 22 years old, I don’t have a mortgage, spouse, children or anyone depending on me; so NOW is the time to travel and see the world. I’m hoping this helps with creativity, direction and overall career fulfillment.
I am a 22-year old new grad that has quit an excellent corporate job after a year to take a stab at something new. I don’t know if I made the right decision and I have no idea where I will be traveling to after HK; no idea where to go, how to get there, where to stay, what to do, but i’m taking a chance.
My end goal is to make an impact on this world, and I’m hoping having taken this risk, a big leap in the right direction’s been made and that the risk analysis I made was correct.
Everything discussed in this blog was so reassuring; Most of my life i read about all the cool stuff people were doing with their lives, but this is the first time I’m actually taking a shot at it…
To sum up my risk analysis:
- realized to go to a CPG/Multinational, i would have to stay years and years to gain ‘management’ material experience;
- instead of Why Now? it’s Why Not now? 22 yrs old without anything holding me back… why not take a risk now? If i lose everything, that’s not so bad because I don’t have much to lose
- doing this will force me to grow as a person and analyze my strengths/weaknesses and I hope to try something/anything to generate income on my own that’s not a salary…
Everyone’s question after I say “I quit my job” is… “Do you have something lined up?” …my answer: No. But I’m ok with that for now… I just hope to meet and have the opportunity to talk to really successful people (not by measure of just money, but fulfilled with their life, happiness etc..) and different people.
Apparently I use to be a good writer, so I started a blog last week with a few brain farts hoping to stir up controversy.. jking… its my way of trying to document my way of becoming ‘unsquare’ again…
take a look
itsgkim.wordpress.com
Kirsty Stark — June 14th, 2012, 8:13 pm
I have lived by these rules for most of my life, taking opportunities to do things that excite me over ones that are risk-averse.
While in high school, I went on two international exchange programs, to Japan for 6 months at age 15 and to the USA for the final year of my schooling. I then studied film at university, with my career choice beginning a series of major life changes, most of which occurred in the week of my graduation. Taking the gut feeling of relief that I got after missing out on a house contract, I made the decision not to tie myself down to a ‘normal,’ stable life of mortgage payments, and in the same week, graduated from uni, quit my job and took on a volunteer role as a camera assistant on my first feature film.
Since then, I’ve worked solely in the film industry, riding the financial ups and downs while still saving for amazing travel experiences including extended trips to India and Sweden, both of which contributed to my personal and professional growth.
For the past twelve months, I have been building a company alongside my freelance work, with the goal of creating projects based on audience demand, and building business models around their popularity. We are focusing on using social media, crowdfunding and viral views to draw attention to projects and plan to capitalise on that demand through paid high quality downloads, DVD and Blu-Ray sales and merchandise. It is a system that is well on its way in the US, but is incredibly risky here in the Australian industry, where filmmakers tend to rely on government grants rather than creating their own income. I want to break from this model and treat filmmaking as a business instead of an artform.
At 28, having worked in the camera department for my career to date, producing is a new pathway for me, but I am hungry to learn and have spent a lot of unpaid time developing my skills and studying in these new areas. Our current project, Wastelander Panda, is proving that the ideas work, with our Prologue clocking over 100,000 views in its first 5 days online, and our audience building everyday. We are constantly using online statistics and audience feedback to develop the model for the next stage of the project, and plan to do this for all of our projects in future.
I am keen to continue expanding both my skills and business knowledge, especially by developing my international networks and creating relationships with people who think in terms of business strategy. My goal is to treat each of our film projects as ‘start-ups’ and apply similar business models, from raising capital and creating products for niche markets that can then expand globally.
As well as proving worthwhile for my current business, your post has made me realise that these new skills are an investment in my own future, and will enable me to adapt and change to new jobs and opportunities in the future. I look forward to reading ‘The Start-Up of You’ to transform my new-found business thinking to myself as a person.
Thank you!
Kirsty Stark
Australia
Paul Dennis — June 14th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Hey guys,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and motivational post.
My name is Paul Dennis, and I currently work in an OK Corporate job with OK pay, and I’ve decided that life is too short for it to be OK. I want to live an amazing life, and I am committed to making that happen somehow.
I want to quit my corporate job in the next 60 days and become a full-time Android and iOS app creator. I wrote the code for my first app and it’s been on the market for over 2 years now, and I just hired a freelancer to work on my second app. I’m so excited, but yet scared as hell on the other hand, since I used all my money I made on my first app to pay for this second app to be built in a shorter amount of time than I could have done it. I’ve always loved improving things, and thinking of ways to make life easier and more enjoyable for people, and I really feel like I could make a huge impact on the world through creative mobile apps that help people’s lives become just a little bit nicer, and hopefull a LOT nicer.
I can’t express in words how thankful and grateful I would be to have two people like you give me advice and help me out, I’d have to make sure I wasn’t dreaming if it actually happened. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time and generosity for helping whoever is selected in this contest, you’re sure to make a big difference in someone’s life.
Take care!
Paul
John-Paul Rinylo — June 14th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Hi, Ben. Hi, Reid. Congrats on the great guest-post. I really enjoyed it!
My name is John-Paul, but my friends call me JP. I want to completely change my career in the next 60 days. Specifically, I want to work for myself.
Your post inspired me to respond because it identifies exactly what’s kept me from trying my hand in this new career – fear of risks and failure. I am 30yo, married, and the father of a bright and handsome, 3-month-old son. Since his birth on Saint Patrick’s Day, I have felt this burning need to abandon my current career path, and invest in a future more fulfilling, fitting and resilient. My current career has me working in the health insurance industry, providing client management and feeling unfulfilled, unrewarded, and seemingly defeated. I’m really good at what I do, and I am confident my drive and tenacity will always help me find success in anything I try. Unfortunately, I greatly fear that if I try the wrong thing, I will fail to successfully provide (even at the most basic level) for my wife and young baby boy. The risk of failing them and not having the cushion to recover is petrifying… so much so, it continues to keep me from taking a step, let alonge “the plunge”.
If you feel inclined, please help me to find direction.
Thanks,
JP
Andrew W. — June 14th, 2012, 8:16 pm
The British SAS have a great motto that really summarizes this post – Who Dares Wins.
I’m thinking of quitting my job at a profitable startup to work fulltime on a non-profit I’ve founded on the side and which I am more passionate about.
I’m analyzing the risks from every standard angle:
1. financial,
2. what it will do to my social life,
3. psychological since its a great unknown and what impact will that have on my health/stress levels
However, the one area of risk most people don’t think about that I spend most of my time focused on is Karma Risk (i.e. the risk of not focusing on a “For Good” endever full time) . I feel like if I build this company that is focused on alleviating one of the large issues in this world I will have done my good deed on Earth. It will be something I will be proud to point to on my death bed. The question ultimately that I would like help on is does Karma risk outweigh the more mundane risk?
Kendall Giles — June 14th, 2012, 8:39 pm
My name is Kendall and I’ve actually already made 1/2 the career change, but have yet to make the second half. I’ve recently left my tenure-track university faculty position in order to temporarily help out with a family health emergency. But I need to make the transition to something that is relatively location independent and for which I can ideally use my writing, technology, and teaching skills.
The late Ray Bradbury said something like, “You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.” Well, against all advice, I’ve jumped off the cliff, and could use some help building those wings. I’ve worked up a rough plan and have started developing several ideas to make things work in my new environment, including interning at a literary agency in New York, but having the chance for feedback and course corrections would be greatly appreciated.
Amir — June 14th, 2012, 8:44 pm
Wow,
Did this post come at the right time or what? There is obviously no such thing as coincidence.
I am one of those “freelancers” and as I am sure most of us who don’t have the steady paycheck – I am occasionally thinking if getting a “real job” would be a good option.
Well, it wouldn’t. And I know that just like the last (and the only) time I did “the 9-5 thing”- despite a good salary and a respected position – I was MISERABLE!
So we basically pay for having the freedom of our own schedule and control of our lives with the uncertainty and no guaranteed income. I will take that any day over being miserable, thank you very much, corporate world.
So here is what I want to change in the next 60 days:
I have been running my own fitness consulting business for almost two years now and most of my income comes from working with clients one-on-one providing training and nutrition consulting services.
But my greatest passion in life is teaching and being a speaker, conducting seminars on health and fitness is my dream and my ideal life. I would do that for free any day. By teaching seminars, I would be able to reach and improve the health and lives of many more people than is possible individually one-on-one.
I do some life coaching and enjoy it very much, but speaking in front of a large group of people energizes and excites me. I have done it once so far and it is surely what I was born to do. I loved it!
My audience loved it too!
So I want to make the transition from what I am doing now to teaching seminars full-time. That would be a complete career change. I would gladly do it for free in the beginning to gain some more experience and because I love it so much.
I spend hours every day reading, listening to audio books and seminars so I have a lot to share with the world. I just need a platform that will allow me to share it. (This is why I am starting a new blog that will also offer my book on it).
The risks are obvious: no income in the beginning and it is also going to be difficult to get into the field. Both of these I can handle since having ups and downs in my income is something I am used to and – “difficult” is what I eat for breakfast.
While I am sure there will be many other people with worthy goals, here is why I think you should grant me this mentoring opportunity:
1. I am 28 years old, HUNGRY for success and highly coachable
2. As an endurance athlete, persistence is my middle name (literally, since in my home country (Bosnia) we don’t have middle names
3. You would significantly contribute to my goal of becoming financially independent before I turn 30- and the universe would pay you back multifold
4. I guarantee you that it is next-to-impossible to find a better mentee than me (I will do an extra, extra step to achieve what we plan and not stop until it is completed)
Thank you!
Amir Pozderac
Ajoke — June 14th, 2012, 8:45 pm
I read this post earlier in the day but I was 2 hours too late. Womp womp. I still want to give my 2 cents anyways. I’m 22 with half a business degree. for the past 5.5 months I was in Nigeria having an international living experience (amazing). Before that I left my hometown to move to a bigger city for work experience and broadening my horizons. I did all this because I wanted to see what else was out there and learn and grow. Of course, my family is pressuring me to finish school and most of my friends graduated this year but I don’t really let that phase me.
I’m back in my home city and now I am looking for a job that starts with equal or higher pay than what I was making when I was living in a bigger city. It’s a challenge because this requires me to apply for jobs that on paper might say I’m not qualified for but I know I am capable of doing these jobs so I just keep applying. I’ve had some good interviews and I’m confident that I will get what I’m looking for because it’s not just about the money, it’s about having a job that stimulates growth and is challenging. I have to work harder to sell myself in the interviews and beef up my resume a bit but I really have nothing to lose. Most people won’t even bother applying for jobs they don’t think they’re qualified for but I just don’t buy a lot of the recruiting BS that’s out there these days.
Allan Clow — June 14th, 2012, 8:45 pm
Fantastic post.
Bennett, I love the term ‘permanent beta’. That provides a very valuable perspective and a quick and dirty way to describe our motivations for living the way we do.
This post could not have come at a better time. I recently graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in business administration, and I’m deciding which direction to go. I’m very open to taking calculated risks, especially in working ‘learning jobs’ vs. steady / high paying jobs. In fact, my goal has been to move to a foreign country and work ‘learning’ jobs for a few years. I think that this point in my life is the best time to learn as much as I can about myself and to develop as a person.
In the last year, I’ve really come to realize the incredible value in experience vs. formal classroom education. Saying, “Yes” was one of the best habits I’ve ever developed. I would love to spread inspiration and motivation to people who need a shift in perspective and a little push to get them going. Helping people realize their potential is the best form of service I believe I can offer, and I have seen success with those around me, so far. This is my catch-22, as I am finding it difficult to add legitimacy to my cause when I am so young and many people struggle to listen to someone who is not a published author, professional speaker, etc.
The Internet and social media has really changed the way we live our lives, and I’m looking for a way to use this shift to help people help themselves. I believe that living and working with a purpose vs. for monetary gain is the best path to success.
If given the opportunity, I would use the time and e-mail interaction to target the up-and-coming opportunities in the tech world that could help me create a community of like-minded people who want to help others. I would also love to build great relationships with the suggested contacts, and to learn from them in the coming years (and offer them something in return).
Congrats to whoever is chosen! Seize this opportunity and be the person you envision!
Best Regards,
Allan
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 7:40 pm
Allan, glad to hear you like the idea of “permanent beta.” It’s a term from Silicon Valley that we think ought to be a life/career idea for all of us — we must always be improving, iterating, fixing bugs, growing. We go more in-depth on what permanent beta means in chapter 1 of The Start-Up of You.
Deric — June 14th, 2012, 8:50 pm
hi guys,
hope I’m not too late to share some of the stuff I have tried for the past year and the challenges I am pushing on to overcome.
What I had tried:
Recently help built a new joint venture startup but didn’t turn out well in the co-vision we are inspiring to built in the long run and really felt the pain knowing that the business had failed to realize and to move on.
Now working on freelance work just to fund my own on-going tests of ideas:
+ In the midst of building a ecommerce marketplace for small & medium business (to realize my earlier vision which doesn’t came through as shared above)
Other areas of testing done concurrently and earlier (without much capital spent less my time & commitment)
+ a meme site (tested no of ways to drive new traffic – started to see a little growth after a year)
+ a competitive spying site for landing pages (just started – testing out the ways to drive new traffic and testing of product ideas to drive return visitors)
+ a automotive site (failed but still trying – even though its ranking well in search engines – lack of repeat engaged visitors)
+ a q&a community site (failed – lack of on-going community engagement and members)
+ a technology site (co-founded) – failed – lack of commitment which is essential for a team effort to succeed.
Challenge Facing now:
Facing a dilemma now of should I still carry on pushing on as a single co-founder (tried getting earlier co-founders to join in but got burned) especially with my mortgage coming very soon in about a year+ period. Given the fact that I know how much more my run rate is going to be as a solo bootstrapper and not to mention the super lows during this period.
R. Gordon Richter — June 14th, 2012, 9:10 pm
Thank you Tim, Ben, and Reid for this,
I think this type of thinking is a plague to so many people. Using our foresight to create so many worse case scenarios that we can’t focus on amazing opportunities that are truly attainable. I’m the only one in our design and photography firm that works solely in a marketing and sales capacity. The rest provide a creative skill along with constantly building awareness about what we do. When sales are soft, and the higher revenue clients are fewer and far between, I feel more responsible. I’m more comfortable reaching out to gate keepers at more comfortable times, that are not even the decision makers, and lower revenue companies that “seem” like they would be easier to close than a major client. Am I crazy? Our team produces amazing work and I need to be the BIG MOUTH letting the BIG BOYS know that we are here, ready, and capable of producing the visuals that they need. Why do we take being told “no” so personally? That and the terrible fear that we are going to interrupt something important at the exact time that we are reaching out to the individual. Madness. I’m determined in the next 60 days to banish this cowardly fear and become more confident in connecting with individuals that have the ability to help propel our firm onto the radar of huge clients where it belongs. I know Tim is right when he said that the competition is most fierce for “realistic” goals. 95% of people not believing that they can accomplish greatness. My biggest fear needs to be not becoming one of them.
Seth — June 14th, 2012, 9:11 pm
2 1/2 years ago I left my steady, secure job and regular paycheck to go out on my own and use my passion for business and marketing to start a digital marketing consultancy helping small business owners increase clients, sales, search ranking. Although it’s been a challenge (to say the least), I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Every day I ask myself, what can I do differently to help more clients, and how can I get out of my comfort zone today?
No matter what you do in life, there will always be an element of risk. The question to ask yourself is how much risk can you handle, and what will it take to for you to succeed?
Skippygirl — June 14th, 2012, 9:13 pm
Is this open to people outside of the US? If so I’ll share with you my comment about the change I’d like to make. Thanks for the great article, Tim, Ben and Reid.
Jennifer — June 14th, 2012, 9:15 pm
The first step is the hardest part, getting over that fear, that rustling noise in the bushes that your own mind makes or hears from others who fear. Once you get to love the rustling noise, it gets a whole lot easier.
Its highly unlikely that you are about to be eaten by an imaginary furry monster. That imaginary monster may just turn out to be a fantastic dinner for the tribe.
Mike Seely — June 14th, 2012, 9:15 pm
After settling in to the family life, it became more and more difficult to nurture my entreprenuer wings. I have had plenty of ups and downs but still feel far from prepared. I love music so much and have spent years of time and effort engaged in it and wish I could figure out a way to make it my career.
I decided to get a graduate degree in accounting to give me some stability and hopefully get me the push I need to create a solid foundation that my family and I can financially build on. I’ve worked my ass off in construction through the recession and look forward to entering a new arena in the business world.
I hope one day I can somehow merge music and accounting, two themes distinctly different and apart (I did actually write some comedic accounting rock songs for a professor that got me some extra credit). I also have some creative ideas for marketing commercials to promote my CPA firm.
My goal is to be indispensable at wherever I work or to start the best damn accounting firm out there. Wish me luck and look for me either on MTV or building my firm.
Max — June 14th, 2012, 9:25 pm
My name is Max and I just finished my Bachelors Degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences in the Netherlands. Looking back, and forward, some of my choices could be called risky.
Doing a Liberal Arts & Sciences degree in the Netherlands is regarded by most people in my country as very strange; “so what will you be working as?” is a question I always get when I try to explain my study. Nonetheless, getting out of my comfort zone in Amsterdam and going to an international college has been put me through a growth I couldn’t have imagined ever.
Now I am done with my undergraduate studies. Everyone is doing a graduate study. But I am not an academic; so not for me. Next year I’m interning at Sjaak Hullekes (www.sjaakhullekes.com), a young and upcoming Dutch designer I have met during one of my unstable income jobs (modeling). The company is small, there is not a lot of money, but I feel that in such a small idea I can be right on the ball and learn tons.
However, right now I am typing this up in New York, where me and some fellow students are for my final Geography course; a field trip. And this city is so damn inspiring. One of my traits, being that I have at least one new venture idea a day, is on steroids here. Executing any of it seems like the only logical step. How, where and what seems like a matter of little time to be answered. All I know now is that the more I’ll take on stuff that I fear, or at least are not completely comfortable with, the more I’ll be ready for anything that comes up to my path.
This mentorship and this contact with you guys will bring me in touch with people that are doing something I am not doing and in a place where non of the people around me are. Something new and something that will make me grow.
David Tung — June 14th, 2012, 9:30 pm
What’s something that you believe in that almost no one else believes is true?
My answer used to be: start ups are less risky than corporations. You invest in three things when you join a startup: the chance to learn at an exponential rate, an elite special ops caliber group of co workers (who are all driving to the same goal, be successful or die) and groundbreaking technology. The flip side? Being a name in an org chart.
I did it once (starting in 2009) with http://www.sadramedical.com and now we are fortunate enough to utilize the reach and firepower of a corporation to save lives.
I was employee 50. My goal is to enter a company earlier and earlier.
Let’s do it guys.
Clarissa — June 14th, 2012, 9:32 pm
Hi – I’m Clarissa. I’d first like to thank you for the valuable insight provided in this post and the opportunity to receive mentorship. I have to be honest and say that I almost didn’t leave a response, because I thought about how many people would respond and the likelihood that my entry would be chosen would be slim to none. But then I thought about it and realized that’s the type of thinking we’re trying to combat here. It really does apply to even the smallest situations in life.
On to my answer.
I’ll actually be making a very big change in my career in the next 30-60 days. I’ll be leaving the “stability” of my full time job (and the comfort of the south and the southern hospitality) and moving clear across the country (Cali) to return to school full time and pursue a Masters degree for my passion in producing (theatre management).
What are a few of the perceived risks associated with this move? (I’ll keep it short and just list off a few.) The cost of living is WAY more expensive in California than in the south (Georgia to be specific). Graduate school is extremely expensive, and it’s even more expensive because I’m attending a private school. My research is proving that scholarship opportunities are few and far between for graduate school, so I haven’t fully worked out how to pay for this program I’ve committed to for 3 years. I’ve already been warned that I will not have the time to hold a full time job because the program is intense. I’m taking my current car, that I’ve had since high school, but I can’t guarantee it will be along for the entire ride. Are you starting to see the picture here? Let me also throw in that I have no family, no connections, and a few ideas for side hustles to possibly help bring me income. I’m literally going to start from scratch.
Even with all of those things stated, I’m completely sure that my biggest risk would be NOT going. I’ve lived my life long enough in the “safety zone” to know that I’m not really living at all, and that the “good stuff” will start soon.
So how am I thinking about all of this? I plan and prepare for as much as I can (my current profession is as a planner), and I’m leaving the rest in the hands of the Universe, knowing that I will be caught should I fall. I’ve also concluded that IF somehow things just did not work out – I could go home and sleep on my parents couch until I figured out another plan…or found another job. I have a very good feeling that that won’t be necessary.
Thanks again for this opportunity.
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 7:47 pm
@Clarissa – It’s great to hear you’re thinking about your Plan Z (as we call it): “I’ve also concluded that IF somehow things just did not work out – I could go home and sleep on my parents couch until I figured out another plan…or found another job.”
Thinking through Plan Z very concretely is helping you take the risk you know you ought to take — way to go!
@dominic_goddard — June 14th, 2012, 9:40 pm
Hello my names is Dominic and I am currently going through a career change. I left the army after 7 years and have gone back to university to help me achieve my goals in life.
It would be a great honor if I was picked and I believe your help would greatly accelerate my career change and success.
Thank you for your time
Kind regards
Dom
Tyler — June 14th, 2012, 9:45 pm
Ben & Reid,
I really appreciate the insight that you guys provided in this piece. I’m currently at a crossroads in my career (at the age of 27). I furiously pursued my MBA following an undergraduate degree in marketing, and have spent the past 2 years establishing myself in the financial services industry. I’ve experienced success to this point, and am beginning to take a larger role in our firm’s management team. The business is primarily commission based, so I know how the freelance writer must feel (and am marginally confident that I won’t “starve” if I develop the courage necessary to take a risk like this article outlines).
I would absolutely LOVE the opportunity to be mentored by the two of you, and reading this article seems serendipitous with it’s timing. I was in a meeting this morning with one of our senior financial advisers, and realized then and there that I had no desire for my career path to mirror that of his. I need a change, and more than anything need the courage, or push, to make that change. I love learning new things, and pride myself in my ability to embrace the absurd and think outside of the box. These are not exactly the things that my office values, and leads me to believe that the right FIT exists elsewhere (either that or I need to create it).
If given the opportunity to learn from you, I will not let you down.
Thank you for your consideration.
Jadon Calvert — June 14th, 2012, 9:48 pm
Hi I’m jadon, I’m a honours year industrial design student,
I have been offered a safe and well paying job in New Zealand but I am
passionate about working in developing countries focussing on
Social corporate responsibility but have no idea where to start.
It would be nice to have the cash but money can’t buy the dream.
Looking forward to hopefully having both.
Tito Bohrt — June 14th, 2012, 9:59 pm
Amazing post Tim.
My Background. I’m originally from Bolivia, I am a rising senior at Duke University, and I started ShelfRelief while in college (Google my name and you’ll see some entrepreneurial articles).
In the next 60 days I am convincing my parents to let me take a year off of college to start an offshored Sales team in Bolivia for ShareFile (recently acquired by Citrix). The project has been approved by the CEO, Jes Lipson (who’s also a Dukie and I met last November). We are starting on August 1st and running until December, then reevaluating (either growing the team here, expanding to Costa Rica or shutting down)
I see no risk, if everything fails I go back to college and get my degree, if it works I can make $50,000 by december and make over $30,000/month starting February 2013. My parents are afraid I will never go back to college, and they see it as a long term risk.
I would love to have the chance to talk to Reid and Ben. I admire Reid a lot, I even remember taking some ideas from the letter he wrote to his early adopters at LinkedIn thanking them for joining early, and drafting a similar letter to my users at ShelfRelief. I’d love to hear Ben and Reid’s thought on what to say to my dad to allow me to take this opportunity.
Best,
Tito Bohrt
James — June 14th, 2012, 10:01 pm
Hey guys,
Great post – Just what I needed. I first read Tim’s 4HWW about 2 years ago. I completely abandoned my uber-stable playboy lifestyle as a golf pro / bartender in a ritzy ski town and moved to Seattle to pick up a hard core sales job and see if I could hack it working from home.
18 months later I’m crushing the sales position, but that’s not the best part. I’ve also picked up 2 freelance writing jobs doing copywriting for golf companies in my spare time which have effectively doubled my monthly income. It’s a huge risk doing the writing deal because if my boss at the sales job finds out I’m finished, but it’s totally worth it.
My next step is to leverage the freedom my freelance writing jobs provide and take this show on the road for a long term globe-trotting expedition. I’ve never been more scared of anything in my entire life, but I know in my heart it’s the only way.
Cheers,
James
Eric — June 14th, 2012, 10:05 pm
As a future pastor, it has been really exciting to see how well ideas about entrepreneurship translate to full-time vocational Christian ministry.
Regardless of one’s personal beliefs, it is hard to argue that being a pastor is a strenuous line of work. Most I know work 6-day weeks and are generally on call 24-7. Even causal outings with friends can turn into impromtu theological discusisons and “real quick” counseling sessions.
And there are certainly no fewer “risky” opportunities. The pastorate is HIGHLY driven by networking and relationships. A degree may or may not get you into the door of a church, but a recommendation from a well-respected pastor certainly will. Risky situation #1 above is particularly relevant.
I am looking forward to using truth from anywhere in advancing my career, working toward being a highly skilled, well connecting, loving shepherd.
Tin Wai — June 14th, 2012, 10:07 pm
I have a very comfortable BD role at a tech company in Silicon Valley; I’ve been there for the last four years. I’m originally from Asia, graduated from an Ivy League college with degrees in business and engineering, and am currently in the US on an H1-B visa.
The change I plan to make is to leave the safety of the nest with my technical co-founder and launch my start-up. Within two years, I hope to raise my series A and thus qualify for an EB-5 visa that puts me on a path toward a green card.
There are several risks that I’m considering:
1. I’m giving up a comfortable job and lifestyle
2. My startup may fail
3. I may not raise enough money to qualify for an EB-5 visa
These risks are mitigated by the following factors:
1. I have enough savings to last me for several years, with some adjustment to my standard of living
2. I will learn a lot more by actually launching my own effort than by continuing in my current role; this experience will be useful if I need to find a more “stable” career in the future
3. My startup idea is based on my field of experience but also incorporates a field that I’m passionate about; I believe that passion is half the battle for success
4. I believe that same-sex marriage will be legal within five years, thus qualifying me for a “fiancée visa”; this reduces the risk of my never being able to work in the US
Dan — June 14th, 2012, 10:13 pm
Hey guys… My name’s Dan, I’m 26 years old, and I live in Austin, TX. I’m a software engineer at a very large corporation and just transferred departments about 4 months ago where I felt more opportunities would be available.
A couple of days ago they announced a new position would be created to help an under staffed area of our department. I’ve only worked for my company for two years, and would be considered by most to be under qualified for this management type position (although no exact job specifications have been created yet). I do know that a number of the projected duties are already being handled by me though. So in the next 30-60 days, I plan on writing up a strategy on what I’d like to bring to the table, and then sitting down with my potential new manager and making my proposal.
The biggest risk I see is the fact that I’m so new to this department, and this could come across as cocky or arrogant. I don’t want it to seem like I’m unsatisfied with my current position, but at the same time this has the opportunity to launch my career into a whole new level, and drastically increase my role in the organization.
When I break it down in my head, there’s not much I would be losing by just going for it, but the nerves still exist. Luckily this article being posted just two days after this opportunity popped up, does give me confidence, and makes me feel like this is an even more “meant to be” opportunity. Thank you guys for the great advice!
- Dan
Drew Whitcomb — June 14th, 2012, 10:20 pm
Last month, I switched industries and my functional area by taking a new job in a geographical area that’s 4x more expensive than my previous location.
Have I left a lot of life’s little comforts behind? Yes. Was it risky? Yes. Do I regret my decision? No, not for a second. It’s the best career decision I’ve ever made.
I had stopped learning new things in my previous job. At my new job, everyday is like drinking from a fire hose. I’ve rejuvenated my career by moving outside my comfort zone.
Don’t let yourself get so comfortable in your career that you’re not willing to try new things or do something different when things go stale. When things go sour, take it as a cue to find the next mountain to climb.
Good luck!
Tommy McDonald — June 14th, 2012, 10:22 pm
At the ‘risk’ of what Japanese call ?????? (an “unwelcome service” – ask Tim how to read it), I think this concept of intelligent risk could be greatly be improved, and more widely marketed, if the concept itself were given a taste of it’s own medicine.
For example, What are the risks, positive and negative, of not just your generously personalized offer for the most thoughtful comment, but also one’s acceptance of the challenge?
I’m willing to risk it.
I’m two weeks away from starting an International MBA in the US. I want to study management consulting and entrepreneurship in emerging economies, but I am struggling to decide which geographical region in which to spend the next couple years. I have consulted with friends, family, and professionals, and I have narrowed the choice down to China and the Middle East.
My risk assessment? After spending the last four years in Japan, I am familiar with China, both in language and culture, and will likely learn quickly; the Middle East, however, I know almost nothing about and am sure to struggle (that’s okay). But in terms of business opportunities, China is an eclectic bandwagon, the Middle East, a desert caravan. To use your scenario, going to China is traversing the river for some venison, while going to the Middle East is peeking with instinctive hunger into the rustling brush behind me.
Your advice would be of great value. While pale in comparison to the unacceleratable experience of Mr. Hoffman, I am sure that I, like Tim Ferriss and Ben Casnocha, am a lifelong learner with no less passionate curiosity and drive.
James V — June 14th, 2012, 10:23 pm
I really think you should give Kendall a call. I think it would be a pivotal moment for him.
This article really resonated with me when you started talking about knowing how to roll with the punches. I spent the last few years freelancing and not knowing when my next paycheck would come in. I’d go for a month or longer before landing another website, but the payoff was always better than any 9-5.
I got tired of the feast and famine cycle, so I’ve been going from company to company, putting out fires and moving to the next. I’m much more willing to take risks because I know that I can support myself in the lean times. I’ve asked for a promotion within a month of entering every job I’ve had because I know I have so much more to gain than to lose.
I never realized I had this much mobility. While I’m gaining confidence and momentum, I’m having trouble seeing beyond the horizon. I know I’m never going to leave the legacy I’m striving for on an hourly wage, even a high one. If you’ve got 15 minutes after you talk to Ken, I’d love to hear from you.
Jeremy Johnson — June 14th, 2012, 10:27 pm
Has anyone successfully demoted or reassigned themselves to mitigate risk and still participated in growing the company?
I started a CrossFit training facility while finishing a Master’s Degree in Public Administration after a 7-year military stint.
Three years in, we are now profitable and I have realized I’m not the right person to run the company. I enjoy and am good at our marketing and attracting new clients. I am horrible at running the business on a daily basis.
Has anyone successfully stepped down from a President/Owner role while still being involved in the business?
I see several major sources of risk.
Lost opportunity:
1) If I continue to lead, the business will suffer from inefficiencies.
2) Running the business when it isn’t my strong point will keep me from doing what I’m really good at.
Avoided Threat by maintaining the status quo:
1) Nobody loves my business the way I do. Giving someone else power who might screw it up scares me. This industry is littered with failed companies.
2) Starting this was really hard work and I don’t want to lose everything I’ve put into it.
The answer is finding the perfect person who will care MORE about the business than I do, be strong enough to stand up to me, and drive it into breathtaking levels of success.
Since I don’t know that person, how should I proceed to balance the risk of lost opportunity with avoided threats?
Joy Curry — June 14th, 2012, 10:32 pm
HI, I was a Realtor who did very well during the boom. However, I always read about online companies and wanted to start and own my own. In 2010 I moved to Goa, India because it was a cheap place to live, I loved it and thought it would be a good place to start my own online business adventure.
2 years later i am doing freelance work for other US real estate companies and earning an ok learning.
in the next 60 days I want to start marketing a product(s) to India online. I have been studying how their culture works and think I have an idea on how to market to them.
The risk involved will be that I have to come up with the money needed to make this happen out of pocket. I have a small amount and am willing to take the risk.
My dream and why is very strong in my heart and I am willing to risk it all for it.
The great thing about India is that I can live on $600 a month here. So if what I try does not work then I can do some freelance work, save up and try again. I am not giving up folks. Living over here is challenging and lonely sometimes. But I am finding ways to stay positive and happy, since both are a choice.
I would love some feedback, tips and help to make this company really work!
Joy
Jon Phipps — June 14th, 2012, 10:36 pm
I know it might seem cliche this far down the page, but thanks guys.
This post couldn’t have come at a better time, I’m just finishing up a 3 month contract at a start-up, it’s my first job out of college that i ever been excited about, and I’ve learned more in three months then the last year and a half of working stable “pay the bills” jobs. It has an amazing team with great ideas, and every day I come to work wondering how I manged to get hired by a bunch of people that by all measures should have been smart enough not to hire me.
My buddy and I were eating burgers yesterday, and he asked me about my job, I mentioned that I my contract was up soon and I had no idea if it would be renewed, he looked at me in shock.
” How are you so calm?”, he asked. I didn’t have an answer, and I’ve been wondering, why I haven’t been worried . reading this, it dawned on me, If I keep my job, I get to keep learning from people I admire and growing. If I don’t, I still have those contacts and experiences, and I get to find another risk to take, and even if I learn half as much as I did at this job, I’m still that much closer…
Kevin — June 14th, 2012, 10:39 pm
This is a post that I think I haven’t known I’ve needed for a while. I’m browsing HackerNews when I see “How to Take Intelligent Career Risks.” As a 21-year-old college student, I figure I didn’t know enough about the world that I could say I should pass the article by. So I read.
And when I get to the end, I have a couple of reactions. First, there was a knee-jerk response: “but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Possibly far more than evolution, this had been programmed into my psyche at a young age by my parents, who are both very cautious (and, I should add, pretty successful) people. So naturally, instinct took over and I discredited the article – after all, there *are* plenty of dangers in the world, and if being cautious avoids one, that’s one potentially crippling or lethal pitfall avoided.
On the cusp of hitting the “Back” button though, a second thought took over: “What if, by simply letting this roll off me, I’m doing exactly what the author said? I’m too blinded by living in my comfort zone of casual Internet perusal that I can’t even dare to be daring.” Thus, here I am, posting now. I am so very often a wallfly in the great spaces of the Internet – quickly checking in, browsing around a site or article, and checking out – but for a brief moment, a what-if moment struck me. If I passed up this opportunity to take a small risk in the most head-on discussion about the very thing itself, who’s to say that I could ever break the cycle in my life?
Indeed, I would be lying if I said I weren’t a little anxious typing. What if I DID end up receiving a call? What would I do? Hell, I don’t really even have much of a career to improve. But I think a part of me realizes that it isn’t about getting my post chosen for a career improvement session; it’s about actually going out to write the thing. That’s the sneaky wisdom of this article.
And I can’t pretend that having the courage to step outside of my comfort zone and write a comment response on a website is anything but a tiny step step towards bold confidence. But it is a step. And one step proves that more can be taken, and that cements something in my mind.
So let this post be a testament to all who read it that I took that step. Proof to you, and infinitely more importantly, proof to myself.
Kevin
Tim Ferriss — June 14th, 2012, 10:44 pm
Thanks for the wonderfully thoughtful comments, all!
Gavin — June 19th, 2012, 4:45 am
You’re welcome Tim. Thanks for always lighting a fire under us with insightful posts.
Kevin — June 14th, 2012, 10:49 pm
What risks am I thinking about taking in the next 60 days?
I own my own retail, service based business with 5 part time employees. We’ve been in business 4 years, barely scraping by. A year ago, we changed locations, and we have increased our client base 500%. We are awash in cash. Cash in my bank account that I’ve only seen on a spreadsheet in my ‘business plan’ telling me what would happen 9 months into business.
I have an opportunity to open a second location, 20 minutes away, in a different market.
Do I take these retained earnings, double down, and go multi-location? Or do I focus on my cash cow, shore up my finances, invest in what I have and try to make my one shop as great as I can?
Risk Assessment:
Staying with one: Anyone can open up a competing business in my trade area at any time. I have no franchise rights, and barriers to entry are low. That said, I am one of the most experienced operators in town, and could probably maintain current levels of profitability for a year even in a worst case scenario. In one year, I could be debt free and have six figures cash in the bank in worst case scenario while staying put.
After 4 years, my learning curve has flattened, and I am more or less “minding the shop”. My job is great, but getting boring on a day to day basis. If the worst does happen and my business goes under some day, what skills will I be able to take to my next business and/or job other than “operator of FAILED such and such business”?
Expansion risk:
Role change: My role would change from operator to much more of a manager/CEO role, as I would have to grow my team to include GM positions for each location, and would have to invest more of my time in my team rather than my clients, as I have done so far. Do I have the skills to be successful in a new role? Or will my lack of experience cause me to sink my entire business?
Financial risk: The rent on the second location is more than on my current location, but my business as it stands now could pay it with current profits even if new location had zero revenue.
Launching second location would cost into low six figures, but majority, if not all, could be cashflowed from first location.
Time Risk: Have told my wife that we have just got to buckle down for ‘this season’ to make it with our business… For 4 years. Now that we have ‘made it’, I’m preparing to buckle down again in hopes of….bigger payday? 2 young children under 3 and one on the way means time with my family is precious.
Current thinking: My wife is very excited about the second location, and told me years ago, “We will never have piles of money. As soon as you get some, you’ll invest it in your next idea.” She knows me only too well.
I believe that a second location would enable a MUCH more dynamic marketing and branding opportunity which could serve to create a defensive moat around my existing business, as well as create a source of potential employees and lifetime customers (my first location is in a very affluent area, and the proposed second location is at the local HUGE state university)
There would be the opportunity to tap students who are studying my area of business as well as marketing, design, video production, etc as low cost labor for branding, marketing, and employees.
Many of these students will graduate and move to the neighborhood where my primary location is, and we can retain those clients as they transition into their careers.
The fear of mismanaging my new role of CEO/manager is also excitement over getting the opportunity to steepen my learning curve and gain those skills, skills that will transfer to any future businesses or jobs, making me much more valuable, to myself or others.
Even a modestly successful second store will enhance the business of my first, and pay for overhead payroll costs of additional admin and marketing personnel, strengthening my organization.
Multiple locations meaning multiple teams with interchangeable parts diversifies my reliance on a small number of key employees, allowing me to lose those who are currently key without suffering too much of a hiccup, while allowing me and my family to go on vacation on a reasonable schedule, previously unheard of.
In a best case scenario, we will reach all of the same financial goals that we have personally within the same timeframe of six months, but would have 2 profitable locations instead of one, creating a more stable foundation.
Negotiation on rent on second space is ongoing, but the opportunity for 5-9 months of free rent is a real possibility, giving us plenty of runway to build our business and screw it up without screwing up fatally, as operating costs prior to rent will be under 50% of profits of location 1.
I tend to take on the risks I can identify, and thus manage. In this scenario, there are the risks of the LT liability of the rent, the organizational risk that comes from doubling the size of my organization, and the risk of running myself into the ground by not creating the systems and structure needed to make this jump.
By standing pat, I can save and conserve cash, which is seemingly the wise choice, but I feel like I’m standing outside in the cold naked. I’m vulnerable to entry into the market by an unknown competitor with large resources that would change the value proposition of my business. I would not have any idea until it was done, and pivot time would be short.
What would you do? Remember. This isn’t fake money. This is more money than your parents EVER made. The only constant is change.
Bruce Wang — June 14th, 2012, 10:52 pm
Hey there, this is Bruce Wang and I manufacture and market US-made table saw safety equipment that is distributed in 200 retail locations worldwide. For the last three years I’ve been working dedicatedly at growing my family business and creating a wealth plan for my family and myself. At 26 years old, it a blessing and interesting position to be in to become the breadwinner for the family and the business growing our revenue and profits over 100% in the last few years. I’ve certainly met with many struggles internally to grow our operations from a work culture/family dynamic standpoint but also from an opportunity cost standpoint.
Being young, talented, and ambitious presents someone with many opportunities to potentially make a larger impact on the community, new ventures, and the world other than a woodworking business. However, whenever “shiny things” tempted me I always would think back to the story of “acres of diamonds” and stayed focused and harvested…so essentially taking career risks and business risks within my business and industry as opposed to jumping ship into unknown territories.
But it has reached a point (even though we’re positioned for continued growth) where the internal dynamics and culture of the business and family are hurting. So in many ways it felt like I failed. Failed to make it work. Failed to find the resolution. Failed to change myself to be the right person to champion our team. However, it ultimately set me up to learn the biggest lesson I needed to learn that could have only been learned this way: humility.
Over the last three years it has no doubt been an unmatched learning experience. The opportunity to become the linchpin in my organization, champion product launches and marketing campaigns, build an infrastructure for our sales force, forge stronger relationships with all our clients with little experience out of college has been the best time of my life.
So enter the transition, and how to make an intelligent career risk…essentially moving from a business I had a deep domain knowledge of to one I know very little about, fast-moving, and with ever-growing market potential: mobile app development (thanks to Chad’s post). Armed with confidence, salesmanship, and an idea…I’m taking my newfound skill–humility–into new territory. It already “feels” risky baring this much on this post but hopefully many will gain new perspective from my post (I certainly am). And to be honest, it doesn’t feel too intelligent but it feels right.
So there’s the risky part…going into a new industry that will challenge me, completely change my lifestyle, and convince myself this is an act of inspiration and not hubris. And leaving a business that is profitable and work I love in the name of preserving my family. The intelligent part…taking the skills, the network, the mentors, the drive, the vision, and a plan coupled with a no matter what attitude to win at a new game. So I can be like MJ coming back wearing the 45 or Steve starting Pixar. Both ways, new lessons need to be learned and new habits need to be formed. Thank you Tim, Ben, and Reid for the opportunity to share.
60 day timeline: smooth transition out, no loose ends, connect with influencers in the app/media community, launch profitable apps.
Alexandra — June 14th, 2012, 10:56 pm
Hello, I have been obsessed with the 4 Hour Workweek since my husband brought the book home about two years ago. Prior to that I have been a stay at home Mom for 8 years. Two kids, two dogs, and an Air Force husband has kept me from taking any personal risks regarding what I want for myself.
I have spent most that time of course raising the kids but also fantasizing about all the things I am going to do to change the world.
Over the past year I have been working on my muse but have yet to bring it to the market. I feel like I have tried to get my leg over the fence many times and each time I try, my foot gets stuck in the chain link.
My goal is to have my product ready by September 1, 2012 to be sold to the public. My biggest fear is that I am not an expert in marketing and that I will fail to get my product into the children’s hands that so need it. This is my biggest fence yet. Because now it is not about me it is about them.
I would love the opportunity to speak to both of you and get some insight and advice. And if I win I will bake you both some kick ass biscotti! And Tim too, of course. (Baking is another passion of mine besides reading Tim’s Blog) .
Thanks for listening
Alexandra
Nick Lee — June 14th, 2012, 11:00 pm
Thank you Ben and Reid for a great post. The resiliency concept reminds me of something I discussed in a term paper on defining “sustainability” in environmental issues and public policy. I argued that a system must be allowed to temporarily operate under unsustainable patterns in order to adapt and grow in response to environmental stresses. I can email you the paper if you like.
I’m currently 6 months away from graduating with my MS in Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. For four years in undergrad, I followed the path of an engineer in training. I majored in civil engineering, and pursued internships in civil and environmental engineering.
But last summer, I got involved in a software startup with a professor and a fellow student. I failed to get a civil engineering internship, so when my friend offered me a chance to get involved with mobile app development, I jumped on it. It sounded fun, and it was different from anything I had ever done.
I discovered that I had a knack for business development, product development, and coordinating people. I felt alive –even though the startup has never been quite profitable, getting involved woke up a part of me I never knew existed. At a UC Berkeley Entrepreneurship Association event, one of my friends introduced me to the founder of Noah’s Bagels as an “entrepreneur.” I thought, “Do I really have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?” And just this May, I pitched a business idea to Randy Komisar (one of my life inspirations), and he said KP&C would be interested in investing if I could build up traction.
I’m stuck between two appealing choices: My planned career goal of going into environmental engineering (I’ve invested years into this) vs. pivoting and running into the world of tech startups. I love working with programmers to develop software (I learned project management from my engineering work) , but I fear most companies will not hire me because I am not a rockstar programmer (it’s a risk for them). Furthermore, my software startup still hasn’t gotten off the ground and I see huge risk in sticking around rather than finding a “real” job.
I still enjoy environmental engineering work. Right now, however, the excitement of startups and the uncertainties of entrepreneurship excite and enliven me. I’m worried that if I venture into the startup scene, future employers in environmental engineering might treat me as a pariah. They might ask me, “Why did you go into software for 5 years, then decide to return?” Furthermore, they might not hire me because of my years out of college; I would possess the experience of an entry level engineer, but I would be older than an entry level worker (companies generally correlate pay and age). If I go into startups, I would be taking a huge risk (and possibly going broke), and potentially damn my future prospects in environmental engineering!
Not sure what I’ll do –but it’s a lot for me to think about.
Derek — June 14th, 2012, 11:00 pm
My risk management programme. It’s easy to learn and all too easy to forget so needs looking at or listening to every couple of days or so but it works.
Step 1
Risk is as much a part of change as oxygen is part of water.
Step 2
Death arrives on its time scale not mine.
Step 3
He who needs the least has the most.
wei lu — June 14th, 2012, 11:09 pm
Hi, wei here. 24, living in : everywhere i can find a job, currently Springfield,OH.
I’m a Habachi chef(a year), was a waiter(3 years), own and closed a chinese togo place(9 months ), came to U.S. 5 years ago, stuck in restaurant mainly because of 100,000 debt( to immigrant here), I been working my ass off since.
Feb 2012, I started learn code @Codecademy,now I’m on Udacity,finished CS101,and CS253, web application development, Hope to become a web developer, run my company and live with freedom . #4HW
What I want to make in my career in the next 30-60 days ?
1. I’m moving to SF on july 20th— get out of comfort zone, make uncomfortable decisions .
2. keeping my job as a Chef, learn code,build project.
Risk : 1. don’t know if someone would hire me, no experience ,no degree.
Risk 2. takes time to build a new career,but i need money –I got a 30 years monthly mortgage 1000USD back in china,I try to persuade my dad to sell,but failed)
Risk 3. If I don’t move, I will likely doing this job for another couple months
My planed solution :
1.keep learning, build stuff , do some free works for people,build network and show my works to potential employers.
2. Less is more, live frugal, earn 1800 a month ,I’ll be fine as long as i becoming good at coding.
3. Convince Tim : this is the most thoughtful comment and win the mentoring (it will rock my life !) I think i will make a nice 4HW case study : )
Conclusion : There are Risks involved in everything,the riskiest thing is to take no risks.
wei lu — June 15th, 2012, 12:43 pm
Tim, this is the most thoughtful comment :
After seeing all these comments,I figure I need a simple version,I know what I been through is nothing but if I got the mentor from Ben and Reid
Here are what I would do:
1. Update my LinkedIn profile, list Ben and Reid as my mentor
2. Persuade Reid re-read 4HB, try slow-carb-diet .
2. Through their network, get in Hacker School NY or Fly to SF right away, meet the people suggested by them,work for them if possible,learn as much as I can.
3. Build a blog, update: what risk am I taking, what the result of taking it , what am I improving, learning, who got me hire, how much I earning ,hopefully inspire more people to do the same
4.Give two signed copies of The Start-Up of You to Your reader(I got kindle version already)
Steve — June 14th, 2012, 11:40 pm
Career risk must be the topic of the day! I was just over at BigThink reading this post
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/henry-rollins-the-one-decision-that-changed-my-life-forever
Next thing you know I come over here and same topic! Something in the air, Tim?
Bobby — June 15th, 2012, 12:06 am
Hey, I’m Bobby. I’m a 26 year old awesome fellow. I quit my job over 2 years ago now, and have been travelling the world since working on making my business produce tons of value and products.
In the next 30 days, I’m actually applying to a few companies where I am now, which is Vietnam, for positions I know I can create huge boosts of change and revenue in.
One company I’m applying to is a school to teach business topics in. I went a little crazy in my cover letter, and structured a whole new revenue stream for them in the way of online membership site that students can use to extend education or take courses on.
The membership can be used to create hybrid classes online+in class, and even online classes delivered to students in their busy lives at home. Which is done by a ton of schools, but personally, I think it’s done badly in my experience with these courses.
I never imagined myself applying to work with a company again, yet, I want to make contacts and transform businesses here.
The other opportunity in my own company I’m taking is helping entrepreneurs launch their products and services. I’m working very closely with some folks and helping them get their websites and membership websites going so they can start producing income from their great products.
“What Risk?”
I’ve taken so many actions that were deemed crazy and risky by people, that I’m really excited with my chosen path.
I quit my $67,000 job with great benefits (6-7 figure benefits in the future), when I didn’t really have any true plan of what I wanted to do other than travel the world.
I know I wanted to help people, so I worked on learning and creating products to help people in many different ways in life.
If I stayed in my job, I know in a decade or so I would probably die from stupid reasons.
The risk I’m viewing here, is as opportunity. I really want to help businesses succeed and improve, and a lot of the time I’m doing it for free, like you guys, just to learn more and more.
I personally don’t know exactly what will come out of these choices to say yes, yet I know my life will always be better because I put the effort to helping other people.
This article was great by the way, I really hope more folks afraid of “risk” read it.
Thanks Ben and Reid!
With respect,
Bobby
Linda — June 15th, 2012, 12:13 am
I am still getting my head around the fact that I can be brand me, and I don’t need to be the next “big thing” so now that I have done that, what is my 5 year plan ? How do I get to the next step of me?
Joe M. — June 15th, 2012, 12:34 am
I am starting a job with Citibank doing commercial banking in about a little over a week. I just graduated college without a degree in business and am feeling like I am being thrown into the fire. I am being sent across the country to NYC for training, and I literally have no idea what I am getting into. My risk is going to be learning all the skills needed and to make as many contacts while I am there, both within Citibank and influential people living in NYC.
I can be a bit of an introvert at times, but I know that there will be a tremendous wealth of knowledge at my disposal while I am there. I know that I want to be an entrepreneur at sometime in my life (or a second job after hours), hence me wanting to meet other influential people. I am a bit scared though; I would love to get in contact with people who are much wiser than me and try to gain from their experience, and eventually find a way to pay them back, but I always get nervous to seek these people out. I don’t know why, in reality I have nothing to lose, but the mind is a funny thing. I guess that is why I am writing this post–I have never commented on a blog before, but I am hoping that there is some small shot I can get in contact with Ben and Reid and learn from them.
Thanks,
Thomas @ Mobile App Tycoon — June 15th, 2012, 12:49 am
This is really great – love the comparisons to our ancient ancestors and how natural human behavior is involved in our actions even today!
For me it’s not about just taking risks for the sake of taking risks. I enjoy risk taking, however it has to be EDUCATED risk taking.
Thomas
Crista — June 15th, 2012, 1:02 am
Four years ago found me sitting in my big office, doing my big job, but feeling miserable. I was an art dealer, a job, I was constantly reminded, many would kill to have. But after accomplishing all of my goals in the art world, I yearned to express and support my own creativity.
An off-hand remark by a friend, “Its days like these that make me want to sell it all and move to the south of France,” led to a radical response. I did. Quit the job, sold everything I owned, got down to a few suitcases and moved to the french countryside by myself. Oh, I don’t speak french.
This self imposed exile was terrifying and then exhilarating. Eventually, reality came a’knockin and I had to find a way to survive, I missed my peeps, artists, but resisted all offers to sell art again. Instead, I created a workshop for artists, teaching the business of art. As I continued to travel, I taught artists how to take control of their careers, navigate the art world, and sell their work.
It’s been a simple life these past four years but now I’m ready for more. I want to share what I’ve learned in a larger way. I want to offer my workshops for artists online, to sell a comprehensive downloadable program that will help anyone who wants to understand the art business and undertake the real responsibilities of being an artist.
Because I took a great risk in forfeiting a career, it should be easy to risk starting a new one. But the obstacles are huge. There is the learning curve as to how online businesses work. There are financial risks, I’ve never had to raise money before and am using my last few pennies to get this off the ground. If it doesn’t work, I’m unsure what I will do. All around me people complain,”You’ve had your fun, it’s time to get a real job.” But after four years, a real job won’t hold me. It’s got to be on my terms. I’ve gone feral. I need to summon the courage to hunt the resources I need to make this career move, to start again, so that I can help others who want to do the same.
Kristi Centinaro — June 15th, 2012, 9:49 am
Awesome story! What you have done is really inspiring, thank you.
)
As a hobbyist artist and a web nerd, if there’s help I can give with navigating the wild web, do reach out (this isn’t a pitch, but an honest offer to help.
Best of luck to you! You are doing great things.
Ali Shehryar — June 15th, 2012, 1:13 am
After being forced to study a degree I do not like ( in Pakistan you often dont get to choose what you want to study) , me and a friend of mine are thinking of taking a year off of college and starting our own business. We plan on creating a student companion sort of tablet pc and digitizing every aspect of classroom application.
Julia P — June 15th, 2012, 1:32 am
Last year I needed a change. So I told my boss “I intend to move to Paris or Madrid next year”.
His initial reaction was surprise-normal response I think. Then he said, “Okay, Julia. So where are you moving and when?”
This was the hard part – I got freedom. Another, more senior manager, even tried to make it more difficult by asking me why I wasn’t moving to Milan… At the end of the day I flipped a coin, and now I’ve lived in Paris just over a year. I figured if I wanted to flip the coin again and say best out of three after the first time, I’d have to go with the other option (Madrid). If I was happy with the outcome, then I should just get organized and move.
Now it’s time for a new change/challenge-change and challenge are synonyms to me. For one thing, I already kind of have a new job lined up at the company I’m working for. Yes, I changed position/team when I moved to Paris, which was completely unrelated to the relocation. But since then, I’ve realized what stimulates me, and I’ve been telling people what I want to do. 4 weeks ago they announced that a position, basically what I’ve been saying I want to do, will be created. It will be open for applications, but the profile seems tailored to me. I don’t have the biggest ego in the world – a handful of people in the office said to me “But Julia, this is for you.”
The thing is, I also want to start my own company on the side. The aim is not to diversify my risks, although after reading this blog I realized I should have thought about that. The aim for me is to grow as a person, and perhaps even to fail. Life is too easy, and I definitely need to start setting the bar higher for myself.
Risk? To me the risk is that my mother is disappointed or disapprove. Aside from that, there is none. I don’t care much for things, so losing things won’t shatter my life. And no matter what happens I’ll still be me, which is a pretty cool starting point.
What my company will do? Well, in my view France hasn’t really entered the 21st century yet when it comes to IT, payment services, banking, etc. That is great – that leaves all the more room for me to improve things. I’ve started registering domain names, I know exactly what my first venture will be and have gotten in touch with some guys that have a similar business in another country. That’s all I’m saying for now!
Simon — June 15th, 2012, 1:35 am
Coffee, Tim. Really AMAZING coffee!
We drink copious amounts of it. My dream is to rid the world of the freeze dried bland and start a fresh gourmet coffee revolution across the globe.
Think graze.com, for coffee. Freshly hand-roasted coffee, delivered to your door every month.
I have an amazing coffee roaster in Glasgow in the UK ready to go, the geek skills to build the site, the contacts and experience to raise awareness and grow the sales (I think).
Here’s the kicker – I work full time. For all intents and purposes it is a good steady job. I’m not sure I like good and steady. I would love to be a truly successful entrepreneur though this will mean risking my steady job and steady income.
HELP!
Bastiaan — June 15th, 2012, 2:39 am
Introduction:
I worked as a consultant and risk manager at a bank for in total 6 years. Decided to take a sabbatical to travel through South America end of last year, which gave me a lot of time to think and be inspired.
The plan:
Go (back) to Peru (flight:18th of July) and set up a life there. I have some savings, but at some point I’m going to need money to survive. I would love to try out different things: Freelance risk management work, freelance consulting, teaching, doing workshops, writing (finish the book I’m working on, blogging, other writing opportunities). Perhaps other things that cross my path. -Anything- but get a 9-5 job.
The risks:
Not being able to fit in with the culture. Not being able to build a network. Lack of focus (trying to do too many things at the same time). Procrastinating. Stopping myself because I’m afraid I’m not good enough.
The rewards:
Doing something completely new. Learning loads of new skills. Finding out which things I truly enjoy. inspire.
John B — June 15th, 2012, 2:47 am
I love words! The word ‘Career’, for example, is an interesting one! I think in relation to my own experience ‘careering’ is more apt – The Verb can mean: “To move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way in a specified direction”.
The Specified Direction? Well, having worked relentlessly at developing a small business, I suppose I’m still hoping to see the following signs along the ‘the specified direction’ of my life’s path:
-happiness and well being,
-fulfilment and positivity,
-healthy challenge and renewal
To the chase (and challenge!), 4 years ago I wrote 30,000 words of an EPIC story – it’s an ancient Irish myth which I’d been retelling, full of gladiatorial battles, giant adventures and phenomenal cultural insight (hope I’m not overselling it here but think ‘Ben Hur meets Braveheart with real irish accents!’).
The problem I have is since then I have lost nerve, belief and focus in my writing (It’s sad, given the feedback I’d gotten back then!). I suppose with a beautiful son, a fantastic lady (wife) in my life and a ‘roller coaster’ small business which I’ve been ‘taming’ for seven years now, I can’t seem to get in the zone to finish the book.. (or indeed properly taming the beast of managing the small business – it’s small and yet SO time consuming at present!)
In regard to the challenge, I genuinely believe this could be one of the greatest stories ever told but only if I can get my focus. I am worried sick that I will upset the apple cart in the process (Tim – your insights on writing have got my juices flowing again!). I really want to make wine and not ‘hooch’ on this one so I must find clarity and focus!).
I’m teetering around saying ‘Yes’ to my inner guide and to commiting to delivering a draft by Summer’s end (60 days). My challenge is to manage my busiest period of the year at work with possibly the only opportunity I may get to complete this writing project (Long story but re-structuring our home life means papa bear may be foraging for more food out in the forest come September!).
I would love to share this experience, this journey and this story more with you as it unfolds – I hope at the very least someone else out there in the blogosphere gets a little kick out of seeing someone else with a similar predicament – I’m so close to jumping into the river and striding for that far shore because I’m hungry enough to do it – I’m just hopeful that it’s the right decision! Thanks for the opportunity to share :O)
John B, Co. Antrim – Half Mystic, Half Wrestler – So my good lady tells me
)
Siobhan — June 15th, 2012, 2:59 am
I’m a freshly minted academic and recently began running training groups for the public. What I am currently offering is very ‘samesy’ and doesn’t do my skills level, or my creative side, justice. In the next 2 months I’m going to ‘style’ my training so that I’m using my skills and targeting my specific audience (university students).
The key risk I’m taking regards my academic reputation. I want to find the balance where I research, teach, and provide training in an honest, authentic way. There is a risk that my colleagues may perceive this as ‘selling out’. However, working with people is the most rewarding part of all these years of training and research, teaching and training all support one another.
I think developing my own style and creating a highly personal career is filled with risk. To be flexible and creative there is always the chance that certain things won’t work the first time.
Mark — June 15th, 2012, 3:07 am
Great article!
Introduction: Freedom Fighter & Micropreneur. Canadian hanging out in Singapore.
Career: I want to quit my day job completely in 60 days and support myself purely on my micro-businesses.
Risks/Perceived Risks:
- Lack of medical insurance
- Not enough income to support myself
- Lack of experience in running my own business
Cheerio!
Jared — June 15th, 2012, 3:43 am
At 20, I’ve just recently taken the biggest risk of my career / life by moving out to California to pursue a career in the music industry as a producer. I had no plan coming out here but found myself enrolled in the LA Recording School as it didn’t make sense to drive 3000 miles to deliver pizzas. My father is sick, and I’m on the brink of leaving.. one of my 4 roommates almost got into a fist fight with me the first week I moved in (he’s drunk off vodka on a nightly basis), our apartment constantly smells of rotting food and dirty dishes, so I’m forced to clean up after people nearly a decade older than me just to maintain a semi-normal lifestyle. What’s worse is the blunt realization that the industry I’m getting in to has next to no “good paying” work. I’m currently being instructed by one of Dr. Dre’s previous mix engineers who picked up the teaching gig because there wasn’t enough money in the music industry to support his family. I’m bleeding money and getting less than 10% of the work done here in Cali than I did in Wisconsin, but am trying to stay positive, maintaining a 3.992 in my current classes. This was a hell of a risk for me, searching hard to find a way to make it pay off.
Sophie — June 15th, 2012, 3:58 am
This year I will reach the position in my job that was always my goal. I will be the General Manager of the cinema in my hometown. I started working there seven years ago, when I was 18. Now 25, being lined up to take the job I always aimed for doesn’t feel the way it should. But I have a two year old boy, and I love the town I live in. It seems right, safe, stable. There are perks. I love the staff, and the benefits (free popcorn and movies!), and an ever-changing atmosphere that changes with the titles. It’s like my family there, and our small coastal town holds no other big opportunities. But I want to raise my family there, and I can picture my boy Archie having a great childhood with his mumma the boss of the cinema…
However, about 18 months ago I read the 4HWW. It changed everything I thought about how I was supposed to live my life. I had always felt in the back of my mind there was more to life than the 9-5, but I never had the impetus to change. After reading the book I started up a business. It was very profitable, very quickly and soon after starting it we were able to automate it and buy one way tickets to Thailand. We stayed away for 4 months but in the end, the niggling idea that I had to come back and “re-claim” my job at the cinema won over. My business was trend based and so after a great run of over a year it is really winding down. And at the same time, the cinema job looms ahead as bright, shiny headlights that I’m frozen in. “It’ll look great on your resume” they say. “It’s the best job in town” they say. “You’re only 25, it’s a great achievement” they say.
But all I want to do is create. Right now I have two new projects I’m working on, one which involves a lot of overseas travel (win!) if it comes off, and another that I’m in very foreign territory with so I’m learning tons. And I just want to keep going with them. In my heart I know I don’t want to work the 9-5, stuck in one place job, where my decisions and creativity are kept on a leash by Head Office. But my lizard brain is having trouble letting go. I’m really passionate about both of my new projects, but I just don’t know how I’m going to get the customers I need to make them successful, and therefore can’t feel confident to leave the “secure” job.
My main thought that I come back to is this: If my two projects do not come off and I turn down the secure job, how long can I keep hoping to “make it” on my own, with rent to pay and a family to support?
Julie — June 15th, 2012, 4:29 am
This was a wonderful post; great read. I’m taking a risk just by posting this comment because as I’ve skimmed through everyone else’s comments and I didn’t see any story similar to mine & quite frankly, maybe mine won’t be interesting to anyone else but I always look back at my life and try to keep myself inspired by it. I’m currently typing this up on my iPhone because I cannot afford Internet at the moment, however, I have a strong sense that things will change for me soon.
I am a single mother of four who, until last week, was working in clinical research & going to school for nursing. After reading Tim’s four hour work week I allowed myself to accept the fact that I was completely miserable at my job and unsure about my degree choice. I knew that becoming a nurse would be a sound career choice & would help me excel in clinical research but other than for those reasons I had to stop and ask myself, “Is this what I really want for my life?” Well then, here comes one of th riskiest choices I’ve ever made. I quit my job (as gracefully as possible because I really wanted to tell my boss how much her presence makes me think of Satan and his minions but I kept my cool) and I switched my major. I don’t really have some wonderful plan set in place & haven’t stopped thinking about how I’m going to support my family however I didn’t let that get me down or stop me.
Just for a little background maybe I’ll share a little bit of my story and how I’ve inoculated myself & mentally prepared myself for this kind of shock because honestly, just about everyone I know is freaking out asking me, “what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?”
Shocks:
- Pregnant at 14, mother strongly suggested I have an abortion: done.
- Pregnant at 15, mother strongly suggested I have an abortion: not done.
- Dropped out of high school. Struggled to take care of my son alone, abandoned by father (son’s & my own)
- Got tired of the B.S. got back in high school, while working & taking care of my son alone. Graduated on time.
- Pregnant at 19, moved from NJ to FL to live closer to my mother. Had daughter, went to school to become medical assistant while working 2 jobs then when my daughter was 9 months old, got pregnant again.
- Ended up having to go into a homeless shelter with my son, daughter and “belly”
- Nearly miscarried my son causing me to be on bed rest, forcing me to quit both jobs & take a medical leave from school. (I nearly lost mind then.)
- Had son, finished school, started working in clinical research office, gained a wealth of knowledge & developed a love for research.
- Met someone, got out of shelter & got married for the 1st time.
- Pregnant at 25 (this one was planned). Had my son.
- Husband turns out to be a child abuser & pedophile. Husband goes to jail.
- Within a month, I quit my wonderful job, move to central Florida with me, my 4 kids, my best friend, her daughter, my mother, her 2 dogs, our cat & NO JOB.
- Even with 5 years experience & certification in clinical research, couldn’t find a position in my area. Took on a job at call center.
- Finally found a position in clinical research. Also, found out who I was working for (please see reference above)
- Mother gets diagnosed with MS, have to take a temporary leave from work, sell all of our belongings & move to NJ with kids, mom, 3 dogs & our cat, not knowing where we were going to live or how I was going to make any money. We moved in hopes of having a better chance of getting mom some health benefits. After three, very difficult months, moved back down to FL but still currently, taking care of mom financially.
- Read 4 hour work week, quit my job, switched my major to liberal arts, with a desire to become an interpreter for the deaf.
So sorry if that was too elaborate for this kind of post but I wanted to get the picture across about the difficulties I’ve encountered and why I think I’m not completely freaking out right now. Here I am, a week later and don’t have one wonderful idea that I’m working hard on & hoping that it works, I have several thoughts that aren’t well put together & would greatly appreciate some mentoring.
- I’m currently writing some fiction stories (my fav, although I have been told that I should write an autobiography, eh maybe one day)
- I’m selling a few knick knacks on eBay
- Started selling AVON products
- Thinking about opening a shopify account
- Searching for an affordable programmer to get some mobile apps going
- Hoping that some other muse will strike
- Trying to teach my children that material things are of less importance & that when you take the “what’s-the-worst-that-could-happen?” view of life, wonderful things can be achieved.
So there it is, in a very large nutshell and regardless of whether or not I win the mentoring or the book (which I would love to have), I can see the great benefits of even posting this message, it was very cathartic. I wish everyone, including myself, lots of luck in all of their endeavors!
(P.S. Please forgive any typos, I’m a great speller but typing on the iPhone can get a little tricky at times!)
Denzil Kennon — June 15th, 2012, 4:49 am
This makes me think of the Black Swan principles and how to cope with them.
As long as you ensure you limit your downside (stability) you can expose yourself to unlimited upside (start your own company in your own time). When one of your own companies take off, that is your new limited downside. In that way you get to consolidate your “safe” environment as well as venture into the world of entrepreneurship!
Great post, really hits home!
Jorge — June 15th, 2012, 5:51 am
“What doesn´t kill you only makes you stronger.” Right? Jim Collins has an interesting take on risk in his new book – Greatness by choice – he talks about the -ROL – return on luck and the importance of getting a good return on “lucky” opportunities. Anyway, I´ve been working at a company that has fairly low pay but great opportunities of learning and networking. HSM is an executive education and management knowledge leader in Brazil, we organize many conferences a year ( some speakers this year: Joi Ito, Kurzweil, Michael Porter, among others), have a magazine, publishing company and business school. I work directly with the Chief Knowledge Officer creating the conference´s program, selecting articles for the magazine, books to publish, etc. I started a company in the healthcare space – HealthCO – taking advantage of HSM´s work with this industry. Brazil has a 15 year demographic bonus (young population) and still don´t face major issues with health but changes are coming to the whole sector and with such a big population (200 million +) we are finding ways to help companies better manage their employees´s health. Have been growing 3 digits for the last 3 years. We are a 4 people company (me and CIO have a 5-9 job).
Nonrelated: I´ve been trying to reach Reid about a professional speaking engagement in Brazil at ExpoManagement (end of 2013). It would be great to get a direct channel. We already have some major names confirmed.
Tim – I am a great fan.
Jeremy — June 15th, 2012, 6:19 am
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
In the next 45-60 days I want to have a part-time position lined up teaching for the Fall semester at the college level, consulting small to medium sized businesses at the C-level, or be running my own business; any of these options must be generating at least $500 in additional net income for me within 6 months. (I have student loans to pay!) Some quick background on me: I am 35, have worked full-time for the past 12 years in large businesses – mostly financial services and now a top 3 pharmaceutical distribution company, and just graduated from The Ohio State University with my MBA – a lifetime achievement in my book. I know I could teach at the community college level with my degree, but don’t have any direct teaching background. I know I could consult business owners on how to strategically position their businesses for success, but don’t have any direct consulting experience. And I could run my own business successfully, but don’t have any ground-breaking ideas for what that business should be.
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
The risk is both non-existent to me, and a very real fear. By this I mean that I know I could set out to accomplish any one of these things and really work hard to pursue it; however, I fear that it might not “work out” meaning that it won’t fulfill the goals I set out to accomplish – namely finding my muse and a solid additional income stream for my family and I. I know I would learn from the experience no matter what. I know that I could make of the experience something successful in my life (I always have with anything I’ve set out to do), but yet I am a perfectionist and dislike starting something that I am too worried won’t be just the right thing for me.
Help me make this world a better place than the sum of our fears of success!
David — June 15th, 2012, 8:41 am
Ironically, it was the speech at Harvard in 2000 by Conan O’brian that came to mind when I read your comment. I never liked his show but that speech was great. “Your biggest liability is your need to succeed, You need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve.”
You have work experience, currently employed and have an MBA. Most people will ask “what do you have to be afraid of?” They might even look at you funny when mention you want to earn $500 extra a month, because the assumption is that you are getting paid well and you shouldn’t need it. I understand there are plenty of reason you might need extra income.
Teaching can be a rewarding option. However, it does depend on other people to make it work.(the college has to hire you) Also I think if you don’t have a real passion for teaching, it might not be a good fit because of the time and energy it will require.
Consulting is an interesting choice of both independence and contractual employment. It is you that makes it happen. It could more financially rewarding per the time you put in than Teaching at a college. There are no worries of losing money unlike business.
Owning a business is similar to Consulting. Only difference is that you own a business which can be sold vs owning a job which you can’t sell. It is a completely black canvas. You don’t need any ground breaking ideas to start. The ones that make the money are the ones who bring things to market anyway. Less stability, your time commitment might vary, and profits/losses are uncertain.
I would suggest that your fear is one of inaction. You could try all three options and see which one sticks. It might also help to think ahead and consider what you would do if your choice didn’t net you $500 dollars, but put you in the hole? As an academic, I think it is easy to see things in steps. GED, AA, BS, MBA, PhD, law degree and such. So it maybe easier to think if you layout the steps you will take and the changes you will make per outcome. Hope this helped.
Chris — June 15th, 2012, 6:33 am
I have been a contractor for 3 years and I have been running a side business for the last 6 months. From the 1st of next month the side business is going to be full time, that means giving up the rather easy freelance money I have been getting (£2000 – £4000 a week).
On top of this I am not going to renew the lease on my flat and plan to live for (at least) with no fixed abode. This is an experiment I have been wanting to preform for a long time.
So to sum up, no large income, no where to live. Sounds like it’s going to be a fun rest of the year
Chris — June 15th, 2012, 6:34 am
*that is live for 6 months (at least)
JamesC — June 15th, 2012, 6:43 am
I want to turn unresolved New Year resolutions into life changing outcomes.
I’m 35, live in Scotland, and have 12 years’ experience of launching cultural projects and events. I have a concept for a new business, which I have been carrying around in my head for the past 15 months, which I want to turn into reality.
The idea: a project which allows people who say ‘I’ve always wanted to…’ to saying ‘I did …!’. Those who have a dream would be paired with those who have already made it happen. In learning sessions, from intimate 1:1s – such as a CEO wanting to pivot to a new sector, to the more public – a group writing the first chapter of their novel together. We would turn unresolved New Year resolutions into real, and potentially, life changing outcomes.
I know from personal experience the difference this business could have on me and the wider world. The company would help people make the first move. For example, I’ve read many business start-up books, and have collected piles of cuttings that relate to the concept, but I need to actually do something. The initiative would get people off the blocks. For myself, creating a company that helps people move from being passive consumers of content about what they really want to do; to actually doing it is hugely appealing.
Since October 2011 I have been trying to develop my career with a new challenge. Due to the recession, I have been competing against candidates with more than a decades experience than me. For 60 days, I want to change tactics and create my own job. I would like your help turning my concept into reality.
In terms of risk, my main worry is that I may not succeed. I also need to make quick wins (such as money in the bank!) to convert the person closest to me who is sceptical about creating a job vs. getting a regular one.
I hope to hear from you soon, James.
Arturo Gonzalez — June 15th, 2012, 6:55 am
I work as a Drilling Engineer and I’ll make two changes in my life. First, I’m taking two international projects back to back. the first one will be in Cameroon and it will last at least a couple of months and after that, I’ll work in the Peruvian jungle for 6 months. I have never been in any of these places and I’ll be working with people that I have never met before. Also, I’m on stage 2 in starting my third company. the first one failed and the second one is growing slow, but I’m still convinced that I have everything inside me to fulfill my dream.
The risks associated with these projects are very relevant in my life, because I don’t have experience enough and I’ll be taking a lot of responsibility in an industry where mistakes are not forgiven. Also, been far from home for so long will bring the risk that I might come back and find out that someone else is doing my job and I’m no longer needed here.
However, I believe that the actual risks are no way near to the growing opportunities that I’ll encounter. I’ll be able to meet new people that have a different culture and live experiences than me, so I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from them to grow as a person, as an engineer and as an entrepreneur, by getting a more global perspective of what people’s interests and needs are.
Thanks for this opportunity,
Arturo
PS: I’m not including the biggest risk of all in terms of my mind stability. Been far from my wife..
Michael Kaput — June 15th, 2012, 7:13 am
I learned about the nature of risk in Cairo, Egypt.
I moved to Egypt a few years ago with no job, few friends and absolutely no idea what I was getting into. Despite a short study abroad experience there in the past, this was real, post-college life: suddenly I had to live in this place, interact with neighbors, buy groceries and rent an apartment for the first time in my life.
But the risks paid off. I got a well-paying magazine job, had countless priceless experiences and even met the girl of my dreams. Yet, just when I felt like I was on top, Egypt had other plans–namely, the Egyptian revolution of early 2011.
I lived through two weeks of anarchy before flying home. Tanks were outside my apartment, thugs roamed the streets and jets screamed over the city. I even stumbled into some of the revolution’s biggest protests, where I was heavily tear-gassed for hours on end, shot at with rubber bullets and nearly trampled on a couple of occasions.
Now, I’m back in the States and freelance writing full-time. In the next 30 to 60 days, I want to start my own mobile app company. It’s a scary, risky prospect–especially with my limited funds and small (but growing) network.
How do I think about the risk involved in this move?
I remember the crack of rubber bullets, the unmistakable stink of tear gas, the fear and chaos of those two weeks in January. I remember a few times where it really did seem like I might be seriously hurt or even killed, like hundreds of others during those days. I remember the first few nights of the revolution, when the police fled and the whole city went to hell. I stayed awake all night praying I wouldn’t have to defend my home and loved ones, all while the younger men from my building patrolled our block with sticks to keep the thugs out.
Life is short. Things are (generally) not as scary as you think. I’ve got a lot of fears, but the fear of not doing it all in my limited stint on the planet is what keeps most of them at bay. In the words of a very wise man: “Stay thirsty, my friends.”
Chris F. — June 15th, 2012, 7:16 am
Thinking about pivoting a large part of my focus from current 2 year old company to a spin-off that resulted from it. It appears that myself and a very good client stumbled into a sweet little niche with an entirely new market behind it. It’s a huge risk because: 1) why is no one in this little space already? 2) definitely jumping off the beaten path that has stability and better than average promise.
I’m thinking about the risk as a fun way to solve a bad-ass problem in my space (that will definitely help you at some point in your lifetime) and at the same time do something original, challenging and risky. Whether it flies or flops I’m appreciative of the breath of fresh air it has provided.
Ryan Melsom — June 15th, 2012, 7:24 am
Thanks for the great post, guys,, and here’s my crack at this tantalizing contest you’ve devised.
The biggest risk I’m taking in the next 30 days is to continue on the course that I’ve been on for the past eight months, which have been among the most adventurous I’ve ever lived. Since October, I’ve been learning everything I can about business, web design, programming, and entrepreneurship, and have put the knowledge towards developing several blogs, Twitter feeds, and my own startup. The risky part is that I took some time off work to do this, but now it’s getting to the point where I may have to go back to Plan Z for a bit and regroup. In the next 30, before I start considering mo traditional options again, I want to attend as any relevant MeetUps as I can, promote my ventures through as many media venues as I can, and if possible try to find a truly spectacular mentor. I’ve found this last one to be th hardest, as my network isn’t really geared towards entrepreneurship, but I’m working on it.
It’s interesting that you ask about how we’ve been thinking of risk. I first came across he word in the context of stock markets, where risk means (roughly) degree of possible failure. It’s useful to think of it that way, but I think it lacks the positive dimension required for successful businesses. People like Reid don’t just want to not fail; they want to have a big impact as quickly as possible. As a result, I’ve come to think of risk in business as something more akin to willingness to face upset in the pursuit of a vision.
Unless you’re dealing with investor money, the risks in entrepreneurship usually seem to be personal ones, and have a lot to do with comfort zones and scope of vision. While you want to hear the input people are giving you on your venture, you also have to be willing to look like an oddball to your friends and family and coworkers if they haven’t seen your particular brand of awesomeness the past. I think the best thing you can do to moderate risk in entrepreneurial ventures is to gain the good graces of trusted but brutally honest allies, who can give you realistic feedback on your actions (which is exactly what I’m looking for a top-notch mentor).
Krisztian — June 15th, 2012, 7:32 am
Wrong. You should not only weigh gains and losses, but also their probabilities. You say that “a risk is good when the possible upside outweighs the possible downside” and your writing echoes this attitude. Does this mean you would accept a bet where there is a 10% chance that you win $100 and a 90% chance that you loose $50? Even though “the upside outweighs the downside,” taking this bet is a pretty bad idea.
Similarly, just because an engineer has less short-term risk in his/her career than a salesperson, it does not mean that she/he will have more long-term risk. I guess by long term risk you mean an event that has a little likelihood of occurrence, but if it happens, it will have devastating consequences (if not, please define long-term risk). Let us ask ourselves: assuming a “disaster” happens, and both the engineer and the salesperson gets fired (or equivalently, loose all their commissions), what is more likely, that the engineer finds a job more easily or that the salesperson does? I would say that the engineer has an easier time recovering after a blow.
Mistakes of this sort are hiding throughout the writing. Just to give another example: how do you know that Saudi Arabia has a higher chance to “explode” (whatever that means) than Italy? Events like this have a rare occurrence and it is extremely difficult to assign probabilities to them (and judge which is more likely). Think of the Roman empire, which was struck by blows for centuries, which endured much “volatility” and “short-term risk” (emperors killing each other, Germanic tribes invading the border, rebellions in some provinces, pirates, etc.) and yet, it collapsed anyway.
All I want to say is that it is highly questionable whether accepting short term volatility does indeed lead to more resilience.
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 8:16 pm
We fully define risk in the book itself and account for the probability point. You’re right that potential consequences is not the only thing to evaluate — you need to think about likelihood, too. The problem is that assessing the likelihood of something is really hard in most situations — despite all the fancy predictive models designed on Wall Street and elsewhere.
In terms of the short run vs. long run point, it’s impossible to generalize too much, of course. But in general, yes, we’d argue that Saudi Arabia is more fragile than Italy, and that if there were a major disruption of some sort, it has a greater likelihood of experiencing harsher change.
Neal Konesky — June 15th, 2012, 7:33 am
My name is Neal Konesky and I am currently creating the most value-packed personalized nutrition program for business professionals, CEO’s and entrepreneurs. In the next 30-60 days: I will test my system by helping these individuals for free to collect incredible testimonials, input and most importantly happy & healthy people. Businesses run the world. If I can transition to do this full-time and move from my current job I can improve the lives’ of the people that live to run these businesses. In turn the businesses run more efficiently and with better purpose (in theory). Also, in the next 30 days I would like to build up my blog to over 1,000 followers (my goal) so it will be worthwhile to create an online magazine with my blog (differentiation+art).
The risk involved: battling that throw-up feeling before I public speak to network, substituting countless hours consulting rather than improving relationships with family/friends, potential for leaving stead paying career for a career consulting, writing and helping the people that run the world.
Just like said above: higher upside is always worth it when it better than the downside. Improving the lives of the people that do so much good for the world – worth it.
Thomas — June 15th, 2012, 7:35 am
Hi, I am Thomas, a 30 year old married man with 3 young kids. This post really hit close to home as I am having a real hard time figuring out if I am willing to take the risk.
I currently work full time as a purchasing manager/Web Designer for the same company 6 years now. My salary is decent and I provide for my family. But I have always wanted more. I am not someone who could work the same job forever, I love to learn and try new things, pushing myself to improve my skills. I have a huge entrepreneurial spirit. Which has lead me to start a new business last year. This side business has grown every month to where the last 3 months it has made equal to what I make in my day job. My wife, brother, and brother-in-law all have helped me pick up the slack to keep the business moving forward. It has been an amazing experience and my passion is in this business. I want to desperately give it my full attention and see what I can do when I focus on it full time instead of having to split my focus between two jobs. If I was single I would have made the jump and left my current employment to go full time entrepreneur. I have no doubt about this. If I was married I am sure I would have as well. Here is where the risk has me in a standstill and feeling desperate. I have 3 amazing children that rely on me to feed them, clothe them, and overall take care of their needs. When they come into focus all the things that could go wrong seem to be more important than ever. What if I stop growing? What if the business fails? What if a lawsuit happens wiping me out? Then I have to find another job in a market that is difficult to find one. I feel like I will be judged for pursuing my dream and risking my kids health and well being. The fear of being considered an idiot when things go bad is a real fear. But the fear of failing my kids is enough to keep me feeling chained up and working 80-90 hour weeks to make things work. I keep telling myself that once I get more cash saved up, or profits get to a certain point then I will make the jump. But I can’t really be sure I will be able to do that when the time comes. I am torn, and would love any help that you can muster to throw my way.
David — June 15th, 2012, 7:36 am
Critical thinking suggests that a few of the things mentioned in your post are insufficient. So I’ll like to point them out for the benefit of you and the other readers.
*note: I suggest choosing the winner at random. So many people are vying for guidance, and yet only one person will get it. After reading their long comments, it is a bit sad that the rest would have wasted their time pouring out their circumstances.
Weighing Benefits vs Risk is a hard concept and you were brave to tackle it. Possibilities by its definition are almost infinite, and it is usually the individual’s perception that dictates which possibilities are included in the analysis. For instance, in your post you included examples of your risktaking paying off and none of your risktaking crippling you. I thought that was lacking of your post, not because it would have made a better story, but it missed a critical aspect of risk which is (crippling) failure.
Also I disagree in some level that a continuous appetite for risk can medicate future failures. It surely might prepare you better, but risk means no guarantees. You can fail at a part-time job, then at a contractual job, then at a governmental job and finally fail at entrepreneurship as well to be no more. I thought the post implied that early, frequent or continues risk taking is a guaranteed way to success, and needed to be clarified.
When you mentioned saying “Yes”, I thought of the movie “Yes man” staring Jim Carrey and chuckled a bit. On a more serious note, Tim’s work clashes with your post because saying No to unprofitable clients, constant emails/meetings, large employees, and so on is at the core of what he preaches. It was slightly disorienting.
Lastly, I thought your examples of being at apple and being on the board of paypal was impressive but un-relatable to the readers. Most people will not get the chance to work at a innovative company such as apple or be on the board of any company let alone paypal. It sounds a bit like chest-pounding. Something to keep in mind.
If you have read this far, I would like to leave a few titillating thoughts.
1. What are the benefits of not being on LinkedIn? It was Mark Twain that said “when you find yourself in the majority, it’s time to reconsider your position.” By now so many people are vying for online presence, linkedin and so on that the benefit of not doing those things should have risen. But by how much and what are those things?
2. Lets say you are not picked for this “prize”. (99% of those who entered won’t) What would be your next move?
Thank you.
Dodie Jacobi — June 15th, 2012, 7:39 am
Thanks for the opportunity to learn through this post, and the contest! I live what you describe – defining risk in relation to life threat and valuing nimbleness and resiliency as my most precious career-building assets. I appreciate your mirroring in words what goes on in my psyche.
My target audience is creative owners intent on having a business that supports their ideal quality of life doing work that gives them energy. Through one of my current face-to-face products, a roundtable model called the Circle of Trust (yes, as from Meet the Fockers), I’ve found how important peer support is to business owners’ success, and how brilliant business owners can be when learning together. Essentially, I’m moving the Circle online.
Informed by 4HWW, my career goal is to shift from a business model that requires my constant presence for income generation – small business consulting in Kansas City – to one that doesn’t – products sold online using digital marketing to reach and build my market. (My clients call Tim my Author Crush; I’ve sold at least 100 copies of 4HWW and another 25 of 4HB. Thanks Tim!)
I recently completed Phase I toward my goal with the objective of increasing revenue from my consulting practice to invest in the cost of my plan. Phase I: launched the initial web platform (dodiejacobi.com your basic blogsite for now, poised for rebranding as market feedback suggests); indexed my archives of content to prepare for commercialization; developed my launch marketing plan; and began digital marketing tactics’ implementation.
I’m now am at the front end of Phase II to begin generating revenue from online products: 1) package and test market initial info product; 2) implement second phase of digital marketing program to continue to build fan base; 3) test initial version of online Circle of Trust; and 4) begin production on video series. (No talking head, or just another site visit, for this program! I’ll share details about this format with contest judges by email when asked, but I’m not yet ready to publicize.)
LinkedIn is an integral part of my plan. (No lie. You can check my account activity to confirm I’m not a smoke blower!) I funnel business owner Connections into my digital marketing machine. Each week I send all new Connections an individual message to sign up for my enews with the reward of my free how-to article, “Fees or Famine.” Which drives to my blog. Which leads to the mouse with a cookie…
LinkedIn also on the shortlist of platforms I’m considering to test my online version of the Circle of Trust. It is obvious too that LinkedIn would be a fitting sponsor for my video series since my audience is one of yours.
Inspired by 4HWW and nurtured with LinkedIN, this career plan is a poster child for our shared philosophies and visions. While you all already accomplished impact at the level I envision, I’ve proven meaningful impact for hundreds of business owners myself. Our collaborative success offers residual impact for infinitely more. My next career move is not a pipe dream, but a pipeline of demonstrated progress, atop a career of dreams delivered despite humbling missteps. It’s truly the perfect time in my plan, with the perfect combination of allies, to leverage the gift of your prize.
Preston — June 15th, 2012, 7:48 am
I resigned from my job on June 1 to work full time on a company I started in November. After working for a wealth management firm for 5 years, becoming a partner and helping manage over 300M in individual and corporate assets, I had had enough. Where did the joy in life go? When did things get so boring and why we’re they so complicated? What happened to the 8 year old who started his own shoe shinning company? What happened to the middle schooler who started his own pressure washing business? What happened to the YMCA camp counselor? Being a doctors son and a brother of an orthodontist, banker and marine this was a big shock. You can’t quit a promising career. It’s too risky my conservative parent’s said. A week later I had moved from a house of 2000 sq ft feet to less than 800 with my cofounder and sold most of my items on craigslist. That’s when reality sank in. WTF did I do? I had been in sort of a depressed gaze for about a week until my brother forwarded on your article. At 27, your article opened my eyes and made me realize I am doing what I love. Taking a risk is engrained in me. If this doesn’t work, something else will. The corporate life was just helping me die inside.The risk keeps us young and living. I started an equity-based crowdfunding platform that will allow people to help bring companies they want in their community to their community. What could be better than helping others help others and everyone benefiting from it?
I realize I may not qualify due to resigning already but thanks for the article. I look forward to the challenges and risks of starting my company.
Preston
Marc D — June 15th, 2012, 8:01 am
Hi Tim, Ben and Reid. This post really resonated with me as I was recently given notice that I am going to be made redundant. I had one of those “safe” government jobs and over the past few years a huge shake up has resulted in a cost cutting exercise that has resulted in job losses and out sourcing. I agree that these jobs don’t prepare you for the times when you have to dig deep and do whatever you can to get your next pay check but blogs like this and Ramit’s IWTYTBR have really helped me find the drive to pursue a brighter future. Although I have been forced to make a change I’m viewing this as the kick I needed to take action and start a new career where I look forward to going to work.
I have no doubt that the next couple of months will be hard work, I plan to network with as many talented people as possible and learn from them even if it means working for free to get my foot in the door. For a long time I feel like I have been just another cog in the machine churning out the same thing everyday but I want to feel like I am making a real difference to the future of a company or project. I know what my weaknesses are and I am facing them head on which has sometimes been scary but I just keep thinking what’s the worst that can happen?
The biggest risk I face is running out of money before I get a sustainable income, but in the short term I can afford to take higher risk opportunities such as short term contracts or working for un-established startups. I don’t really know what the future will bring but it’s going to be fun finding out.
Thanks for this great post.
Marc
Erik J. — June 15th, 2012, 8:12 am
If you can enjoy life as a journey, a process and a set of experiences then interesting things will happen to you before your time’s up.
If you just looking for an end result, a job title or strong sense of security then you’re just going to be paralyzed with fear.
The modern world is a playground for those with the first attitude I mentioned and a prison for those who believe in the latter. Have fun, lighten up and get your hands dirty!
Lee G — June 15th, 2012, 8:15 am
I learned about risk the hard way – I spent 3 years at a startup, as their sole software developer, trying to make things work. When the funding ran out I was made redundant, and left hunting for an alternative. I grabbed the first decent job I could find, and was made redundant again for the second time in 5 months.
This was 8 weeks before I was due to be married.
As the guys say – That stable career really isn’t ever that stable.
It was after this that I decided to get more friendly with risk…
Risk Management move – I took a decent corporate software dev job at a great local company that I knew offerred good prospects, in an exciting industry.
Risk 1) Started proactively networking inside the company, to find like-minded people to work with inside, and on outside projects.
Risk 2) Started pitching my boss with ideas to develop innovation strategy inside the company, and managed to get my ideas to board level.
Risk 3) Developed a startup idea with a colleague, wrote an initial business plan, and pitched it directly to the CEO. He didn’t bite.
Risk 4) Through my network, I was headhunted to be the Techie Lead at another startup, so I took the job. Risk management move – Took the job as an employee not a contractor so I had stable full-time income to help buy a house.
Risk 5) Put reputation on the line to approach ex-CEO again, with better business plan – Secured £50K funding without breaking a sweat.
By becoming risk-agile, I went from 2 redundancies in 6 months to being the top techie with 2 startups – One provides me with a stable income, the other is my baby and is due to hit the market in the next month. I
Also I’ve nearly tripled my salary, and I absolutely love what I do
If I can do it, you can.
My advice for the risk-ambivalent:
1) Take risks for love, not money – Take risks to do something you love to do, or something you think will really benefits others – Don’t just go for the big payday.
2) To steal from Tim: “Beg for forgiveness, don’t ask for permission” Never ask people if you can take risks. This is critical both in and out of work – Don’t ask your family for permission, discuss things but the risk should be your choice. Also don’t ask people diffidently if you can talk to them – Just go for it. By doing this and following Tims advice, I’ve secured investment in my company from a CEO I used to work for, and had a face-to-face chat with my idol, Chris Anderson from TED (in the middle of the Qatar desert).
3) Don’t hold yourself back for a bull***t reason. It’s easy to justify dodging risk in the name of family, or financial solvency. Unless YOUR risk puts THEM at risk, then be all you can be and go for it.
4) Own and share your f***-ups. No-one succeeds all the time. Not every risk pays off. Take responsibility for when things go belly-up. Learn from it, and most importantly help others learn from it.
My next BIG RISK, and what I’d love to work with Ben and Reid on :
How can I balance the development of my current startups with pursuing other ideas, as I have other businesses concepts I’d like to investigate, validate and hopefully build. How can I go from a singular focus on one business, to multiple, without people feeling like I’m not committed to the original project?
Anton Sirianni — June 15th, 2012, 8:21 am
Great article guys, really thought provoking and inspiring.
My big risk is moving into a completely new area of work. I am 26, worked two years in publishing and last year I decided to take up a position at Hyper Island to learn more about digital technology and methodologies. I graduated in January and have been working freelance and doing placements. This has given me an opportunity to do further training, as well as to give myself time to think about what I want to be doing. As someone passionate about where the world is going, I have taken an interest in food production acknowledging its significance in seeing us become a more sustainable society. My plan is to move into this area, I am just trying work out how I want to be doing this.
I have been thinking about the risk a lot. What I have been trying to work out is how I am filtering that risk. I realise a lot of my mental prejudice toward this area is associated with my upbringing and what I have deemed an appropriate career path for myself. This past month has been a case of breaking down my ego, understanding myself and trying to understand what I truly want. Having reached some clear insights in the past week, I feel capable of making this jump with a more clear view. In looking forward, the risks involved are a hugely competitive marketplace, dominated by big players whose reach in both distribution and marketing I could never compete with in my lifetime; an increasingly uncertain environmental outlook; and a growing population pushing up food prices. Not to mention that I intend to do this in London (I am from Melbourne, Australia), so I am out of my comfort zone with a very small support network surrounding me. With all of this said, I am excited by these risks as I feel like I am moving in the right direction and moving towards a future I want to live in.
Andrew — June 15th, 2012, 8:27 am
From my experience, risk begets risk. My first real “risk” was choosing to not pursue a career in engineering like all the other engineering majors around me in school. Instead of doing the typical internship for a large corporation, I chose to volunteer my time helping my local church launch a thrift store that benefits the less fortunate and provide on-the-job occupational trainin (okay, they paid me, but it was so little that I felt like a volunteer).
As a result of taking that risk, I ended up getting the opportunity to help launch a coffee shop that provides for orphan care through coffee development and the privilege of starting my own tutoring company that funds educational development for at-risk youth.
Though I still provide some tutoring, I am currently employed as a business analyst at a greeting card company. It’s funny how everyone around me is applauding me for finally getting a “stable” job. To be honest, I see it more as a transitional job that pays the bills until my next “risk” takes off (which I am already working on — more to come later).
Anyways, the whole point is that your first risk may seem huge, but in reality it’s probably not as big as you think. Once you take that first step, you begin to realize the infinite number of possibilities ahead of you. That first risk will almost inevitably lead to bigger and better risks in the future. I know mine did!
Rachael D. Lamkin — June 15th, 2012, 8:35 am
Hi guys, my name is Rachael and I am an IP litigator. (Hello? where did you go?)
In the next 30-60 days, I would like to finish the first mock up of my side project: a website that collects and posts performance metrics for IP litigators. It’s a risky venture for many reasons. First, I love being a litigator and don’t plan on leaving my current job. As such, to the extent “free” time exists now, it will cease. Second, a lot of lawyers are going to hate the site and i am likely to receive heat from my community. But I believe it to be a vital service and will help much more than harm. And the list of concerns goes on….
Your second question is very interesting. “Thinking about” implies some sort of method. I am not sure I am thinking about the risks at all, as opposed to listening to fears and concerns. Which is uncharacteristic, i would have thought, but your post suggests otherwise. Regardless, I will take the cue implied in “thinking about” risks and develop a method for assessing and working through the fears. And I’d sure love some help with that (pick me, pick me).
Good luck in your endeavors,
Rachael
Jose Luis Revelo — June 15th, 2012, 8:35 am
I’ve taken risks from a very early age and have been greatly rewarded for doing so. I dropped out of college (a tech degree) 15 years ago to pursue a career in music, moved to NYC without money or contacts and these two risks proved to be the best decisions of my life. I’m a Grammy nominated musician. I’ve scored TV shows, films, commercials. Music has allowed me to see the world and live a life that resembles an adventure.
Problem is, I never quite got the tech bug out of my system. So I plan on taking a risk to try to expand what I do. I plan on going back to school to get a new degree and experience in the tech world, maybe coding, maybe designing, maybe managing, who knows. And I plan to combine the insights I get with the experience in the entertainment industry I have, to create technologies that will contribute back to the industry that has given me so much. In particular, I’d love to try to put art and education front and center and to counter what you so rightly refer to as low-volatility in the short term. Everybody wants to find a short cut to this low volatility when in reality that is just a mirage. Just look at what this mentality has done for the music industry in the US, where it’s all flavor of the month instead of long term career development.
I also firmly believe in the positive impact that art in its many forms has to enlighten and inform our society. We need more of the insightful commentary that art provides on our daily life rather than simply another empty app designed to make millions.
I routinely say that I think certainty is not such a good thing. It closes you to experimentation, mistakes and growth. I am not certain of where these new risks will lead to and that is exactly how it should be.
Jonathan — June 15th, 2012, 8:37 am
Hey there. I’m Jonathan and fell on this article while I haven’t been on Tim’s site for a while. Its funny because this article coincides with what I’m currently doing. I’m taking risks in a new yet at the same token a somewhat familiar field. While doing so, in a month the staff culture has improved, the level of product has improved immensely, and the owners are fighting to pull me away from my other endeavors. I’m striving to be one of the most recognizable Trainers, Coaches, and Even possibly competitors in the world. I’ve already been called the Filipino Freddie Roach and Apollo Creed by my clients. Exciting, scary, and fun!
david lukas kuhn — June 15th, 2012, 8:42 am
I’m a designer in Atlanta looking to grow and learn and not give up on having real career mentors. I’m on the verge of getting engaged. I still rent – my goal is to make it out to SF and learn from the best in the design industry. I’m still working in my first real gig out of school, for a marketing/design firm that deals with education and non-profit. The work we do is based mainly in print and conceptual ideas. It’s rewarding on some levels and stuck in the past on others. I am eager to take on more and learn more about digital and grow. I’m in the situation where the work we do here isn’t evolving with the times, and my boss is a micro-manager who constantly gets in his own way and, ultimately, in the way of the company itself. I took this job wanting a mentor from whom to learn, and he’s become less and less that as he’s let the business devolve into a mash-up of irrelevance being salved with sort of business alternative medicines, like “tribe meetings” and “personal development plans.” Kind of kooky. It’s a small firm (6-8) people, and the workload doesn’t permit much experimentation within the confines. I’m at the place where I want to quit, having been here for so long with little opportunity for advancement without leaving, but I’m not financially ready to just drop this job. I read your post and really felt the pangs of life-adventure and risk that are constantly quelled by the supposed stability of having a full-time position within my company. I have connections in SF, but its tough to door-to-door a portfolio while living 3000 miles away. It also hard to make too much noise around the Atlanta area without it getting back to my current boss who is well-connected in the industry. I’m really trying to figure out the best way to get my foot in the door with a respected one or few modern design agencies while also navigating the course of life events, day to day and long-term, that have to be handled. I’d be grateful for your help…
Erik D. Kennedy — June 15th, 2012, 8:44 am
I was reflecting on what I wanted my “theme” for 2012 to be and I came up with a very similar idea to what’s mentioned here. I call it “eurisk”. Just as psychologists parse out stress into “eustress” (good stress– like the kind that makes you do well in your performance) and “distress” (bad stress– like the kind when your parents get divorced), I want to do the same for risk.
So there’s bad risk (the risk of something awful happening) and good risk– “eurisk” (the risk of something awesome happening).
My goal this year is to ask myself “What would have a small chance of paying off many times over the effort I put into it?” I figure if I can do those things as much as possible, then that will ultimately be a huge win. The trick is to ignore the costs, because if I take many of these risks, the costs will easily be justified.
What has a POTENTIALLY UNBOUNDED UPSIDE? Those are the things I want to do.
* Go to parties– meeting people CAN be awesome, but sometimes it’s just a boring evening where you don’t connect with anyone… but meeting one cool friend for life is worth a few boring parties
* Invest in my passions– I need to spend slightly uncomfortable amounts of money on risky things I’m passionate about. Example: when starting my blog (see the link on my name), I knew I wanted a really nice logo, but it cost a few hundred dollars, and I remember thinking “maybe I won’t go through with it”. But I’m sure enough that this blog is an important, door-opening opportunity that I said “Eurisk!” and did it. Every time I have to spend more money than I want, I ask “does this have a potentially unbounded upside?”
* Contact my heroes– When I hear about people who have done awesome and inspiring things, why don’t I rise above the 99% of people who think “they’d never respond!” and instead try and seek them out. I now get regular mentorship from a well-respected entrepreneur because I asked.
So far this has been awesome, but I know my career is a place where I could apply this philosophy even more.
Alex Wilson — June 15th, 2012, 8:48 am
I have been in the information technology sector for over 24 years as a developer, administrator, consultant, manager, director, project manager. I have worked for several major companies and ran my own successful business for several years. I sold that business just before the dot-com bust in the early 2000′s.
I was laid off from my cushy corporate job back in September of 2011. I immediately took another corporate position to protect my income. Within weeks I realized my business ethics were being compromised if I stayed. I took a risk and left in December of 2011.
I took a risk. It was better to be unemployed than to have my professional reputation ruined. I immediately started networking for some contract work with firms in the region. I started doing some low end work for one in March but it offered some great potential upside – exposure to senior management. Once they saw what I was capable of, they might opt to bring me in at a higher level. I am still pursuing that end but they are slow to make decisions and I need some ideas to spark them to a close.
I reached out to another company for a full time opportunity but after we chatted initially, the position was not what I was looking for. The company offered a lot of potential so I discussed with them the thought of altering the position a good deal. They liked the idea and pitched it to the investors. The investors agreed with the idea but they were not ready to do it yet. When they reached out to tell me that it would have to wait due to other directions they wanted to pursue for a few months, I offered to consult with them on a regular basis to start laying the ground work for when they wanted to open up the new position we discussed.
They agreed to do this but we have to close it yet. The work will start soon most likely. I need to keep the momentum going and turn the thought into an agreement and contract to get it going. The contract is not lucrative but the long term benefit is. There is exposure to management at all levels and to all aspects of the company. Essentially the position is a director of an entire division that focuses on IT services for clients. They want to grow this division and have it meld better with their other lines of business. They have my business plan in their hands for this growth. I did this work for free to show them my interest and desire.
I just have to keep their interest and close either of these opportunities. Both are very interesting, even if only ever contract positions.
Carolina Mills — June 15th, 2012, 8:50 am
I have just moved to Costa Rica ( 7th country in the last 10 years). For the first 5 moves I worked on internships, sustainability NGOs and multinationals. On my Last move (Colombia) I set up two companies (both service focused -with a MASSIVE limitation for growth)…ironically, my specialty was helping other people set up their own businesses abroad.
What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days?
I sick of dry, monotonous work, and craving something exciting and challenging – I am starting a company on one of two things I love: Yoga-lifestyle & Jewelry. (still dry testing but have a feeling it will be the first grwoing onto the second)
Heres the catch: I have very littlee idea on how to implement the business model I want to work with…. (-i will tel you more about it on that 30 minute call).
Im trying to simplify what in my head is the next distribution scheme in Latin America… and how to automatize a system for an unexperienced but eager sales team of just-over-18 girls. . .
How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
1. I have very little idea what im doing (but learning and adapting increadibly fast and have a clear idea of what I want to get to.)
2. It will take a reasonably large investment , which I am not prepared to loose so easily.
3. If this doesnt work I have to get a job. And I really don´t want to – so any advice to minimize the risk failure is much appreciated.
Brad de Comarmond — June 15th, 2012, 8:56 am
Hey everyone,
My name is Brad de Comarmond. My story goes like this:
I grew up with old fashioned parents that both worked (and still work) dead end 9-5′s and never took risks or followed their passions. They always made excuses why they didn’t invest or take chances. Most of them were because they wanted to ensure me a stable upbringing which I can admire. Being from South Africa and without college degrees, my parents took the first jobs they could land back in 1991 and are still there today. (pretty depressing to say the least). After spending my whole childhood and the beginning of my adulthood watching my parents live mundane and unfulfilled lives, I vowed to never be like them in a career sense. I knew I could never do something I didn’t enjoy.
Being a entrepreneur at heart (and a Jew), I always looked for ways to make money on my own without having to wear a silk noose and get fat on an office chair.
Fortunately, a few years ago, I had the opportunity to intern with a husband of wife in South Tampa that essentially retired in their mid 30′s from real estate investing and other ventures. After learning a ton from them (including being introduced to 4HWW from them), I decided to follow their steps in real estate.
My first big risk was borrowing $200,000 for a family member to buy, rehab, and sell houses in one of the toughest economic markets in America (Tampa). After almost a year, we have learned some very tough lessons about unexpected costs, who to trust, and the need to persevere. Fortunately, we have managed to stay afloat and make some money. With this business model set up, I am ready to move to my next risk.
For a few years, I have been modeling part time when the opportunity presents itself in Tampa and Orlando but its not big enough of a market to pay the bills. Without knowing anyone in Miami, I found a roommate online and will be moving there at the end of July in hopes of modeling full time.
I’m not sure what to expect. Hopefully all will work out, but I do know one thing.
I’ve lived with regret before in my life and I have seen regret on my parents’ faces since I was 4 years old. When I look over my life from my deathbed when I’m old, I don’t ever want to say “I wonder what would have happened if I took that risk…” I want to say ” I lived my life to the fullest because I wasn’t afraid to fail while chasing a fulfilling life.”
Amanda Ryan — June 15th, 2012, 8:58 am
I feel as though I have been living the past year in a state of risk. In April 2011 I was laid off from my corporate job in product development for a food manufacturing company. Knowing the economy of the area I decided to take the opportunity to travel and live in another country. I went to Italy to WWOOF and live on organic farms. I thrust myself into the homes of strangers and came back to Portland, OR with a greater appreciation of food and what it takes to get that food to my plate. I have since devoted my job search to more sustainable food opportunities and have had a hard time finding the jobs that I want to do. I worry that I wont find the opportunity to thrive in but feel the risk of holding out for the job that will make a lasting impression on myself and to those I come in contact with holds a greater outcome for me.
You mentioned working for little money and I am currently doing just that. I started out staging in a bakery of a James Beard award bakebook author and after a few weeks time was offered a part time position. This opportunity does not pay well at all but I am learning the inside day to day of what it takes to run a small business of this kind and have the opportunity to fine tune my baking skills with someone that has been recognized nationally.
In the next 45-60 days I would like to be working meaningfully within farm-to school, be involved in local food hub creation, a voice in the upcoming farm bill or anything food related that will help steer the direction of our country and the way we treat food and ourselves. I have devoted my time since being back in the states to searching out opportunities that will land me where I want to be. My time is running out as I have those student loans that will ultimately decide how much money I have to make but I am willing to risk this time in search of what will make the most difference for all of us later on.
Jennifer Choate — June 15th, 2012, 8:58 am
At 42 and after 19 years with one tv station, my significant Dean Kendrick of San Francisco is convicted to risk saying “no more” to working for business models obsessed with “death, destruction, devastation and outing others unfavorably.”
His goal: He is determined to focus his camera on “fun, frivolity, food, fantasy, futuristic ideas, culture, fancifulness”. His creativity is what drives him, but his history as a technician makes him a one man show in short, long and interactive media formats. He is a master.
He is considered the best handheld cameraman in the Bay Area for his expertise and his personality…. I don’t want to see him be a flash in the pan, media is brutal. As an entrepreneur myself (www.combined-effort.com), I am completely behind him but this is his dream, and his coaching opportunity.
I have been a fan, client, reader of Tim Ferris and friends for the last ten years…. Dean Kendrick has the a lot to offer the community as he gets to know our lifestyle first hand.
Respectfully,
Jennifer Choate
HUGE GINORMOUS Fan
Kristina — June 15th, 2012, 8:59 am
Hey, how’s it going everyone. I’m Kristina.
I’m a Media Manager in New York. The opportunity for the role first appeared because of a freelance writing gig I did for about three years, which rolled into two partners leaving the old firm and asking to take me with them.
It sounds scary, but after three years of working with them, I established a very nontraditional routine that I was able to roll over to my new role. I was able to keep my freelance schedule (which only has me in the office 3 days a week–plenty of time for Muay Thai!), I wear what I want and I negotiated a higher rate and a competitive bonus structure.
The exchange was that I was, once-again, employed “by someone” and I had to learn a plethora of new skills, which over time allows me to be more valuable for future endeavors.
I suppose what I’d like to do in the next 30-60 days is learn how to utilize the obvious savvy that I have buried somewhere within me, and translate that into my entrepreneurial, artistic side. I left the Corporate world to “work on my own terms”, but I’ve only completed about 50% of that journey: I know what my terms are, but I don’t know WHO or HOW to demand them of.
The risks are endless… If I launch a successful, creative business venture that’s lucrative and more meaningful than the work I’m currently doing for someone else, I’ll have to sacrifice those relationships and that comfort for the unknown. But I also KNOW that the same way we were built to mitigate natural risks, we were also built to create. We were built to explore, to be adventurous. I mean, that’s gotta be the reason why our hearts beat so hard when we try something new but we don’t die, right?
Mac Senour — June 15th, 2012, 9:03 am
My name is Mac Senour. For the last 30 years I have made video games for other people. When I say “made”, I am a Producer. I am responsible for the look, feel, timeliness and budget. That also means although I do not program, or draw art or design the game, I am responsible for all of it.
Over that 30 years I have made millions, for other people or companies. I know for a fact that my work has led to three people’s early retirement. Meanwhile, I was paid a nice wage. More than enough to live on, but not in the “retire now” range.
Over the years I have been told several times: “Just quit and go it alone”, but that’s not reasonable unless you have a team around who also quit. I’ve never been in that situation.
I was recently let go by MTV. I think it’s my time again, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity.
I have a game design ready.
I am thinking of going to Kickstarter for the money.
I have a team ready, but they want to be paid.
I just need some mentoring.
Thank you for reading this.
Mike Monroe — June 15th, 2012, 8:08 pm
I was going to write my story until I read about Mac here. I really hope you pick him. Good luck to everybody pouring their hearts out! Both in this contest, but also with their situations and risks.
Read a cool card the other day: “Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok? It’s not the end.” Reminded me that every crossroad I’ve encountered just gives me a new horizon to sail into.
Samuel P.N. Cook — June 15th, 2012, 9:09 am
What do you do when your whole life is spent learning how to kill efficiently?
I am a Cavalry Officer in the United States Army, teaching history at West Point. And I recently realized that I am “caught” by the giant trap that is government service.
The U.S. Army has a retirement system which guarantees you half of your salary for the rest of your life once you have served 20 years. This is actually a legacy that dates all the way back to the days of Rome, where Soldiers of the Empire were given a farm after 20 years of service in the Legion.
The problem today (for the Army’s retirement system) is that most Soldiers end up living almost 40 years after they retire. And having 12 years of active service, going on 13, I realized that I was “trapped” by the security of this retirement system. Everyone I spoke to advised me that it would be crazy to give this up. Just gut it out, they say. Serve 7 more years.
But for me, I realized that I was trapped. I guess it was after I read Tim Ferriss’s Four Hour Work Week when it came out, which inspired me to start my own company while in the Army. The New York Tour industry is not the greatest business for upside potential, and it requires way too much maintenance. So I gave that business over to a partner to manage, and decided to work on the website.
Now, I have discovered website building and internet marketing as a passion, and since I don’t yet have anything of my own I want to market (Because I such a perfectionist), I am helping other people do theirs. Specifically, I have taken up Triathlons, and I have decided to start marketing the best coaches, bike fitters, energy supplements, and anything else that I believe in that also relates to the sport, and interests me.
I have made the “Crazy” decision to leave the U.S. Army, leaving the retirement on the table. However, I have buffetted this a bit by staying in as a Reserve Officer writing books for the Center for Military History, telling the story of what we (The U.S. Army) did in Iraq, which is something I will be passionate about doing,
So for me, while this is scary, and a huge step away from a life that has consumed me for the past 17 years (out of 34 on earth), I now realize I have to do it. I can make another pension anywhere, but I will never be able to get this time back, in my thirties, where men finally start to figure things out, where I am at my peak physical health, and I have enough time to start down a new path that will fulfill me.
So this post is something that inspired me even before I read it, because it was this line of thinking that inspired me to finally take the “risk” and start living a brand new, exciting life.
Kristi Centinaro — June 15th, 2012, 9:20 am
In less than two weeks, I’ll officially be launching my side business.
Using the principles I learned in the 4HWW, I have a plan to automate all the time consuming parts I can train someone else to do, so I can focus on spending time with my clients, until I can train someone to do that part, too! We’ve tested each part of the system on a small scale and have seen promising results.
Here’s the wrench: It’s a big risk for me because I’m also at the same time looking at a huge career opportunity at one of the “big social” website companies i near San Fransisco, CA.
Do I take the dive and see where my business goes? Or do I play it “safe” and invest all my energy being one of many devs in a large (but very reputable) company that could set my career?
Both involve big change, lots of passion, and energy. I’ve done a lot on my own so far without the privilege of a mentor to help me see the big picture. I’d love to share my ideas and learn from the experience of someone who’s already been there on both sides of this fence.
When faced with the prospect of being employed by an influential tech company, or branching out on your own to try a new idea with promise? Which would it be?
“There is No Box, only the limitations you set for yourself.”
Dave Jaeger — June 15th, 2012, 9:23 am
After reading the Four Hour Work Week two years ago I have set out on a journey to build a business that would allow me the freedom to do what I wanted, more importantly what I could do for others through my more available time. I always have found comfort in knowing that I am resilient when change does come and the voice in my head may say yes this is scary but I always know if will be fine.
Things always workout no matter what, for me the uncertainty may be addictive in some ways maybe more of an unconscionable attitude but I love the thrill and knowing that its just me who I have to be responsible for and no one else. Yes it may be tough but I know the personal and professional development that comes with this new found resilience will set me apart from my peers. Its not always easy or fun or flashy or cool, but in the end its always worth it.
In the next 60 days I intent to open two business that I have been working on for the past couple of months. I’m not sure what the future holds for them but I know it WILL WORK, and the reason I know? Its because I believe in my ability and the benefit it will be to my team and clients that it will effect and for that I’m truly grateful to God and the universe for giving me the ability to trust myself and have a creative mind.
These two new business will be a huge benefit, although scary and not knowing all the details, I know how it will change my life and the lives that it effects in return. I’ve never actually started a business from the ground up and made it a functioning and working machine, but I cant wait to see it! I’m so excited… thank you to Tim and all his associates for giving me the momentum and the GO juice to pursue the life I deserve and not live a life of desperation and always wondering…. “What if”….
Dev Letendre — June 15th, 2012, 9:26 am
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” – Mike Tyson
Richard Hanley Jr. — June 15th, 2012, 9:26 am
I feel like this post was written for me. Thank you all for writing it, very comforting to hear at this time.
My name is Richard Hanley Jr., I’m a father of two, married, and live with my parents.
My 9-5 is an art director for an ad agency, but my 5-9 is an entrepreneur who thinks big and burns the midnight oil developing ideas.
I have never spoken of this openly, but I am quitting my day job in September to work on my dreams 100%. The last 27 years have my life haven’t worked so its time to make a change. Start a new chapter on my book.
I know my family and I won’t starve, I’ll freelance or cut grass if I have too to make ends meeet. But I will not work for anyone else. I can only get to where I want to go by investing into mysleft and I’m never going to know it unless I try.
This article was just what I need to read, this best this year. And that’s hard to beat.
Thanks,
Richard
Olivier Gingras-Audet — June 15th, 2012, 9:29 am
I love reading posts like this one as it reminds me I’m on the right path and need to keep pushing my limits.
I’m 21 and for the last 2-3 years I’ve been taking leaps and risks as I kept reading – and re-reading The Four Hour Work Week, The Education of Millionaires, Never Eat Alone and more… Much more.
I’ve travelled, absorbed loads of online courses, taken internships, contacting successfull people, volonteered and tried pretty much anything and everything in order to get a foot in the door of the marketing world – even though I’m ”degree-free”.
Within a couple months, I started seeing results – first getting a promotion at work, then a first personnal client, and it just kept comming.
I was often incredibly lucky, scoring oppotunities I was totally unprepared for and then have to spend my nights learning the job I’d be doing the next day.
Six months ago, I nailed a job interview and have been preparing a 2 year long – and 400 000$ budget – marketing campaing for the city I live in to attract new citizens from nearby citys. (3 days a week)
To be totally honest, I’m underpaid (15$/h). However, I get to deal with major media, video production, web design companies and more. Also, I get to work with major influencer in education, entrepreneurship and social organisms AND the building I work in rents space for start ups, which lead me to find additionnal clients.
The kicker, last week I got a second job for a video production company in which I’m in charge of doing their marketing but also providing strategies for to clients to get their videos in front of as many targeted eye-balls as possible.
IF I WERE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU, HERE’S WHAT I’D LIKE YOUR INPUT ON:
- I believe right now I need to focus on what I have secured, do my job well and keep learning for the next two years after what I’ll be able to take on bigger challenges and responsabilities, what are your thoughts about that?
- Even if you were to agree, it’s obvious that two years from now, scaling down will not be an option… What should I be aiming for? How do I prepare for that?
- I’m working on a side project that involves interviewing job experts in montreal (A head-hunter, an entrepreneur, an intrapreneur, a carrer consultant and a work-culture expert) to share the kind of advice you share to students and freelancer to help them accelerate the learning curve and crank their careers on redbull! I’d love to share with you where I’m at with all this, what’s the business model I have in mind and improve it with your thoughts and suggestions.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU CHOOSE ME:
- I’m a huge fan, I know your stuff work and I’m ready to take action. I am not going to waste your time and generosity.
- I’m aware I have lots to learn. I’m only 21 and I believe that what I shared above is of course the result of taking risks and putting efforts in my dreams, but more often than not, also an extreme amount of luck. I have no power over luck, however I’ll keep putting as much efforts as I need to and keep improving.
- Did I say I love learning?
Thanks for all the GREAT content.
Olivier.
Jonathan Cronstedt — June 15th, 2012, 9:47 am
Hey Tim, Ben and Reid,
I’ll spoil the surprise, this comment is a shameless attempt to garner your attention, while presenting my case for mentorship, and adding to the aggregate comment insight on the post. I believe brevity is best.
The post itself took me down the path of recognizing just how powerful this concept of re-framing risk has been in my career, and although I have experienced it, I never vocalized it as you have in this post. It’s a combination of empirical evaluation, coupled with viewing evolutionary instinct in the light of objective truth. I most like the way you’ve laid out a lens through which you can explain and interpret decisions that the “little voice” tell you to go for it, even when the lizard brain is screaming risky…and that explanation can be applied in conversations with yourself or with others. Thank you for providing ammunition to win the battle of championing appropriate risk, whether the battle is with yourself or with those around you.
Warning…shameless plug:
If I was going to mentor someone on this adventure, which your post itself provided a great field guide, I would be looking for qualities like tenacity, agility, intelligence, abundance minded, socially capable and willing to jump in with both feet and get to work…wouldn’t be a bad thing if the protege was also entertaining, enterprising and a proven track record of appetite for appropriate risk. I’m ready, I’m able, let’s do this!
Ben Casnocha — June 15th, 2012, 8:26 pm
“Thank you for providing ammunition to win the battle of championing appropriate risk, whether the battle is with yourself or with those around you.” Love the way you put this – battle with yourself (which is often the case) or with others….Thanks for the comment!
Ian Robinson — June 15th, 2012, 9:48 am
Hello, My name is Ian Robinson.
I’m just wrapping up the first week as an intern working with the premier authority in outsourcing here in the Philippines. The above post resonates deeply with me because I believe in taking risks and shunning the voice of apprehension.
Change in 30-60 days: I want to find massive success in this internship. Within 30-60 days I’d like to grow revenue for the company by more than I’m being paid. At the point in which my value is undeniable, I’d like to propose a new compensation program.
Thinking of the Risks: The primary risk will be in attempting to fill the shoes of the expert who is already dominating in the industry. I anticipate daunting decisions ahead on how to proceed with growing a brand that already has a large audience who are passionately loyal… to someone else.
Thanks heaps for the opportunity – I would deeply appreciate the opportunity to benefit from your high-impact session.
SALUD
David Hennessey — June 15th, 2012, 9:50 am
I believe our ability to manage risk is trained into us through how we manage stress in our lives.
Because of a family’s friends illness I left my home country 3 years ago with my wife and young children to a country where I did not speak the language but I was extremely motivated to help our friend. I gave up my career, my language and even my precious driver’s license.
It has been a difficult path but I am stronger and wiser and I am willing to share with those who are willing to listen. It is from others how I learned to deal with all the change.
I now have work, I speak a new language but sadly the friend I came to be with has died.
Funny thing is that when I share with people the risk I took. They are shocked since I am not young.
The only risk in life is playing it safe.
Cheers,
David
Joe — June 15th, 2012, 9:51 am
I’ll keep this short since I just scrolled down and saw how much you guys have to read. Sweet Jesus.
Name: Joe Joseph
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
I am quitting my dead-end job in rural VA and now am currently developing an iPhone app (4HWW style by outsourcing it all
) to put out in the app store by the end of July. Currently choosing developers and graphic designers.
I have an empty year where I’m doing nothing but applying and interviewing for medical schools…so now’s my chance to take huge risks and have some
adventures.
Would love advice related to entrepreneurship and how best to market my app.
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
I’ve hedged some of my future career risk by buffering myself with medical school in the future. I can just take a military loan to cover that cost no problem. Although nearly all my resources are going into my iPhone app, I can crash at my parents place or cousins’ places if it all goes to hell. I don’t have much money, only a few thousand, but the upside for apps is the freaking sky, so I’ll take my chances.
Doug R — June 15th, 2012, 9:57 am
My name is Doug and was ‘lucky’ enough to get a job right out of college in 2005. I was making 10k+ more each year I worked there, but the hours, company, environment, and even industry totally sucked. I wasn’t fighting the good fight and it was really affecting my mood and health overall.
So I quit. I didn’t have a plan, really…just some ideas. I guess that was a pretty big risk, but whatever… I was unhappy and wasting my life, which was worse than anything else i could think of.
I decided to travel. I knew someone in australia so i figured ‘why not?’ i sorted out a visa and with some clever CC signups, i flew there for free. i went to Vail, CO with some friends for snowboarding and then left on my own for month in NZ and 3 in Aus. It was amazing.
At the airport, my friend bought me a copy of 4HWW and it’s been a whole knew ballgame ever since. I came back to the US to start my empire with a book full of ‘muse’ ideas i had while travelling….
And then it all got complicated again. I work at a startup that has a great team, but makes no money and has no business acumen. I am trained as a developer, and i am the only one on staff, but i don’t want to spend all day at a keyboard staring at glowing rectangles.
I have all these ideas and no idea how to start. Networking isn’t my strong suit, as im sort of shy and awkward. I’ve tried so many ‘lifehacking’ techniques and some of them help but i still feel like i’m wasting half my day and getting less done than i should. I’ve built a few half-products, but it seems like whenever i run into a roadblock, some OTHER idea all of a sudden seems more likely to succeed so i swap focus to that one, until i run into a roadblock. rinse. repeat.
im torn between leaving the startup and going out on my own and sticking it out. I really just need someone to kick my ass and tell it to me straight. my family is almost TOO supportive (100% not a complaint…i love them all dearly, but they never say anything sucks).
I’ve read 4HWW, the Lean Startup, E-myth, and a few other books. but reading books != getting things done.
I think that i could really benefit from someone who’s been there telling which ideas suck, which have potential, and which ONE i should focus on.
Please help Ben, Reid, and Tim!
ps thanks for reading all this, even if i don’t get picked.
Ryan England — June 15th, 2012, 10:02 am
After college I started a software company to pay the bills. It was actually motivated by Tim Ferriss’ Speed Reading section in the 4HWW. I figured if he could make that much in a single class, what was stopping me from doing the same thing? That brought me into online marketing, and gave me my first taste of truly passive income.
While the software company is still running and making money, I switched my main focus to online marketing. SEO is what I offer most of my clients, but every now and then I’ll mix in some websites, Adwords, or general online consulting. My clients love me, my business mostly runs itself, and I have contracts for months ahead. I enjoy growing the businesses of my clients, but I’m not sure how much longer I want to keep doing this. I’ll be bringing someone on to run the company, and will be shifting my position to pure owner.
It’s not that I don’t want to work, I just want something that can impact more people. I’ve always been fascinated with learning, and hate the way the current education system works. While there are some exceptions, teachers are using teaching methods that haven’t changed in over 100 years despite updates in technology and research on the mind. I hate when I talk about speed reading, and people think its a gimmick. Ever since Evelyn Wood (~60 years ago), there’s been courses readily available; yet most people won’t accept it as a reality.
That’s my new goal. I want to change education forever.
The risk I’m taking has already begun. Last week I put a significant amount of money into the new software I’m having developed. I’ve had the general concept laid out for the past 2 years, but finally took the time and figured out exactly what needed to be done to not only make the software more effective, but grow the brand and influence the largest number of people. It brings the social factor into learning, which I don’t think has been done before.
The easiest way to describe the software is Rosetta Stone for anything. It focuses on progressive learning, meaning the material gradually becomes harder which will help with retention. I’ve also mixed in mnemonics (memory techniques), just to ensure that people are actually learning the material. The best part is, you can add in your own information and it will teach you anything. Famous people, presidents, states/capitals, countries/locations, painters/paintings, composers/songs, etc. It’s limitless.
(I’m not worried about having this information out there. If you want to build it as well, please do. The thought of competitors and the challenge of building a better software sounds motivational. And what it comes down the biggest benefit will be to the end user). PS> My branding kicks butt.
I’m really excited for the 4 Hour Chef to come out, as I know Tim will be talking about learning and education. I’ve heard him talk about languages, but would really like to see a more comprehensive view of his thoughts on learning as a whole. Hope you didn’t mind the ramble, it felt good putting it all out in the public.
Thanks. ~Ryan
Roy Bauman — June 15th, 2012, 10:04 am
Nice post guys. Roy here.
After being dissatisfied at my job for the past year, I decided I could take no more and put my two weeks in without having another job lined up. It was secure, and I was making good money, but I was very unhappy. Some days before work, I just felt like crying before my day even started.
Knowing I was leaving this job, I immediately booked a trip to Denver, Colorado (1100 miles away) to line up housing and job interviews, as I have wanted to live in Colorado for years. I leave next week. I figure if I’m leaving my current job, I might as well be starting another job where I have always wanted to live. Somehow I am taking action based on faith that I can get a job lined up once I get there.
Risks? I have a house that I now must sell or rent out. I have a son who is coming with me. His mother is too but we aren’t together, she’ll be staying with her family nearby. I know no one in this area but I believe with my past experience in sales and my work ethic, honesty and drive, I will have employers interested in speaking with me. I have just enough savings to get there, and survive approximately 1 month until my checks start coming in. How am I thinking about the risks involved in this move? Worst-case scenario I move back to where I have family, lose my house, and find work with relatives. It’s a little scary and I kinda feel crazy but I can handle that risk for the chance to make better money in Denver and live in my favorite state…
Jill Rowe — June 15th, 2012, 10:14 am
Hi Ben and Reid ~
This is Jill Rowe. My career to date has been full of taking risks. In fact, I don’t think I know how to navigate without that component. My latest risk is at 51 to be ‘starting over’ in a new arena ~ branding. The career risk I’m taking is to endeavor to play with the big girls (and boys) in a field that I have a lifetime of peripheral experience in. I’ve offered my services for free to build my business, make contacts and gain useful knowledge that I will use as case studies. The risk (although I don’t see it as a risk, I see it as a necessary step) I want to take in the next 30-60 days is to suggest a project to a high profile client in my field that will be useful to them and give me an opportunity to showcase my talents.
To be humble (open to learning) and play ‘as if’ at the same time.
I’ve been talking about the fight or flight idea for several years and I too feel our vestigial fear-based brains are holding us back. I want to use my knowledge in this area as an integral part of the way I will help others overcome their obstacles and utilize their unique talents as a brand to catapult them to the forefront of their respective fields. I would be strasopherically stoked to have the opportunity to learn from the two of you.
Thank you!
Jill Rowe
Tina S. — June 15th, 2012, 10:16 am
This article is fantastic and has defined all that I’ve been feeling for the past couple months. As of yesterday, I have put in my notice to pursue what I feared was a selfish risk to take, but in my gut it felt right. This article has helped me realize that I’m heading in the right direction. Yet, some mentorship would definitely be helpful as I’m just embarking and perhaps still making some questionable risks. Let me explain.
I am still pretty green in my career path, but I stumbled upon my position as a bid proposal writer at a small corporation about a year ago. It is full-time telecommuting and offers a higher salary than I’ve made in my life. I was a teacher and then a curriculum developer, and the position pulls my experiences in both positions and applies it to the business world. Although I’ve learned a lot from this position, it offers limited growth and I’ve pretty much learned all that I can from it.
More importantly, over the past year, I’ve also discovered my passion for sustainability and water conservation. I’ve volunteered, participated in training, and attended conferences in my passion. I’ve read lots of books and made plans. But last month, I realized I needed to take the next step and transition into work that aligns with and takes me on the path towards my passion. Recently, I found a part-time position working with a non-profit that goes into schools and works with teachers to present standard-aligned, water conservation curriculum. I’d be giving up benefits and an excellent salary to work for about $10 an hour and 19 hours per week. After running the budget, I realized that my husband and I could survive with some left over as long as I had another part-time job to supplement. A former colleague of mine recommended Trader Joe’s or Whole Food’s because I’m interested in sustainable food production. I successfully interviewed with Trader Joe’s and got a position there. Meanwhile, yesterday I was offered the position with the water education company.
By that point, I had struggled with the decision to give up the salary and full-time job for part-time work that may or may not be “stable” and definitely may pay less. I had a couple weeks of restless sleep and anxiety-ridden days (negativity bias at work). It didn’t help that my husband’s work is going through the changes of a new acquisition and his position was (still is) potentially at risk and at the very least being redefined under new management.
But you know what? Nothing is as stable nor unstable as it appears. I decided that I wasn’t going to be ruled by fear and what-ifs. I can’t keep working at a place I don’t feel passion for, that’s going nowhere, and that isn’t helping me grow just because MAYBE my husband might lose his job. Now, it’s still a controlled risk–I’m still going to make enough money to live and save a little. But the opportunity to work with the non-profit of my dreams trumps the cash the corporation is willing to pay me.
Still, I have fears. Enough that I’ve offered to work part-time/contract with my current work just to have a back-up plan as neither of my new part-time opportunities can guarantee 20 hours every week. And though I’m really leaving to work in water education, I fear that it’s stupid to party quit an OK salaried/professional job to work at Trader Joe’s. I’m afraid that part of my temptation to work at Trader Joe’s is that I just want to get out of this current job (or at least be able to get out completely) rather than it being a gig that’s going to help me get on the right path.
Still, I’m very excited about the potential of the next 30-60 days and all the changes that may come. In addition to a complete change in my work, I’m also going to invest in a couple landscape/gardening certifications and a course in landscape architecture at the local university. Depending on how this course goes, I am considering completing a Master’s in Landscape Architecture next year that will give me the skills to apply my interest in sustainability and water conservation to designing public outdoor spaces. It would be ten grand a year for a minimum of three year’s investment. If I take the risk of investing in this degree and gaining the licensure, I don’t plan on relying on it alone. Rather, I will gain experience in the field while learning.
What risks are worth taking? Well, I don’t know how these risks will pay off and have doubts beneath my enthusiasim. But, as Anais Nin puts it, “And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to bloom.” Well, today is the day. In fact, today is always the day, but it takes awhile to realize it.
Nicole — June 15th, 2012, 10:17 am
I am working at the civil service in germany and have no risk at all. Thats very boring an I am studying beside this to help me staying alive… I have the opportunity to apply for CEO in our little company. I know everyone will laugh at me because I am only a little nobody right now. The problem is only in my head: I dont want to be made fun of- although I don´t know if it will be so… What do you think?
All the best
Nicole
Umar — June 15th, 2012, 10:19 am
Taking Risk is more of a habit to me cant live any other way, , Once you have an open mind with an intention of doing good. And to make others and yourself happy by doing something unexpected every single time. All the doors to success open to you by default cuz everyone wants you to succeed and grow..
My principle in life is.
Whatever is going to happen “IS” Going to happen
and
Whatever happens , always happens for the Good.
I repeat these words to myself every single time I achieve or fail. Turns all thoughts into positive ones making your capabilities limitless..
Chris Parsons — June 15th, 2012, 10:19 am
I would suggest that there’s a missing component here, and that is: You not only have to have the willingness, but also the capability, to take career risks.
Student loans tie you down. A mortgage ties you down. A wife and kids tie you down. These commitments make it much more difficult (although not impossible) take big risks. Therefore, take the most risk when you have the least to lose – aka when you are young. Or, if you already have a lot to lose, limit your risk by eliminating debt, starting off by moonlighting, etc.
Jeff Romeo — June 15th, 2012, 10:23 am
I’ve spent the past 6 months living a very uncertain life. Leaving the cushion job with benefits on the east coast to come out west to be with the girl and really “get my career going” has left me hanging out in the So Cal heat to dry. On a daily basis I find myself questioning everything as the extremely uncertain political and economic state of the nation suffocates me.
I’m constantly looking for ways to expand my entrepreneurial thinking and brand myself, reading books such as “The Four Hour Work Week”, “The Education of Millionaires” and currently “A New Brand World”. I soak in the valuable tips of reinventing myself, axing the traditional methods of finding a steady 9-5 job by sending my resume to hundreds of employers that will never understand the value I’d bring to their company from a piece of paper. Unfortunately coming up with numerous “a ha!” moments and ideas has gotten me nowhere because of the risk and financial burden it would bring upon me. I find myself all over the place with ideas that I don’t know which to focus my time and energy on. And at the end of the day I must still spend my time applying to those temp positions in order to pay the bills.
The change I’ve been wanting to make in my career is something that I thought would have occurred by now. Living in So Cal as a creative video producer has made me realize I’m a drop in an ocean of talent. I won’t accept that current lifestyle of waiting for the next freelance job to come around, to work on that next film or commercial like the many others. But I’m afraid my wide range of talents and experiences are keeping me from focusing on that change I want to make. I’m all over the place and terrified of making a big mistake with a risky career move, because as much as I read about how healthy it is to have failures when starting a business, I can’t accept failure right now. I’m certain about everything in my life right now, my soon-to-be fiancee, my amazing friends and family back east, my talents and ability to lead and run a company, but it’s that uncertainty of starting it, the costs from the get-go, and getting the clients that has been holding me back.
I’ve been putting a lot of thought into opening my own multi media studio. I’m struggling to find that niche but I have a few ideas to bring to the table. The risk involved could be minimal, I just need a nice small studio to work in, a white backdrop, some lighting and a camera. My goal is to expand it into a larger space, but that’s down the road. For now I’m confident this is all I need to get my idea going, I just need to learn how to deal with the uncertainty.
It’s one thing to read all these amazing/insightful books and posts about taking the risk to avoid a long term unhappy and cushioned lifestyle. It’s another thing to act on it. I hate myself more and more every day for not creating something for myself and my future wife by now. I envy anyone who knows what they were put on this planet to do, because it’s f’in frustrating fearing going down a specific career path because I’m afraid it’s not what I was meant to do. I could use the push and investment you guys are offering, and I appreciate the opportunity.
Thanks for listening!
-Jeff
Cheryl Obermiller (aka the Pothole Queen) — June 15th, 2012, 10:30 am
Good morning, gentlemen; I am Cheryl Obermiller, former model and agency owner, mother of 8, grandmother of 13, host mom to 9 foreign exchange students, married for 27 years, certified scuba diver, overcame my fear of heights by climing Mayan pyramids in Belize, run 3 miles every morning prior to doing a weight workout, and love to cook! (I live in an area of the mid-west where the two basic religions are Baptist and BBQ, so we cook out a lot.) In 1993 I founded my own heavy construction company, and by 2000 had turned it into a multi-million dollar business. (My kids used to tell their friends, ‘Never annoy a woman with her own backhoe, because she can kill you and bury the evidence. Our mom has two…’)
In 2010 I discovered that my long-time company accountant had, over the ast eight years embezzled around a million dollars and almost bankrupted me. (Check the web under Obermiller Construction embezzlment for info. She was convicted of stealing $473,000 in 4 years, but due to statutatory limits the FBI did not go back the full 8 years.) She reported to prison for a three year sentence in November 2011. The financial devastation was almost secondary to the emotional trauma – I cannot even describe the full impact of such a crime. In fact, one of my most passionate ‘bucket list’ goals is to spend the rest of my life avoiding anything that could possibly result in needing the personal services of an FBI special agent – once was enough!
I am writing a book/program for to teach small business owners how to protect themselves from financial fraud, which is called “My Accountant’s Drawers ~ the Small Business Owner’s Guide to Outwitting Embezzlers, Theives and Scallywags.” A small business (less than 100 employees) is literally one hundred times more likely to be a victim of financial fraud than a large company. Additionally, the owners are often personally bankrupted by the failure of their business. Most entrepreneurs do not have formal business training (and even those with business education probably have little to no idea of how to prevent or detect embezzlement.) As their businesses become successful they hire accounting help, but have no idea of how to effectively oversee their work. This opens the door for fraudsters to come in and rip the guts out of the company, while the owner has no idea what is actually happening – frequntly until it is too late to save the business.
Over the past couple of years I have read thousands of fraud cases and been completely blown away by the very basic and simple-to-catch tactics used by over 90% of embezzlers. Most business owners don’t understand the risk of fraud in their own organizations; they are creative people who love promoting and expanding their businesses but hate paperwork. This makes them – US – easy targets for financial disaster.
My goal is to complete my book this summer (our youngest daughter just graduated and is off to MU in August, so I will be a free woman for the first time since 1977) and then travel around promoting it and speaking on financial fraud. This will require that I step away from my mostly-recovered, multimillion-dollar construction company and let three of our grown sons run it. Gulp – talk about the ultimate fear factor!!! Think of giving your kids the car keys, and then multiply that feeling about a million times!
On a serious note, I have developed a complete, easy to use system that will prevent most common fraud, and have written it in an entertaning, step-by-step way that busy bosses will actually read and use! You know how meaningful it is for you to teach people how to build their dream lives and businesses – now you have the opportunity to help them protect those dreams from being stolen or destroyed by others. I would truly value your input and advise as I start this new and exciting part of my career and life! I am so excited to share what I have learned, and also to show people that injustice, financial hardship, etc., can be the foundations of a new life instead of the ashes of an old one!
Additionally, I have hired a software developer to design a covert program owners can use to monitor accounting activity, but I don’t want to write about it on an open forum as I have not filed my patent yet. I can discuss more details about this project in private.
I look forward to speaking with you,
Cheryl Obermiller, President
Obermiller Construction Services, Inc.
Aaron — June 15th, 2012, 10:38 am
I’m Aaron Carver, 19, a college student now double majoring in Chemical Engineering and Computer Science.
I already mentioned my first change–adding a degree in Computer Science. After I finish my first programming class this summer, I will add a CS major. This makes me a bit nervous because it is extra work and I’d have to take a lot of hours to get the degree without adding years before graduation. But the way i see it, I’ll not only leave school one step into the tech industry, I’ll be learning how to be a dynamo learner by taking extra hours and two majors.
Next, in 60 days I will be leaving for Washington, D.C. for a congressional internship position that will last 4 months. The opportunity sounded so incredible that I could not turn it down, despite it being “outside my major”. If anything, that is the reason it could be so valuable for me. I applied for the position a few months ago, and now I’m very glad I did. It’s a new experience of working in a different environment, a different city, with a group of highly motivated people. Within my study or not, this will be a great opportunity.
Third… This is a mini-retirement in the making. I have a friend who is a native of Thailand. He is planning on going back next summer for 3 months to stay with his mother there, and he made it known that he would like it for a friend to come back with him. This is an opportunity to spend 3 months in Thailand with a native who I know personally. There couldn’t be a sweeter deal. So in the next 30-60 days, I want to start making small plans and some commitments to going (i.e. get a passport and look into the requirements for the trip, talk frequently with my buddy to start making the idea real.) I’ve never globe-trotted on this scale before, so I have some butterflies about the trip, but I want to start taking action so that I’ll go through with it.
Also, I will be applying to the Semester at Sea program. It’s a study-abroad program that circumnavigates the earth over 100 days teaching students global education while landing in a dozen countries along the way. I’ll be applying for the Presidential Scholarship, a full-scholarship offered to only a few students a year. Again, it gives me a few butterflies, but if I take action, I won’t miss the opportunity. If selected, my voyage will start in January 2013.
During the next 30-60 days I’ll also be looking for new internship and travel opportunities for the future. Right now I’m working on what will happen over the next 12 months (internship in Congress, study abroad, trip to Thailand). I want to start contacting people and lining up next year’s adventures, maybe an internship near Silicon Valley (!!!) or a NOLS internship in Patagonia (or both)!
Every time I find a new opportunity to travel or intern somewhere cool, I feel that primal instinct of worrying about the risks…But the more opportunities I step into, the more I outgrow that perspective.
I’d love to talk to you guys, I really think you could inspire me and help me make some opportunities happen.
Best,
Aaron
Glen Adkins Jr. — June 15th, 2012, 10:47 am
The change that I would like to make in the next 30 days; nay, the change that I will make in the next 30 days, is that I will open up an office for my newly founded business in Costa Rica, Soluciones y Redes del Oeste, S.R.L. Why this may not seem challenging to most of you out there, and why it is a great challenge to me, is because I barely know anything about IT and Computer Networking and that is exactly what the business is! I always wanted to own this type of business and I have a passion to learn the business, however, I had initially planned on partnering with another individual that had the knowledge and I would just take care of sales, as well as the day to day operations of the business. That individual turned out to be a flake as well as a dishonest person; neither attribute being ones that I want associated with my business.
I have all the licenses necessary, I have formed the corporation and begun to get the suppliers that I need, and I am hiring people to perform small tasks for me in order to ascertain if they would be reliable subcontractors for Soluciones y Redes del Oeste, S.R.L. Additionally, I have rented an office and paid three months worth of rent, which includes a communal secretary and utilities are paid. I am also building up inventory. My biggest challenge is to continue to fake it until I make it; yet, be credible to potential customers by learning the lingo and being able to identify such customers’ needs.
Another challenge is that I am in Costa Rica and the attitude down here is “Tico Time” (I actually have this tattooed on my wrist, beneath where I wear my watch. Tico Time just basically means, “I’ll get there when I get there.” It reminds me of a contractor that I used to perform building inspections for who had started his business in Hawaii…”Not Just When the Surf is Low Construction”! So, it has been hard to get where I am at, but I’ve made it this far and refuse to stop…too much momentum to turn back.
What I want all of my potential customers to know is that they are in good hands, their work will be carried out on time and to the specifications and or requirements for their needs. A smaller challenge is that, I keep getting a lot of customers for cctv security camera installations and I need to take advantage of this business, but not allow for this to detract from the business’s focus of IT & Computer Networking.
In terms of how I feel about how I am thinking about the risk involved, I am fearful that I will take on too much work and not be able to satisfy my customers; I am fearful that the people that I hire will flake on my customers; I am fearful that the people that I hire to do the work will steal my customers; and I fear that I am spending too much time working on the image of the company without taking enough time to learn more about networking…the core of my business.
In closing, I want to thank you, Tim, for always providing extraordinary content in your blogs.
Sincerely,
Glen Adkins Jr., RCI
Soluciones y Redes del Oeste, S.R.L.
Peter — June 15th, 2012, 10:48 am
very interesting stuff here.
I’m a software engineer at a large corporation looking to downsize – significantly. Mostly I want to be in a shop where I can make a significant difference to the company as a whole, so I’ve been looking at smallish (~20 people) startups.
I’ve considered various factors – moving cross country, my personal and professional relationship, and my financial situation. The last one is the killer – with student loans equally more than a month’s rent for the vast majority of the country, I’m very limited (at least it seems so to me) in my opportunities.
However, the big motivation and biggest opportunity for me is to be happy – I’ve noticed that I excel and thoroughly enjoy situations where I’m given the personal resources – time and, mostly importantly, freedom – to get the work done how, when and where i want. A smaller company is most capable of providing me these types of opportunities.
Steve — June 15th, 2012, 11:14 am
I took a big risk 6 years ago and abandoned a promising public service career to move to South Korea. Now I’m married and we have our first child on the way and I desperately want to move back. In terms of my career, I have a short-term problem, and a long-term problem.
First, the long-term: I have no complaints about my job. While last year I was making the most money in my life at the worst job of my life, I quit that job and this year I’m making less than half of that teaching Political Science at a University, a job really beyond my qualifications, but I believe I’m doing a great job so far and my wife and I are the happiest we’ve been. The way I figure it, that’s probably a way better environment for bringing a baby into the world than we had last year even though the “responsible” thing to do would have been to keep making the big bucks and try to put some away for the family.
Here’s my conundrum: teaching at the Uni is a great opportunity especially considering I’m doing it with only a Master’s, not a phd. But I have a gov’t-imposed limit in this job of two years before the University must make a a regular, non-contract hire (which it won’t, as I don’t have a phd).
I need a game plan to make the most out of this current job as I possibly can. This means publishing in academic journals, something I am woefully rusty on. This also means identifying what’s next and setting up a game plan. I’m thinking a phd program, but that also seems like it would take us farther from our goal of eventually moving back to the US, as I couldn’t afford to do a phd program in the US, and doing one in Korea probably wouldn’t be respected in the states.
Short term problem: Baby on the way and not much income to cover the expenses. We are barely breaking even now, and that’s with me teaching extra overtime classes that I don’t know if I will have next semester. I have some ideas on how to supplement my income (some self-publishing projects and a possible small business), but I know that pursuing them takes away from the long-term goals and it’s been very challenging balancing the two focuses (in fact, I can say that so far, I’m failing).
All in all, in terms of the risk, I am on a clock. In Korea, it is unlikely that I’ll find another job like the one I have now. It is guaranteed that I WON’T find one like this in the states unless I get a phd (and even then, the academic road isn’t easy). I feel like if I don’t play my cards smartly, I won’t ever have a better springboard than I do right now. But springboard into what? When the clock runs out, It will be my best chance to make a leap in my career that I have ever had, perhaps in my whole life. I need to hit that springboard hard and straight to get the most bounce as possible.
Curtis — June 15th, 2012, 11:36 am
Perhaps the most interesting idea to explore in Mr. Hoffman’s post is that of volatility and the role it plays in both business and life. It is the frequency and magnitude of activity that leads to volatility in most data sets. By activity, in life, I mean accomplishment of worthwhile and meaningful goals. It is important to view our activity as a time variable that is not constant and can be sped up and slowed down or compressed and decompressed. Activity can also have negative or positive outcomes. This is why focusing on building non-correlated passive cash streams is a great idea. Consistent profitability coupled with the shot at superior gains is the formula for success in business and life. When the correlation between your time and your money start to decouple it affords you the opportunity to swing for the fences.
Why is a book about applying the principles of entrepreneurship to life important? It is because all of human endeavor is related, success in one area is very helpful in success in another. This is why I would like to speak with Mr. Hoffman about my new project. A book with the working title of “How to lose at cards consistently and in the long run”. Thank you for your consideration.
Regards,
Curtis
John Gasparich — June 15th, 2012, 11:41 am
Hi, I’m John. I’m 27 years old, and it looks like I’m going to be a father soon. To be quite honest, I’ve never really made money a priority in my life. I’ve always made learning and self growth my priority, focusing on how to continually need less. I want to change that now.
Let me tell you a bit about myself. My wife, Khylynowey, and I live a very different life form most folks. We met at a nine month wilderness survival intensive in Washington state, and later got married, barefoot, in a dirt floored hut in Washington’s beautiful rainforest. We’re not hippies, I swear. (Check out the pictures at http://www.facebook.com/ibjohnnyg/photos, under Our Wedding)
When I develop a passion for something, I tend to jump right in. For example: last year, after moving to Canada with my wife, I decided to build us a cabin, with no previous building experience (photos on facebook, under Home:Made) I’ll admit that it might not be for most people, but it’s just right for us. We cherish a simple life that allows room without distraction for us to focus on self-development (which in my case means practicing the guitar, kung-fu, and naturalist studies) and enjoying our time with each other.
I truly believe that this world is rich with opportunities, and I want to make as many options available to my child as I can. I’ve read and been inspired by Tim’s book, and now I’m ready to jump into the world of business, but I could use some guidance. Sure, I’ve got a few app ideas, and I’m looking into developing them, but I need to do some more research first.
I don’t want to have to work all the time to support my wife and child; I want to be with them. I’ll only get one chance with this child, I can’t afford to blow it. I may be new to business, but I am a very fast learner. Give me a shot; you won’t regret it.
Carlos Garbiras — June 15th, 2012, 11:49 am
My risk is starting my own company. I started a company before but it wasn’t something I really enjoyed but it was successful and now my family is running with it. I took a job at a starting level to learn more about content production and internet marketing. For my next company, I want the focus of my new company to be on turn-key video marketing from scripting and production to integration of the videos into a youtube/video SEM and trueview campaign.
I’m a little uncertain as to how to get the initial investment money. I can take a loan to start it off but I’m also saving for my wedding and I’m not sure if I should make the investment given the fact that my technical video production experienced is a little limited.
How am I perceiving the risk? I think the initial investment is not big enough to scare me even if things don’t work out at first. Another concern is that the video quality won’t be that great and that I’d ruin my chances of having word of mouth.
As I’m writing all this I realized that for me this risks are minimal compared to working for someone else on a 9-to-5.
Even if I don’t win this contest, I want to thank you for making me think aobut this fear in a more concrete way.
Kyle Morrow — June 15th, 2012, 11:53 am
Hey guys. I am 24 years old and the founder of a philanthropic clothing line. We are a Portland, OR based company that is working to use apparel to put an end to the water crisis. Every item purchased provides one person with access to clean drinking water for 25 years. We do this through a partnership with a non-profit that builds wells and water purifiers in Africa, India and South America.
After market testing and customer feedback, we have realized that we need to make some changes in our current line if we are going to be effective moving forward. Since we are bootstrapping, this transition is not going to be easy to do with such limited resources. My degree is in finance and I have recently been searching for entry level positions and weighing my options. I have also researched and talked to wholesalers about new items in order to transition the line. I have done the research to move forward in either direction but I’m having a difficult time deciding what is the right choice. Starting this project was scary enough. Now I feel like we have hit the “dip” as Seth Godin would say. It is clear that this business is my passion and what I want to be pursuing; however, sometimes you reach that point where you have to make the difficult decisions in life and consider “what is the responsible choice?”
I am glad to say that your post has come at the perfect time. After considering the points that you presented, the decision has become simple. By pursuing an entry level finance position, I am allowing the traditional mindset to lead me in direction that I want to avoid and as you have proven, is more risky. I have learned more by starting this business than I learned all throughout my undergraduate. By pushing forward and releasing this new line, I will continue to develop skills, provide value and create more opportunities in the future. If this pivot in our strategy pays off, we could accomplish our goal of providing thousands (or millions) of people with access to clean water. To take an entry level finance job and place myself on the same playing field as thousands of other recent college graduates would be the real risk.
I am happy to say that I am putting my resume away and planning to release the new items in the next two months. I would really appreciate the opportunity to talk with you both and learn from your tremendous knowledge. The value it would add to our startup would be tremendous and could ultimately impact numerous lives around the world. Thank you for the great post.
- Kyle Morrow (Chief Thirst Quencher)
??? — June 15th, 2012, 11:55 am
Thanks Ben and Reid (and Tim for having them guest post), you articulated much of my thought process over the past two years which are now culminating in the next two months of changes. I can’t reveal too much of my life story publicly as my future employers could find this but hopefully this will resonate enough.
I am in my mid-30s and two years ago I left my full time job and six figure salary as an IT manager at Fortune Global 500 company in North America. I went to grad school in France in order to change my geography, function, and industry. I am now closing in on a job offer as a product manager in Japan in the ecommerce industry. I had offers from Europe and North America with far higher pay, but this offered me everything I was looking for, except the salary. But I knew that this is the offer I needed to take. I held out six months after graduating to find the perfect opportunity, and I think I found it.
Kahneman and Tversky were spot on – losses do hurt more than gains feel good. I learned to fight my loss aversion through some unconventional methods – I lived on the streets for a week with no money, just new friends and a lot of humility. I learned that having nothing doesn’t mean you starve, at least not in a developed economy. I learned that I can survive as long as I had the knowledge in my head and the willingness to accept the kindness of strangers when necessary.
So from this, I knew I could take risks like lower pay and and still be ok in life. But I also know that there are those that depend on me, namely my wife and future kids, that I cannot let down. So I must take calculated risks, with as high a reward as possible with limited downside. By taking a product management role, I am tapping into the same insight that Reid had – it is the heart of a product company. The company is looking to change a whole industry where the risks are highly publicized, as well as take on an American internet giant. In the process, I am looking to find opportunity in the industry shakeup to come to start my own startup, where I can take the lead in shaping the product.
The other change I am making within the next two months is to develop side income streams – “muses” or “passive income streams.” This is in order to teach myself how to build a business based on an asset, not just a form of self-employment by being a consultant or contractor (which I am already familiar with). This may involve creating an ebook or building an app, or some other endeavor – I am not sure yet as I’m still assessing the opportunities for viability, potential, and my own passion. This is also important learning as I ready myself to build my future startup, as I need to learn skills such as identifying markets in need of a product, and learning how to build awareness in that market of my product. My core philosophy in career and life is to bring value to other people’s lives, so I really need to learn how to understand what people need in their lives that can help them to attain happiness and accomplishment.
The risk to developing additional income streams is really minimal – I may risk that I am not giving 110% of my time to my new job, but I will consider building muses that will actually improve my understanding of the industry, and in the end add value to my new employer. I am actually de-risking my own future by building a cushion of income-generating assets against the decay of any one economy, industry, or company. If I choose wisely, I will improve my geographic mobility and the ability and choice to work on projects that add value to my own life and to that of others, regardless of monetary compensation. So the risk overall is low (time), and the potential gains astronomical (happiness and fulfillment for myself and others).
Hopefully this resonates with the other readers in some way – would be great to meet a kindred spirit or two.
Cheers.
P.S. Ben and Reid, thank you for the unexpected gift – this is the first time I wrote out exactly why I took these recent decisions to act, and it helped me really clarify my thought process and the potential end game plays that I can make in the future.
Ben Casnocha — June 16th, 2012, 7:36 pm
Awesome – it’s so true that writing out your thoughts on a topic like this can help clarify what you’re thinking.
SL — June 15th, 2012, 11:57 am
I quit my job in January because I discovered a problem I desperately needed to solve. My BMW was 6 months and 10K miles overdue for an oil change because I didn’t have time to take it in. I was willing to pay someone to go do it for me and realized there could be an awesome car concierge service built here. It’s like an Uber for car maintenance.
As a first time entrepreneur I didn’t know the hurdles that I’d have to overcome. I went to oil changers, car washes, service stations, etc. to talk to customers about their biggest pain points of car ownership. Getting any service for their car was a huge overhead. It turns out that I discovered a juicy customer segment of people willing to pay to have this problem solved.
I partnered with a longtime friend to join me on this mission. We launched the service privately and our early customers loved it. As we worked out all the operational issues, we realized that it just wasn’t a good business. We made the hard decision to shut the service down. Operational costs were high (drivers/insurance) and profit margins were low.
Now I’m giving myself some room to explore. My mission has always been to create a huge positive impact on people’s lives. There are so many things to build leveraging technology and it’s hard to nail down one. I want to dial in on a huge problem that people can benefit from if it were solved. I know it’s going to be a long and hard process to be a successful entrepreneur.
This has been a really difficult time for me. I haven’t had income for a long time and am burning cash. My friends and family are concerned about why I’m doing this. They’re conditioned to think that you must have a job. My biggest risk here is my financial situation. I am determined to create a successful business even without income for a long time. Hopefully, I won’t go too far into credit card debt!
Sean — June 15th, 2012, 11:59 am
This post is SUPER inline with my own thoughts in the two years, and in fact this internal struggle lead me to consider the subject of risk in something of a novel way. First, my profound thought for the contest, then my story.
__PROFOUND THOUGHT__
Risk is simply the potential that you will lose – high risk == high potential that you will lose. Easy. But to consider risk, we must first define what a “loss” is in the case of our lives. Let’s do that first.
If you live in America and are fortunate enough to have time to read this blog and consider its implications, you’re probably not going to go hungry. Your basic needs are probably met – and in reality, you are probably thoughtful and resourceful enough that you will be safe from hunger and predators for the rest of your life.
In other words: you’ve climbed Maslow’s hierarchy. We all have in the First World. But per the post, it’s hard to realize this – that the primary drives for many of us no longer need to be food, or resources (we will have enough of those to easily survive), but in fact it is happiness and self-fulfillment.
I’ll also go one step further and say that happiness is binary; you’re either happy or not. “Kind of happy” == “unhappy”.
Now the definition of a loss starts to crystalize. Failure to achieve or sustain happiness is a loss. Being happy is a win.
And so my profound thought is: when evaluating risk, consider the value of your options exclusively in terms of your happiness (or the happiness of your loved ones). The beauty of this method is that you don’t even initially need to know what makes you happy – you just need to know whether you are happy, now, and/or will be in the long-term.
In other words, you don’t need to know the destination – you just need a compass. If you’re happy now, and will be long-term, stay put and double-down on whatever it is you’re doing. You’ve already won my friend. But if you’re not, experiment; try stuff until you are.
__Tl;DR / SUMMARY__
Don’t evaluate risk in terms of success. Evaluate risk in terms of happiness.
Understand that if you’re not happy with your current situation, THE RISK OF FAILURE IS 100% BY STAYING PUT. (And the chance of success is 0%.)
Example: imagine you quit right now and pursued your dreams of starting a rock band, or feeding 100 hungry kids in your hometown (whatever the thing is that you most believe will make you happy).
Let’s say you have a modest 2% chance of succeeding at it and doing it long-term if you pursued it for real, full-time.
Now consider your options: (1) 0% chance to achieve long-term happiness by staying put vs. 2% chance of achieving long-term happiness if you go for it.
Easy decision. Chase it. Chase it tomorrow! You will learn. You will grow. You will not regret it on your death bed.
__MY STORY__
I left high school with a passive interest in tech, and went to college for a semester in a hardware/software engineering program. Feeling lost and uncommitted, I left, and at 18 signed on at a call center who serviced a Fortune 500 company (Symantec/Norton). I made $11 and got paid on Fridays. I bought my dream car for $9,500 and a handful of CDs every weekend and had a L-O-T of body piercings. It was 2001, I was in love with a girl, lived with my best friend in my hometown of Eugene, OR, and it was a perfect, amazing, simple time.
Then I got hungry. For power and money and promotions and praise and all the other shit America is best at. So I got scrappy and made friends and had adventures, and I fought for success. I changed myself. I talked more about things that mattered less. I stopped calling bullshit on people who had mow power than me. I played the game.
But I made it, baby! After 8 years of effort I’d scratched and torn and climbed my way from a lowly phone jockey with no education to a senior position in the product team managing some ragtag vagabonds (like me!) and making mid-six figs. American dream, right? Now it’s 2009 and I’m 26 and I own a house in Portland, OR. But I’m unhappy.
I spent 2 years trying to figure out why. I decided it was work. Well, that it was me; who I’d become. Not a bad guy by any means – but not someone living a life true to themselves, either. I knew I needed to get out, and I started finding blogs and books that helped fill my head with ideas – like Tim’s!
I started moonlighting with a couple friends trying to start my own thing. I tried to have it all; take no risk – just keep working at my big Fortune 500 and hope that something comes together on the side. But it didn’t work.
So I was faced with a tough choice choice: keep working for the man? Or take a risk and leave? This is how I came to consider the idea of risk, what would be a “loss” to me, and came to the conclusions presented above.
Given the discussion to this point, it’s easy to guess what I did:
- 6 months ago, I experimented with a totally new day at Couchsurfing.org, but I had the largely same dissatisfactions (sometimes in new and exciting flavors).
- 1 month ago, I quit my day job completely, and started teaching myself Rails and other web languages. I cut my living expenses down to the bone. I give myself a 2% chance to succeed – which are the best odds I’ve had in YEARS.
- Yesterday, I launched a test site for a silly little mobile app ideas that might make a few hundred bucks if I hustle. 4HWW-style, I’ll run some adwords tests next week and see if anyone cares. Then pivot.
- In the next 30-60 days, if there is interest in my first idea, I’ll teach myself objective-c/iOS development and build it. If not, back to the drawing board for idea #2. UN-4HWW-style, I’m doing it all myself…but that’s just my way.
-sean
Jenn — June 15th, 2012, 12:05 pm
Hey There!
My name is Jennifer Woodward – I’m married with a 20 month old son and I LOVE change. I’m a community college dropout who has hustled her way to top positions in several companies.
I’m constantly on the look out to make the next big __________ happen!
In the next few months I’m looking to replace the income from my day job (which I took to avoid the risk of continuing to work on a grant funded project that was ending = mistake). The challenge = I’m launching my own business, freelance writing, and launching a speaking career – none of those activities are paying the bills, yet.
The risks I’m looking at are income driven –My day job isn’t meeting the dollar amount we need each month but it is stable and pretty guaranteed. My own work is showing great potential and receiving good reviews but not yet paying.
My general thoughts: Do I find higher paying day job? If I do, will I have time to continue on my own work or will I have to put it on hold, again? Do I continue to stick it out at this current job and dive full into my own work? How long will it take to see a return and can we survive the income shortage for that length of time?
My thoughts on the risk in this move: I’m risking more by doing nothing.
Have a most fantastic day!
Jenn
Raj Dhawan — June 15th, 2012, 12:09 pm
I just finished reading the book ‘The Start-Up of You’, viewed the 10 videos on the website, and just now finished reading the blog above. All very inspiring !
My background is in Accounting and Finance, working as a Controller for small businesses. Right now, I am trying to pivot to my own Plan B, and frankly, am positioning myself for that breakout opportunity. Let me explain what I mean.
Cloud computing has come a long way from when it first came around a few years ago. I think people are beginning to see that security is not really all that much of an issue, and that it is actually more secure. Working in the cloud also allows massive integration of all aspects of the business cycle. Lead generation, sales and marketing, CRM, order placement, payment, E-commerce, website management, inventory, ERP and financials can all be seamlessly brought together. One company that is doing this very effectively is NetSuite, and I am sure there are many others trying as well. So my pivot is to train with NetSuite with their software and products, so I can provide my consulting services to the many start-ups, small and mid-sized businesses. I feel my career could completely take off if I can do this effectively. And yes, there is a lot of primal fear holding me back, even while I am seeing a lot of opportunity.
Having Ben and Reid mentor me would be a Godsend. And as I read all the other comments above, I do wish everyone good luck as well.
Stephanie — June 15th, 2012, 12:15 pm
I definitely could have used this a few months ago. I’ve taken many risks over the past few years, but having weighed the pros and cons and took the stance “what’s the worst that could happen?” it has led me to a much happier place.
- Two years ago I left the company I had been with for 8 years for a new opportunity and with the intent of relocating. It was just time to move on.
- First day of the new job they told me I would not be relocating. The manager I was supposed to work for had also quit while I was in the hiring process and I was now reporting to someone who didn’t have a good reputation.
- I decided to stay and try to make the most out of it. When things weren’t going the way I wanted them to go, I applied internally for another position which caught the attention of my bosses boss.
- He tried to convince me to stay, offered me the responsibility I had been asking for for 9 months, told me I would need to work more hours, but they couldn’t guarantee me a raise.
- Just as I was about to start looking to go somewhere else a friend called me and said a team in her office was looking for a good engineer with leadership capabilites and they were willing to provide training.
- I jumped at the opportunity, moved into a totally new industry, started over, and am loving every minute of it!
Bottom line- get out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself, and find something that makes you happy and that you’re proud to be a part of. For me, I wanted what I spend 1/3 of my time doing to actually matter and be important. Good luck to those on the search for something new!
Mathew — June 15th, 2012, 12:31 pm
Great article. It has slowly become apparent to me that taking career/lifestyle risks is actually the *least* risky thing we can do with ourselves long-term. I need to constantly be reminded of this. Our endless list of cognitive biases make rational decision making such a chore. I guess it’s analogous to hedge funds in many ways. They are limited to accredited investors; advertised as being “too risky” for the layman — yet they nearly unanimously outperform the financial instruments open to the public.
Chris — June 15th, 2012, 12:33 pm
I heard it many times going through college…big risks = big rewards. I also heard the advice to take a job with less pay and more training than the job with more pay. Obviously, being an entrepreneurship major I heard that you’ll fail 10 times before being successful.
BUT…entrepreneurs are said to be risky. It’s stated in the article that business is a risky job, entrepreneurship and starting your own company is a risk. However, I think that entrepreneurs are less risky than people think. We don’t jump off a cliff hoping to find a parachute. We look for the parachute hanging on the cliff halfway down, get out a calculator and measure the exact physics needed jump just perfect, catch the wind just right, be facing the right direction and have enough strength to grab the parachute on the way down…THEN we take the leap. We take calculated risks, which if we’ve calculated correctly are little risk at all, and are in fact more opportunity and reward. I don’t think you have to actually fail 10 times before hitting it big. I think you’ll have 10 failures of an idea but you should realize the potential failure long before the “riskiness” of that idea lets you actually fail.
It’s not avoiding risk as suggested by our nature. It’s calculating big risks tied to big rewards, and then finding a way to mitigate that risk as much as possible without compromising that reward.
Reaves — June 15th, 2012, 12:34 pm
Since I graduated college in 2009, I have worked at a small (9 people) wealth management company that provides wealth management services for individuals and defined contribution plans. My job has ranged anywhere from answering the phones, to performing security analysis, to creating and producing performance reports for 401(k) investment committees. In the process, I have acquired my securities licenses and just finished sitting for the level II CFA (chartered financial analyst) exam.
I have been “priced out” so to speak in my current role at this firm. Given that I truly wish to work for myself, it is the perfect opportunity for me to make a change. My risk is making the move from the steady, albeit low-paying, position to ultimately functioning as a independent financial advisor/consultant. In the meantime, I’d like to gain experience in other areas of the industry to learn about what opportunities exist (i.e. I don’t even know what I don’t know… the worst of all possible worlds).
This article hit the nail on the head about how most of us (especially me) are programmed to be extremely risk averse. It is important to recognize the difference between making a career move and a life or death situation. Nothing (well almost nothing) is worse than feeling static in your current position with seemingly no inertia to propel you forward. It’s great to read articles like this so you can reevaluate your situation and see the forest from the trees. Thanks for the motivation.
Daniel Rymer — June 15th, 2012, 12:35 pm
I’m putting this on my facebook and linkedin streams. Nice read!
Greg — June 15th, 2012, 12:40 pm
I’m actually working on taking a risk right now. My day job is in engineering. Like this post explained, I’ve finally woken up to the fact that this job is in no way secure. Downsizing, outsourcing, and general market trends has led me to try a venture out for myself.
A year and a half ago I decided to develop one of the many ideas I’ve written down over the years. It is a product for the pet market – a cat hammock for cat owners living in urban areas or apartments (kittycradle.com). Just putting the product out there in public and opening myself up to criticism was a large step. Would people reject it as stupid or a bad idea? Would I loose all the money I spent getting it going? I decided I had to take that chance and give it a shot. I went through many prototypes and traveled solo to China to attend one of the largest trade shows in the world to find manufacturers. The cost to start things up was around $8k which while it isn’t an earth shattering amount of money, was still a decent hunk of cash to drop on a project. The launch of the product is coming soon and so far the response has been phenomenal. Blogs and other websites are covering it without me calling/begging for write-ups. Distributors in other countries are e-mailing asking to sell it and local companies are asking for pricing and availability. So far it is going great.
Starting this project I had hopes of earning some money on the side with some dreams of selling enough to quit my job. Quitting seems like more of a reality every day now.
Looking back, taking that “chance” to put my ideas out there on the internet and give it a go was one of the best things I’ve ever done. The confidence boost is amazing and the learning opportunities are endless. I’m looking forward to the future!
Michael Colón — June 15th, 2012, 12:47 pm
I’m 29, married and have 2 little girls. I have been a 100% commission, employee benefit specialist for almost 5 years and I am so bored and unfulfilled with what I do for a living. A friend of mine started an IT company last year, specializing in cloud, monitoring and managed services. He asked if I wanted to be his account executive. I know nothing about IT but know a ton about building relationships, etc. I thought it over and decided to give it a go.
I am being paid to learn ($350/month), so money is not a motivating factor. The risk involved is that the more I learn, the more excited I get about their company and eager I am to go full steam ahead, and I cannot focus on doing my regular job, which I need to support my family. And his company does not have the revenue to pay me even “part time.”
I want to push forward with the lack of experience, hustle, energy and willingness to learn because I see the potential to move my career to another level and position myelf to where I am providing solutions to people instead of just selling products so I can make a buck.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Cheers, Michael
Shawn — June 15th, 2012, 12:51 pm
Hi I’m Shawn, 19 year old hacker and musician living in Los Angeles. So far I’ve been hacking my way through life. Literally. For example, hacking my high school before quitting.
To start off with a short background, I bootsrapped a side project / hobby which sells software in over 50 countries. I love making inspiring videos, I love making music and playing gigs, and I love creating value that will make an impact in the world.
In the next 30-60 days, the risk and change I have been working my ass off for, is to create a ground breaking information product for founders, bootstrappers, and hackers that will be nothing like anyone’s seen before. So awesome in fact, that people will not be able to resist sharing it and writing about it everywhere in blogs and the press.
I won’t sleep until that happens… and I will hit roadblocks but I will iterate on feedback and make it happen one way or another.
I want to also continue designing and collaborating on one of my longer term startups that will shift constellations in the email space. This will require risk of putting myself out there using extremely creative ways to get certain people’s attention, like Kevin Rose and getting the resources I need for such a venture.
I also want to continue with a potential deal of raising around a million for this tech startup of mine even though I have never raised money before so I definitely have a fair amount of “im scared shitless” with uncertainty and failure to anticipate, so it’s written all over with risk. I expect great things either way… but did I mention I’m still 19 fuckin years old? Anyway, I am willing to fall through. I will manage by getting my lifestyle as ideal as possible, workout out, drinking tea (of course), eating choices, personal development… all the stuff that goes along with that.
Tim, if your reading, want to of course mention that I am big fan of your work and appreciative to all the value you bring to startups. Thank you!
Regards,
Shawn
Vince — June 15th, 2012, 12:58 pm
“A Word to the Wise Ain’t Necessary, it’s the stupid ones that need the advice!!”
Bill Cosby
What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days?
I strive to learn, start up and build a company from the ground up that will produce a profit while contributing to youth sports program on a global level. (Much like the business model of TOMS shoes). This opportunity will not only enable me to live financially free and but also help young athletes around the globe gain direction, camaraderie, and a sense of importance and confidence to succeed in life.
How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
I try not to…….
Ruben — June 15th, 2012, 1:15 pm
Call me Ruben. Here’s my story. When I was nine I read “rich dad poor dad” and understand for the first time that education sucks. It interferes with my learning. I wanted to quit school and become an entrepreneur but my mother didn’t let me and I expressed my anger singing Pink Floyd’s “the wall” all time long. Nevertheless I started my own business selling brownies and candies but decided it was not fancy enough and at eleven years I begun importing electronics and selling them on Mercadolibre (Ebay’s equivalent for Latin America). It was good money until I lost it all to nigerian scammers promising me wholesale iPods cheaper than production costs. Call me stupid.
All that time also I was reading books about business, investing, finances, and specially the stock market. I bought Ecopetrol stocks and hit it big until a few years later when I gave some of the money to my father in order to pay a debt he had. With the rest of money I went on vagabonding across Peru and Ecuador for over a month and a half. I returned poor but happy.
Looking for other alternatives to win money earlier in my teen years I was lured by the promises of internet marketing. I learned adwords, some basic programming in html, how to use autoresponders, how to create sales pages and stuff like that. The result is have a membership site in which people can learn harmonica lessons in videos. Also I made a webpage for one the family business and I’m using my internet knowledge I am able to get new clients and that makes me proud.
Now I’m 21 years old, in college and about to obtain a bachelor’s degree in biology. My mother almost fainted when I told her I was not going to study economics. I’ve always had a scientific mind and a passion for nature. I envision myself as an explorer and world class expert in biodiversity, working in tropical countries like my own and advancing the natural history of species. My ideal lifestyle is what Tim defines as the new rich, being highly mobile and with a high relative income.
My career path has risks associated with uncertainties because it is unconventional. But I’m determined to work for it. I have read Michael Ellseberg “The education of millionaires” and off course “The start-up of you”. I’m following recommendations and have my own blog and starting to build my connection capital. I understand I’m a business on my own. I would love your coaching to build a remarkable career.
Aidan — June 15th, 2012, 1:16 pm
I am about to take several huge risks in the next few weeks.
My wife is about to start a new job which will require us to move. I will quit my current, full-time, salaried engineering job and start working full time for my two startups, ModelVP and VGC Unlimited. ModelVP’s first product launches in late July, and VGC Unlimited’s first product is just getting underway, and will launch later in the fall.
I really didn’t like my engineering job; so, I am extremely excited to be doing all of this, but the nerves are definitely going to tingle for a while.
G Doudican — June 15th, 2012, 1:21 pm
Where to begin?
First of all, thank you for this post. An excellent read, and my first foray into the FHWW site (I was refered by a friend, as I am at a point right now where direction would be much appreciated!) Suffice it to say, I will be trolling these posts for a while yet.
Now, without getting TOO in depth, here is my current situation:
- 30 yr old Canadian working for Canadian Immigration, with the settlement of refugees in Canada.
- Recently returned from a 7 month-long self-funded voluntary contract position with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New Delhi, India. An amazing experience, and while it has put me back somewhat financially, something I would do again in a heart beat
- I have been a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross in Disaster Management for the last 4 years, and I love it. It has allowed me to deploy for small and large scale disaster responses, and to be able to help those displaced and at a low point in life.
- Wanting to finally gain PAID work overseas with an international aid organization working with both refugees and disaster management, I have found my two, two-year technical diplomas are a hinderance, and my lack of higher education is a disability.
So, I have enrolled in an MBA program in Geneva, Switzerland for the fall. This program is an MBA which focuses on International Organizations (think UN and International Committee of the Red Cross). Exactly where I want to go, to do this work on a larger scale.
However, Geneva is super expensive, as is the program. Finding funding has been a problem, and I am at the cross-roads as to whether this program (and it’s massive price tag) is:
- Monetarily worth it
- Future-prospect-wise worth it
- The best choice for a graduate program
My conclusion? Uncertain.
I have a steady, if not sometimes boring, job with the government. I have debt still from the above mentioned self-funded Indian volunteer experience. I also own a home here in Canada that was hit (not super hard, but hit none the less) by the recession. Basically, this is the worse possible moment financially to pursue this.
With D-Day looming (Mid August) and a decision to be made, I could really use some direction. Whether I win the contest or not, I’d love a chat with any of you that may be able to shed some light, and help out a wannabe international aid worker!
Thanks for listening, and thanks again for the article!
Greg
Mike — June 15th, 2012, 1:22 pm
Tim,
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is extremely timely as i am contemplating leaving the “safety” (LOL) of a full-time corporate job to follow my passion of writing, publishing, and Internet marketing. I’ve had lots of extracurricular’s for the past decade: consulting, website launches, writing 4 books, online products, etc. but never had the balls to make the leap.
I do agree that my impression of risk is skewed. I see not having a fixed paycheck as close to disastrous as one can imagine. Not steady pay check? How am I going to pay for my kids to go to camp? What about my lease, mortgage? The downward spiral of negativity seems endless. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget that I’m a smart guy who leaned how to navigation corporate BS for 15 years – I think I’m pretty resourceful when I need to be.
I think that the unknown is what creates fear. When you don’t have a specific goal in mind – or a clear plan for getting there- one tends to have doubt, experience anxiety, and back away from the ledge I guess that’s why its so important to choose your friends and mentors carefully. They can be the voice of reason in an uncertain time and help mitigate the risk you think you’re facing.
Thanks again for sharing such great information. I’m sure I’ll be making a change soon and although it’s filled with uncertainty, I know I’ll find the path to more freedom, satisfaction, and maybe even security!
Mike
R.J. — June 15th, 2012, 1:26 pm
My name is R.J. I’m 27. I manage a division of an independent insurance agency, a family business.
In the next 30-60 days, I’m looking to add someone new to my team, although this will cut my salary and essentially make my department operate without profit initially.
Short-term this will provide better service to our current customers, due to the volatile insurance market, we’re doing much more service work then before. As of right now, we’re behind and losing good clients.
Long-term, it will allow me to work more on my business, rather then in my business. My strength is in sales and marketing.
The risks…
I’ve never hired anyone outside of our organization. Will I be good at it? Would if I hire someone, that’s a total flop?
I have my first kid due in the next few weeks, not exactly the time I need to be decreasing my own salary.
What happens if I do nothing? We continue to operate at a profit, although steadily shrinking. But then again, maybe the market flattens out, and now we’re over staffed.
A few insights from just writing this down:
- A new hire is financed over 12 months. A total flop, if I catch it early, doesn’t cost me that much.
- I have a full emergency fund. The purpose for creating it was for me to take more risks in the first place. It’s funny how quick I forget that.
A|d|a|m — June 15th, 2012, 1:27 pm
Hey, guys, what a great opportunity you are giving us. Like you, Reid, I’m a mid-40 something and I just quit as VP at one of the “too big to fail” banks in order to return to a previous gig to manage their BI group and work with some cool technology. But that’s to pay the bills. My real passion is education, and I want to get a masters in Mind, Brain and Education @ Harvard in order to teach kids and adults how to maximize their learning potential. Risks: opportunity costs ($$$), leaving my wife and kids for part of the week to travel to Boston for school, and not knowing what my income or career will look like after getting the degree. Looking forward to your advice!
Brandon Wardle — June 15th, 2012, 1:37 pm
No more cubicles and 9-5. The pursuit of an acting career. Sprinkled with health and fitness advocacy and entrepreneurship. The transformation has begun.
After roles in technology sales and healthcare software sales, I considered joining the startup, Mashery (phenomenal group of people with a bright future!). It was difficult to turn down, but I decided I wanted to exit the sales world for now.
I will be adventuring into the world of acting. I used to act when I was younger, but purely recreation. I have now decided to full throttle pursue it as a career. I had the internal dialogue where I realized if I was 45 looking back on my life and I never gave acting 210% effort, I would regret it. I don’t regret, I do. I would prefer falling on my face and failing, over never knowing. I will be moving to Los Angeles in 9 months and getting as much acting experience as I can leading up to.
The sprinkles enter here: I am currently beginning a store management position with the athletic apparel company, lululemon. Retail, you say? Think again! Yes, lululemon sells athletic clothing. But that is simply how they operate a much larger operation: increasing the physical and mental wellness of locations all across the world to create healthier, more connected communities. Beyond storytelling through acting, my passion is invigorating people for a healthy world. All while getting more and more folks outside of ‘cube land.’
The risk is and was all artificial: financial, ego, reputation, and fear based. I am taking a huge pay cut, less job stability, leaving the ” high tech world to go into retail” (as many people said to me), or even better, “entertainment which has the odds of the NFL for success.” I will gladly live within a new level of means in exchange for pursuing my dream. My ego is just another impulse that I’ve learned to be mindful of, as is fear. The only true risk is never going for my dream in this nonrenewable time we have on earth. As Steve Jobs said, “everything else is secondary.”
My name is Brandon Wardle and I live in Boston. Venture – Adapt – Innovate: It’s what I stand for. The words of my favorite acting coach, Larry Moss, sum up who I am and the change I want to make: “That’s what our work [acting] can do: we remind people that things can change, that wounds can heal, that people can be forgiven, and that closed hearts can open again.”
Thank you Tim, Ben, and Reid!! Fantastic post!
Be remarkable,
Brandon
Philip Segal — June 15th, 2012, 1:44 pm
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days?
After 5 years of climbing as fast as I could in terms of salary in full-time positions, trying to raise two young children in L.A., starting as a 26-year-old guy in law school and parking cars (I quit law school because I hated it, and have now been trying to outrun the loans!
, I may finally have the chance to break out of the 9-5 trap and work remotely full-time, for clients as well as my own startup, while still (if all goes well) making enough money to keep my family afloat, although not much left over to invest in anything for the future.
I’ll know more in the next couple of days, but in a nutshell: I have built up a solid client base on the side (digital marketing) and may soon have an opportunity to work part-time, remotely for an agency and thus quit my full-time job.
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
As mentioned above, I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders as a now 30-year-old with two children under the age of five, and expenses that are only going to go up as they get older (ie. school).
As with every move I’ve made in the last five years, my decisions and effort have all been geared towards maximizing their security, with all of my remaining effort focused on creating the personal freedom I want for myself. I have managed to build as much of a safety net as one can build in these crazy times, will hopefully soon be able to transition into remote work (step 1 of personal freedom), and then from there pivot to continuing to grow my social utility/network for parents and other business ideas.
Lily — June 15th, 2012, 1:49 pm
Hi, my name is Lily. I used to be one of those government workers you described in your post, but the monotony and predictability of the job was eating away at me; I actually need more risk and uncertainty in life! I recently married and, with my husband’s support, have left the government job to begin a career that will match our very mobile lifestyle.
Inspired by the 4HWW and Tim and Stephen Key’s blog posts on licensing, I came up with a product idea–something that will work well for people who travel by RV with their cats and small dogs (as my husband and I do)–and in the next 30-60 days, I will be submitting a provisional patent application to the US Patent Office, contacting manufacturers, and
negotiating a contract with at least one of them. I have been running a marketing test on the product with some promising results!
Financially, I will only have invested a few hundred dollars into this business, so if it turns out to be a dud, the losses will not be great. When thinking about the risk involved, I prefer to think about the potential wins (a regular royalty check!) and the risk/lost opportunity of NOT pursuing this idea. Possibly the hardest part of this for me is that this is my first ever undertaking of this kind, and I am learning everything from scratch. I fear people may not like my invention as much as I think they will, or that the manufacturers will think it is a bad idea and be uninterested in making a licensing deal with me, or that I will goof up and say something stupid while trying to make contact with the right people in the manufacturing companies. However, I also realize that the more calls I make, the easier it will become, and next time I do this, I will have a better idea of what to expect! In time, my efforts may free up my husband and me to truly live the lifestyle of the “New Rich” that Tim talks about in the 4HWW. That is my aim!
Dan — June 15th, 2012, 1:52 pm
I’ve learned the difference between gambling and risking, “taking a chance on the unknown….”
When I take chance on the unknown with my own resources, I become open to tasks at hand instead of images of past or future success. And to people who want to move in the same direction.
My work history moves from bookstore management to forklift driving, to Parcourse fabrication and installation, to publications management in an 80′s Silicon Valley startup, to starting the Logitech Publications Group, to journalism and conference moderating in the Virtual Reality field, to managing the Cygnus Solutions Publications Group, to working on a library database project in a Greek monastery, and a contract as “Corporate Poet” in a VR startup in Seattle.
Now suddenly I remember the evening dinner break at Planter’s Peanuts when I was sitting by myself reading some book or other.
Jose Sanchez, one of the other forklift drivers, had lost at cards with the other forklift drivers and walked over to my table.
I was a kid of 33 or so, and he was an old man of 38.
Pointing down at me he said:
“Kid! In this life you gotta be crazy and you gotta know the business!
“If you’re just crazy, you go off on a trip somewhere and nothing gets done.
If you just know the business, what’s the difference between you and a stone?
“But if you’re crazy AND you know the business, you’ll do alright….”
In his honor, I call this The Jose Sanchez Principle.
Today I ask myself again, “What do I want, right now!”
I want to work with someone who can work with me to code the interfaces I design for my web site, and for an iPhone/iPod Touch app that has three phases:
the first, free and entertaining but useful,
the second, a little more interesting, possibly with a small fee, and
the third, to be sold to a specific web presence.
That established, I hope to work on even more useful and usable projects.
Michael Clark — June 15th, 2012, 2:21 pm
Hello,
My name is Michael Clark. Risk as been my friend and enemy my whole life.
I grow up in the Boston Housing Projects, where the biggest goal for my friends was to work at the warehouse down the street or for the local drug dealer. Neither one of my parents graduated High School and worked in the cleaning industry. I never knew I was poor really, until I tried to apply to College. That takes money, but I was lucky. A small college in Newton Mass, just went coed after being a all girls school for decades. They needed boys to start coming in and something I found out later was they needed black boys more. The goverment was giving them big grants for doing so. So when I applied I guess being from the “Projects” and also willing to try out for there new men’s basketball team meant I was a perfect fit for them. So for a 15K tuition they gave me 14.5K in grants and loans, with only a few phones calls but mainly SIGHT UNSEEN!
The first day I walked into the bursers office and told them who I was, they didn’t believe me. If fact they really gave me a hard time until someone told me the truth “Off the record”, they thought I was black. I guess most of the grants and loans where under this premise. Well it all worked out, they where so embarrassed that they just changed all the names of the loans and let me in. They also told me that I wouldn’t have gotten in any other way which I thought was nice of them.
I knew this was a great break for me, so I took full advantage of it. I worked my ass off and got A’s and B’s. Over coming peoples perception and succeeding is part of my life. Being a project kid you are always told your not enough. I have seen alot of my old friends never leave the streets they grow up on and still doing the same old same. Going to College was a huge thing in my hood. My next step of getting a job. Growing up in the projects really did prepare me for college, the job market and the corporate world. Like your articles states small daily risks prepare you for bigger ones. There where plenty of risks in the projects, but I was surprised by how much I missed the place when I left. I wanted to trade for the devil that I knew for the devil that I didn’t. Risks come in all sharps and sizes. Like you said what is a risk one is not such a big deal to someone else. Leaving the projects was a big deal for me. Leaving College for the working world was a big deal to me. Overcoming insecurities of being a ex-project kid in the corporate world was a huge deal for me. Buying my own home that wasn’t attached to anything was a huge deal for me. The decade or so it took me to realized that I was good enough to start my own business was a really really, huge deal for me.
So now the story ends or rather begans here. I am 8 months into running my own Product marketing, branding and packaging design firm called Shelf Identity. I have 16 years experience in 3 fortune 70 companies as a art director/Designer/Manager. I am a proven surviver and adapter with great untapped and tapped talent and would love to work with people with fresh, new ideas.
Daniel Gonzalez — June 15th, 2012, 2:27 pm
I’ve applied a lot of this methodology in my career. And interestingly enough, I’ve watched a friend concerned with stability work at the same manufacturing plant he worked in to get through college after he graduated. And, he still has the same income.
I wanted to make my job experience serve me to gain skills I’d need to become an entrepreneur. So I started by taking a job in Sales. I learned lots about conversation control, spin selling, and more. Eventually I got tired of that and decided I would need to learn to scale sales messages from 1 – 1 to 1 – many.
So, with no experience, I went off to look for jobs in SEO, so I could learn to drive traffic to websites. I read as much as I could on the subject, pirated information products, and got myself a strong knowledge base in the subject. From there I wrote a terrible resume and threw it out there. I got some interviews & with each interview I adjusted my resume to reflect the recruiters perception of important skills and employee traits.
Soon I landed a job in SEO, and learned about the importance of customer development and achieving product market fit for startups. I got fanatic about learning everything I could about product market fit and customer development reading books by Steve Blank and other lean startup advocates.
I realized if I want to get good at starting & growing businesses I’d need practice doing that. So I pivoted away from SEO and into conversion rate optimization to learn how to split test & increase revenue for web business.
Through out this journey I’ve “lied” my way into a couple jobs and been fired, learning a TON in the process. I’ve taken low paying jobs where I’d e able to learn a lot (that’s how I go into SEO). And I’ve always worked on side projects in the evening on my own time to help me learn and develop news and useful skillls.
I’ve been able to double my salary for stints of time, while I’ve watched my friend recieve a dollar per hour increase each year. I’ve been able to increase my income from working drastically with each new job I take, while my friend debates the prospect of seeking a news job. I’ve developed skills that will help me when one of my side projects strikes a responsive chord, while my friend, should there by a disruption in his industry will find it hard to deal with the fall out. I love my friend, just being honest about what I see happening.
Giovanni — June 15th, 2012, 2:34 pm
This is the perfect article after returning from a 10-month trip around the world. My wife and I sold and left everything and had the time of our lives.
I graduated with an MS in Engineering from UC Berkeley and worked in NYC as a consultant for big pharma in the Latin American markets. I took a risk and left a well-paying “safe” job to start my own business in SF while doing engineering research at UC Berkeley. Business was good and research fine but I wanted to explore the world. I took a risk and left research. I applied the 4-hour work week on my business and left everything to enjoy the world.
We came back with the same net worth as when we left thanks to the business and we had a plethora of priceless experiences. The risk more than paid off and now I’ve been to 20 countries and met lots of wonderful people.
I returned 2 days ago and in deciding what to do next it’s great to look at risk vs. opportunity. Unfortunately, it’s still difficult for me to turn away from the “safe”/low-volatility options but now I know why, because of evolution and it makes perfect sense. I’m deciding between going back to research, applying to corporate jobs with business development, or start my own company. My preference would be start my own company and I already have two ideas (one is already profitable but needs to scale and the other one is in its infancy but with lots of potential). My hesitation includes: unstable income, “what if it doesn’t work?”, risk missing out from current earning potential ($100k/yr+ on a corporate job), etc. However, the opportunities include freedom, work something I’m passionate about, create impact faster, wear many hats, etc.
I consider myself a person with passion and capable of anything, yet I hold myself back at times due to something I did not understand. As I continue to move forward and think about my next move, I will remember that we humans tend to give a higher priority to risks and un-”safe” moves due to evolution. If I keep this in mind, I might be able to be less risk-averse and shake some things up and create impact not only in my life but in projects I’m involved with.
Thanks for the great article and I hope to meet you soon.
Ciao,
Giovanni
Damian — June 15th, 2012, 2:38 pm
HI, My name is Damian, I leave in Poland, Europe.
I work for Google, but i want to leave this comfort zone. You can ask: “Why?”
I want something different. I want to take a challenge and risk without fear.
The reason is, I feel I want to work for some small company, where I can have bigger impact on daily improvement and business creation. I believe, that with my passion I can achieve more and help people improve their businesses. It’s a a hard decision, but as a Steve Jobs fan “I need to follow my intuition or karma – they already know, what I truly want to become”.
Next month I join small company Paylane in Poland as a new business developer. The challenge is:
1. I have never worked in B2B sales, but I extremely love people, presenting ideas and new technologies, which make business easier, so than can be very helpful.
2. The company wants to explore USA and Europe being based in Poland, which still can be difficult.
When it goes to Risk I see some point:
1. My salary depends on results, so I don’t have any financial security at the beginning
2. Maybe I can realize in some point, that I don’t match to sales because it is harder than I expect and I will stuck in some point.
3. For small polish company with low experience on international markets it can be very challenging.
I believe although in this opportunity; I will earn less at the beginning, but with the time i hope i will increase my knowledge, network, understanding of business and personal engagement. I hope that with your help and mentoring I could start building my business network in USA and tell the story of our innovative idea.
I will follow the quotation from Tim Ferris book: “Doing impossible is easier than doing possible”.
Ben Casnocha — June 16th, 2012, 7:43 pm
@Damien, you hit the nail on the head with respect to the risk of working a big company. Oftentimes, professional growth is slower, individual impact smaller.
Josh — June 15th, 2012, 2:40 pm
I am in my mid-thirties and for the last ten years have followed my passion in politics and government. I have had successes, failures; opportunities, and missed opportunities. Overall, I do fairly well, can support my family, and could coast toward a lifetime career in this field if I chose to.
But I need a change.
No, I HAVE to change.
At my core, I am a creator. I think we all are. I have passions, ideas, and a multitude of dreams I would like to accomplish in my life. I’m writing two books — comedies. I want to start non-profits on issues I care about deeply. I want to start a radio station.
But my biggest dream is launching a tech company. I’ve been drawn to tech since I was a little boy. I don’t remember this, but my parents recently told me how I took apart their tape recorder and fixed it when I was five or six, so some fundamental part of me has always been drawn to the way things work.
In recent years, I seem to be going back to these roots. I am learning to code, learning design, dabbling in hardware. And along the way I’ve come up with an idea for a tech company that I have fallen in love with.
To get this idea off the ground, I have spent all our savings and nearly maxed out credit cards. I have a decent demo now, although it will take some more work to take it live. I am well-aware that the odds are stacked against me. I am not an engineer and I’m 100 miles away from Silicon Valley. However, there is no doubt that I need help taking this company to the next level. Your advice and mentorship would be invaluable! Thanks for considering.
And I believe in paying back and paying forward. Once I find success in this dream, I want to mentor others by giving them the tools they need to achieve their dreams. In that sense, you and I have something in common!
Josh — June 15th, 2012, 3:09 pm
On June 1st I gave myself a goal, change my career in 60 days, no matter what. Even if it means quitting my job without a new one on July 31st. New career. No matter what.
I’ve spent the last 12 years working for banks. 2 years ago I got laid off during a merger and even though I wanted something different, and I had plenty of time to find something different (Yea layoff packages!) I still took the “safe” route and took a job at a rival bank.
Now, two soul crushing years later, I’ve had enough and it’s sink or swim time. For to long I let the “But I won’t make enough money there!” mantra hold me back. Even now it’s scaring the crap out of me, but it’s driven me to re-evaluate what I really need to survive, what my real “worst case” might be, and frankly, it not that bad.
My net worth is a positive number, not a big one, but I’m not upside down. If I had to sell all of my stuff, I could zero out my debt. I might have to start renting an apartment, rather than own a nice house, but it would be doable, my wife would support my decision(she went freelance 4 years ago).
So. The applications have been going out. So far mostly to local non-profits I’m already working with that happen to have openings right after I started looking, but it’s a start, and one way or another I’m not going to have my current job much longer.
Having a mentor would be pretty handy.
Thanks.
Jonathan N — June 15th, 2012, 3:20 pm
My risk is to completely change focuses into a new career in startups to eventually start one of my own. Short term goal would be to network like crazy, go to meetups, and hopefully try to get involved in a startup of interest where I can develop skills there and on my own. The risks would be time sacrificed to learn, income made doing something else, and loss of “freshness” as a relatively new graduate. Coming from a Biochemistry background, I have zero experience in coding, marketing/ business work, and also, little knowledge about the tech/startup industry (right now). I was pursuing my degree in vain, and it took traveling to Asia and getting a new outlook on life, as well as, articles and sites like these, to give me the courage and support I needed to make the change despite discouragements around me.
sam — June 15th, 2012, 3:25 pm
Currently I have no career, I am 18. In the next 60 days I could go to university or I could try starting my own company, I am trying to decide what to do.
I could go to university, but I find that each day I have less and less passion for the course I am taking. I don’t want to be stuck in a crappy job having not taken a degree. But neither do I want a ‘normal’ job requiring a four year education.
I could start a niche business in the coming months, It could fail and I could be left penniless. However I thought “Is it realistically possible to fail if I follow common sense and understand business?”. No, it’s very unlikely that with my business being small and only costing £200 to start up that it really wouldn’t fail. So I asked myself “Why haven’t I started it?”.
Fear. Fear that I could’ve spent my time doing something useful toward University or enjoying my life. Fear that I won’t be able to support myself if I fail. But on that basis of that “Shouldn’t you be fearful of everyday life?”. Their are so many situations where you could be killed on a daily basis yet we shrug it off as though it’s low risk. Crossing the road, having a shower, you could slip and break your neck, killing yourself. Yet we still do it and think of it as low risk. You could be clean or dead, Hmmmm…….”I think I’ll take clean!”. I want to have a similar attitude towards starting a business, yet my emotions make it very difficult.
In the next 60 days I have to make a decision. You would’ve thought that since I’ve been on a 4 week expedition to Iceland that I could handle risk, but I am still undecided on what to do.
Even if I don’t get the chance to email Reid and Ben, I would appriciate some advice from other people reading this, I think a different perspective would help. Many Thanks
Jason — June 15th, 2012, 3:35 pm
I’m going to jump ship again on July 7th.
I spent my life training and made it to my dream job at NASA designing rockets – but they we’re going to build ‘em so I resigned from NASA in 2009 giving up the high pay civil service job! I moved my family to New Zealand to a house on the beach to think for a bit – ended up running a boat building company for a year (stuff got built – kiwi’s can build boats) – then I quit to think for a bit more. I’ve started a consulting company to provide energy analysis for homes – and try to change how homes are built – pays the bills but I’m working by the hour again.
CHANGE:
July 7th I’m going to take my son (he’s 4 now) and go back to my hometown of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The last stop on the commuter rail from Boston: I’m going to start a company not a job. I’ve cash for four months and I need to be able to be both in New Zealand and the USA.
RISK:
This is it for my cash – if I fail I’m broke (I do have a round trip back to the south pacific paradise of New Zealand).
My wife could leave me while I’m gone for four months.
My current consulting clients might ditch me so I’ll have to work any crap job back in NZ to feed my kid.
BIG RISK – my ideas will suck and I won’t make any good contacts totally wasting my time in the USA.
I’ll start a company – dump in my time and IRA and fail – when I could’ve worked as a consultant and relaxed and kept those funds.
Kevin — June 15th, 2012, 4:07 pm
Hi,
The change I would like to make, in the next 60-90 days, is to help my friend Clark move his startup one step closer to his goal by leveraging your experience and industry contacts. Here is an email he sent to his friends and family on June 13th describing the risk he is currently taking:
Friends and Family-
I think I’m going on almost 6 months since my last update so I thought the timing was appropriate for this email.. Especially considering it has been nearly 1 year since I left AMS. Wow! Time flies when you’re working 15 hour days…
To begin, I will answer many of your questions with this simple statement.. life as an entrepreneur is BY FAR the most challenging thing I have ever tried to accomplish.
Here are the joys awaiting anyone interested in following my path:
· I still don’t have a car.. it may seem like a novel approach to keeping healthy but many of my neighbors are wonder why I’ve become super eco friendly as they see me walking around town.
· The sun light hurts my eyes.. too bad a computer monitor doesn’t give you a tan or prepare you for the outdoors..
· I haven’t seen my friends in a while.. not because I don’t like you but it’s almost impossible to leave my office when there is so much to do.
So in summary, startups don’t pay.. save up your money before you make the jump, get ready to max out your credit cards, and enjoy the entrepreneur diet of bread and water!
But… with all the challenges and daily difficulties I LOOOOOVE it!
The things we are working on at (I deleted his company name) are awesome and truly inspiring. I can honestly say I’m pumped up each morning when I think about its potential……
Enter Kevin:
The email goes onto talk about personal goals that I will keep private.
Thank you for your time.
Kevin
Joshua — June 15th, 2012, 4:09 pm
My name is Joshua,
I’m 20 years old and am getting married at the end of this month. I’m commenting from a Starbucks on my work phone (an android) that was given to me by my newly acquired job, Telus Mobility in BC Canada. This is my “learning experience” period you described in the post. My five year plan ends with me working from some far off country on a mobile device (an iPhone) with no bosses or managers calling me in to build a paycheck that barely makes it to me after payroll. I finished Tim’s book the summer I turned 19 and finished my firstj start-up two months after. Onebuyandsell – a completely outsourced project inspired by 4HWW and the connection I made with Kayak.com’s CFO Paul English (a connection also inspired by 4HWW) – was my first jab at financial freedom and the life of the new rich. After experiencing the blow of cruel reality that Onebuyandsell would not be the project that draws me my $40,000 a month – and realizing that a 19 year old with no secondary schooling cutting lawns during the week and singing in a rock band on the weekends isn’t particularly what Twitter, Facebook or Dropbox are looking for in their next product development expert – I decided it was time I got a little practical. Thus leading me to a family connection with the president of a local Telus-authorized dealer. Now I’m furiously engulfing as much sales experience and information as possible in hopes of someday employing guys like me. I need coaching to help me filter through the ideas I have and manage the full-time sales job with a part time start-up that’s going to take me out of the rat race and into the lifestyle of the new rich.
Joshua
Joshua
Michael Clark — June 15th, 2012, 4:18 pm
What change do I want to make in my career in the next 30-60 days? For someone that is married with 2 kids (3 yrs and 1 month) change can be hard. That said, change must happen. We must evolve. I liken it to the Dr. Suess book “Oh, the places you’ll go” where it talks about ‘The Waiting Place.’ If you don’t change you’ll grow stagnant and always wonder. You’ll be stuck in the Waiting Place.
Working in college athletics most of my friends think I have it pretty good. I’m working a job at my alma mater that many would drop everything for. It has a ton of upside but something is missing. You talk about risk earlier. There’s not a lot of risk here. It’s government work. Albeit, fun government work (I know, kind of a oxymoron). I could make a career here and be perfectly happy but I can’t help but think something is missing. Public versus private sector work is VERY different and there are times that I long to get back in the private sector. A place where deadlines and innovation are commonplace. Where creativity is encouraged. The last 5 years have not seen any of those things. I have made my way up the chain by taking some risks and now is the time to look at taking another one.
Over the next few months, 1 of 3 is going things to happen, depending on how the dominos fall
1.) I will either be taking on an entirely new role at my current job – going from fundraiser/project manager to Director of Marketing
2.) Changing Universities to progress in my career, possibly moving into professional sports
3.) Or, changing professions entirely and pursuing something that is totally new, consulting while working towards building my own start-up.
Clearly, the later of these is the most risky, but all will present challenges. We’ll see how it goes.
Lisa Ann — June 15th, 2012, 5:01 pm
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
My name is Lisa Ann, I have been in the wedding industry for over 20 years. I was one of those rare photographers who went digital way before it became common. I have also been the photographer who enjoys working with the middle market bride over the high end clientele.
I bought a laptop within the first year of going digital and quickly found my potential customers were not looking at the ‘photography’ in the hundreds of images that scrolled across the screen, but instead were looking at the ‘content’. Statements like; Where did that dress come from? Who was the cake maker? That is a really cool vest on the groom. What is the type of cloth are those linens are made of? I made the mental note to learn who all the vendors were at every wedding I was photographing so that I could answer those questions.
In 2011 I launched a web site with the goal of connecting local wedding vendors with brides. I want to take this data based web site national. We gave away 10 photography packages throughout America with the goal of gaining insight on how REAL brides plan and implement their weddings. (This has been an interesting and thrilling experiment.) The way we want to expand the website and now online magazine is to document a real wedding in every state in less than 80 weeks of time!
The goal is also to provide useful information about planning a wedding within the region that the bride lives in by publishing articles with local professionals being written about or asked for industry education tips that are important to that market. Weddings do differ from state to state and budget levels. There are so many regional customs, religious traditions, and budget considerations that the big national industry can’t cover – which we can.
How does this tie back to photography? Brides love images and are inspired by them. Pinterest and Facebook rely on people’s love of images. Our idea…mix images that are captured at real weddings and not staged for articles with all the content and vendor information tied to the images themselves plus add them to the love stories of the couples getting married.
Next step? Invite professional photographers nationwide to jump on board and provide images and stories about the weddings they are covering.
Next 30-60 days?
I want to finish the business and financial plan for my existing company. I then want to take the risk of finding a primary investment partner to enable the project to move forward. The goal is to finish building the web site, integrate the ability for nationwide photographers to share their wedding experiences, and to launch the 80 week national tour promoting the website/magazine in every state.
The risk involves two primary factors:
1.Sharing ownership of the company (is always a risky factor in my mind.)
2.The risk of having the primary vision for the company shift because of an outside influence.
Paul — June 15th, 2012, 5:07 pm
What a great blog post – always value-packed with unconventionality and insight from the most inspiring minds!
It’s great timing – I am currently working with my business coach on making yet another transformation in my career. I am currently the top salesperson for the largest restaurant franchise development company. After reading the 4-Hour Work Week, it allowed me to automate, delegate, eliminate, and liberate my sales career to where I am now the only 1 in the company who works remotely, gets to travel to the likes of Asia in the MIddle East, focus on the highest-yielding deals, and do what I want to do.
During the economic downturn and salespeople were either quitting because they didn’t have faith in our company, or when underperformers were being laid off – I believed in the company and my own abilities – and so I took the biggest risk of all. I asked to eliminate my base pay. It was unconventional and a total paradigm shift; it surprised my company executives, but they agreed to it, believing that the risk got shifted to me. But you’re right – although going on straight commission may seem scary and uncertain, I didn’t overestimate the risks (it was in my control, I negotiated it so that the yield would be substantially higher); I believed in my self, abilities, and resources (I didn’t fall victim to underestimating my resources); and now, even though the company has recovered, I have no interest in going back to the original pay scale. I control my time better, work remotely wherever I want, and I make substantially more money. Power to the right way to manage risk and take opportunities!
Although I have a pretty good path on how to manage my career, your insights were amazing, I can continue to learn/strengthen myself, and I would love to be surrounded by Tim and you guys. In any case, reading the post was a prize in itself. Keep it up, Guys. You’re changing my life and others’!
MC — June 15th, 2012, 6:01 pm
Hi – my name is Matt, I’m 38 and based in Australia. I sold a stake in a consulting business a couple of years ago and after travelling and toying with a range of options (which has been great fun) its time to get serious – so the change I want to make is to commit to a specific project.
I like the risk/opportunity adversity balance you highlight; for me, I’m thinking much more about the risk of not doing something (or just spinning my wheels) and about how to navigate the many opportunities I see to choose just one (or a handful).
Thanks for the blog and book, its thought provoking and confronting stuff and I’m up for the challenge!
Kathy Bogatek Zapanta — June 15th, 2012, 6:11 pm
Awesome Post!
Now we are living the life of our dreams, doing what we want, building our companies and focusing on personal development and success everyday. We have a beaten and battered copy of 4HWW and it has been with us during all our travels here in CR. We hope to meet Tim one day and thank him for what he has helped us to do – beer is on us! 
My husband and I read Tim Ferris’ 4 Hour Work Week back in November 2011. We made a drastic change and took major risk to go after our dreams. My husband quit his job of 11 years – with barely any money in the bank – sold our stuff to survive and renovate our condo – sold our condo after 2 months and took our money, bought a ticket to Costa Rica and are now living and travelling here. Thinking back, it was the scariest thing that we lived with such insecurity for those few months but the gains have been enormous. We sort of did it backwards but Tim’s perspective has helped us to really Dream big! My husband is now following the 4HWW and is building a prototype for his first product and we are starting another project together based off of our experience travelling, dream lining and thinking big. It has been the most rewarding experience of our lives to finally face our fears, consider the risks and realizing that the outcome could only be better than being trapped in a life full of debt, stressful and draining jobs and no real hope of happiness. What we didn’t expect though is that the outcome is better than we could even imagine. It is really true – Fortune favours the bold! Dream big and WIN. From living pay check to pay check to living with risk, adventure and challenge everyday – we have decided, it’s the only way to live. Make the uncomfortable = comfortable.
Shawn — June 15th, 2012, 6:11 pm
Thanks for the article. I’m looking to change jobs now, so this helped. I’m struggling to get employers to recognize skills I’ve built up over the years, including self-employment. My biggest challenge is to get in front of someone who will question what I’ve done so I have the opportunity to explain what I can do.
I’m older and at the stage of helping a parent, so some of your statements about risk ring true for me. I’d rather take the view of moving into a better position rather than saying that less could mean more. Still I’ll think about what you wrote and see if I can use that to come up with some better strategies. And I’ll look at the books.
Thanks Tim, et al.!
William — June 15th, 2012, 6:37 pm
4. Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment on this post, introduce yourself, and tell us:
What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)?- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
Hello there, my name is William Lust and I am a chiropractor from Wisconsin. I am currently practicing in a satellite clinic for another chiropractor, who wants me to buy him out when we can get busy enough. The thing is we have not been able to be busy enough in the over four years I’ve been here. I’m in social organizations, active in the chamber of commerce, do a weekly senior center exercise classs, tons of ads and mailers, and I feel I adjust well and have a good ‘bed side’ manner with patients but it’s a rural town I live in that has had a lot of industry that’s moved away. The bad economy is apparent, as it probably is all over the country, but I don’t want that to sound like I’m making excuses. I might be, and probably am, but the future of this country, and especially the middle class and the health care system, are not getting better anytime soon. That makes my job harder, because people will only pay for what is desperately necessary and optimal health is not as valued in America as you think it should.
I have been thinking about taking another associateship in Singapore. What I know so far, from reading the job description, it would pay over twice my current salary and have much greater bonus opportunity, with the marketing done for me, and with much less competition. I would like to normalize myself outside of the US as well. The current state of affairs here is scary, and I want to, not only give myself a chance elsewhere, but to give loved ones a place to go if need be. The timing is good seeing as I am contracted for five years and next May is the end of the fifth year. It would give them time to find a replacement.
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
It has been a pipe dream until writing it down just now, but the risk is I leave a community, and the immersion value of being a known fixture in the health care-insurance system. I would be walking away from a practice, something I have grown and nurtured for the last four years, which is nothing to sneeze at. It helped me pay off some huge credit card bills. It kept me within a half hour of my Mom and sister; and an hour from my Dad. I was there for a lot of grandparents and other loved ones who just recently passed away. I have been able to keep family close to my life. I would be leaving my home state for an undeterminable amount of time, with hopes of a return back when I’m debt-free.
The other side of the risk is I stay dependent on a bad, untrustworthy system, get into more debt that I don’t believe I would like to carry, and have things grind along while I end up paying myself last. Or Singapore could be a bust. I could get over there and find it sucks. That the money isn’t any better. Or the cultural differences where too much for my hick mind to handle.
I honestly don’t want to buy this clinic and get into anymore six-figure debt, so I can say I’m an owner, but with more debt to keep track of. I like the idea of up and doing exactly what I do now, just to a different type of spines. And to be doing it in Asia. And making more. And having more to do. And having it be new and exciting. I feel like I need something different to happen soon.
I also want to escape the 9-5 and have an internet income so I don’t have to practice. Not having the comforts of home to distract me will give me a better chance at making these next dreams a reality. That’s what the Four Hour Workweek has helped me see. We have more options then we think we do. We just need to get our heads and actions around what must be done.
Ron — June 15th, 2012, 6:46 pm
I’d like to thank you first for the opportunity to spend a little time with the both of you. It would be such a great learning experience to be able to listen and impliment your ideas.
I’m currently a full-time police officer in Florida and in the next 30-60 days, I want to be able to quit woring off-duty details so I can laser focus my attention to what I feel passionate about doing, which is product licensing. The off-duty work provides the extra money that my family (wife and daughter) need right now but, by its very nature, takes up a lot of my off time. In February of 2013, I’ll be vested with my department which means I can start to draw a pension when I reach age 50.
I refuse to work one more day after I become vested. Being a police officer wears on you in unimaginable ways. I’ve done my time and I’ve got so much more to offer. Not only to just me, but to my family, my friends and the world! I’m putting these chapters behind me and I’m starting a new book right now. Your help in getting the next chapter in my life started would be very much appreciated.
The risks associated with my decision are directly related to the security of my pension or what I think is security of my pension and the security of a government job. Everyone else thinks it’s great. They have no idea. The average police officer lives less than five years after they retire. Not me. My family and I have too much to do and too much to see and I know that there’s going to have to be risks taken on my part to accomplish all that I want to do. My wife is a stay at home mom, so it all comes down to me and the risks I’m willing to take. But the risks I’m willing to take aren’t the risks my wife is willing to take. The risks affect us all.
Thank you sincerely for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Ben Casnocha — June 16th, 2012, 7:47 pm
Great comment, Ron. The lure of “secure” pensions really does cause many people to not make a change even though deep down they want to — so a fantastic perspective…
William costigan — June 15th, 2012, 6:48 pm
Thanks for another awesome blog! My name is Will, I am 30 and I live in central FL. I was unhappy at my job as a planner for a relocation company. I stumbled onto Tim’s book and three months later I am an independent real estate agent. This post really spoke to me because it is a reallly nerve wracking to give up a garaunteed paycheck to chase the dream of working for myself and gaining more free time. I am still very nervous about the risk I have taken in quitting a secure job, and this blog really confirmed what I’ve been thinking since reading Tim’s book. I’d rather regret taking a risk and not succeeding, than regret being too afraid to try in the first place. Thanks again!!
Shirley — June 15th, 2012, 6:53 pm
Hi, I’ve been a trainer, business coach, author and speaker for over 15 years and have developed a great reputation. Much of my business comes in by word of mouth, some of it internationally. I have been looking how i can step back and have decided to develop an internet business which firstly leverages my time and money, until I can then replace it. I love travel and travel a bit at the moment, but would like to seriously increase my time traveling. So, in the next 30 days I am running a free webinar for one of my lists, and I am very nervous as I haven’t done this before. However, I have sent them the email (which has been passed on!!) so I can’t back out. This is the first step of starting to really work and build my lists. Cheers, Shirley
Issara — June 15th, 2012, 7:05 pm
Choose me.
Geoff Quartermaine Bastin — June 15th, 2012, 7:25 pm
Interesting. Their main thesis is directly contradicted by a Kurzweil web
site article I read just before this one – that research shows we are hard
wired towards optimism, and that such an attitude directly encourages the
recognition of opportunity.
Jeffrey Collins — June 15th, 2012, 8:00 pm
I’ll give this a try. It definitely can’t hurt.
My name is Jeffrey Collins. I am a painter (fine arts), and one of the big problems I have been dealing with since I decided to make art my life, is where my business is conducted. Columbus, Ohio might be nice for a number of things, but it sure isn’t a big art city. Living here has brought me some accolades. But I have had more big name players in the art world tell me I would do so much better if I were living in NYC, or it’s surrounding areas. I had the opportunity in the best way about 4 years ago when my Father passed away. Died suddenly from a heart attack, once the aftermath came about. My stepmother gave me $18K, and said my Father wanted me to have it to buy a car with, as he knew my 215K mile car wasn’t going to last much longer. Under duress from hearing this, I gave into family thought and purchased a car with that money instead of doing what I had been dreaming about for ten years…moving to New York. I have since had one other chance to have enough funds to be able to move to NY and have at least a few months to be able to shop my painting around before I had to get a job to live with. About two years ago I decided one of the best things to help my career from where I was, would be to make a film where I interviewed all these people I always wanted to meet in person. Kinda like the film PAINTERS PAINTING, where the filmmaker (Emile De Antonio) went around to studios and spent time learning about them and their work. Granted, he was already in NYC and had a crew. I didn’t…but that didn’t stop me. Through the generosity of my Mother, who had recently lost her Father, I was able to get a nice HD camera and sound equipment to make the film with. I began by taking a trip…funded still by Mom, to NH where I interviewed a very well known Curator named Carl Belz. And from there have went on to visit NYC twice and do numerous interviews. I’m looking forward to going back and doing more interviews. But It would be so much nicer if I were able to live there, for just a month or two. But to live there would make it even better. I’ve been trying to raise funds to make the journey for a couple months so I can do all the interviews, but raising money has been a major problem for myself and this project. People don’t seem to realize how important it’s historical value to the arts and to creative people in general is. I’m having a heck of a time dealing with grant organizations, as even though most of them are art granters, they don’t seem to see the value either. But my friends who know art, and those that are in the film definitely see the value. I only wish they had the funds to help in getting the film made. But so many of them may have big spaces, but that’s because they’ve been in NYC since the 60′s when things were cheap, and they are kind of still living on that.
So that’s what I’m here to hope for. An extended trip to NYC is really all I am asking for. Granted it would be awesome to be able to live there, but I know that if I can just get the extended trip. That the living there would come not too far off afterward.
Thank you Tim, Ben, and Reid, for this opportunity. Great things are going to come from this particular blog entry no matter whom gets your undivided attention.
Cheers to you and yours.
Jeffrey
here’s the project I’ve been talking about…. http://www.indiegogo.com/untitled-art-documentary
Nate E — June 15th, 2012, 8:09 pm
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days?
I want to identify the leaders in the healthcare IT space. (Epic, Greenway Medical, Allscripts to name a few)
I plan to update my cv and resume and apply to internships with all of them. With any luck the company which is hardest at work developing new consumer focused electronic health record system applications, will pick me up. (BS economics, MS Pharmacoeconomics near completion)
In 30 years I envision healthcare technology which realizes some of the fantasy seen on star trek and I’d like to be a part of that effort.
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
An internship may come without pay, or with too little pay to take care of my family. Not to mention i may need to relocate… Which may be difficult considering my wife is in vet school and we have small children. The position would likely require a bit of travel. It may be difficult balancing my family life with my work life which may add challenges to my marriage.
I may be targeting the wrong companies for my long term goal. However, electronic health records are surely the foundation of future health technology applications, so I feel I can’t lose.
I feel naive sometimes thinking I may be able to assist in solving some of our nations health problems. This may be an unjustified emotion though. The political climate has incentivized this type of effort through recent ‘meaningful use’ legislation.
It seems it’d make more financial sense to toss my resume to all relevant employers and accept whatever seems to work. I seem to be excited about health care and technology though, and at this point I feel it’s either now or never.
Thanks for reading. Now please help me mange this risk with a premium LinkedIn membership! Your time would be even better!
Dwight — June 15th, 2012, 9:10 pm
Hi Reid,
My name is Dwight Dillon Seminario. 7 Months ago, I decided to leave my life in California, where I had recently lost my job, and move to Peru where I have some family and start all over. I’m a musician with lots of experience playing and teaching and also a certified master hypnotherapist. My idea was to go to Peru, make connections and teach at the conservatory as well as start a new hypnotheraphy practice. I bought a one way ticket and now am working part time at the National Conservatory in the afternoon, and have a couple hypnotheraphy clients in the mornings.
My most recent project within the next 30-60 days, is starting a company the specializes in video games for the iPhone. With a friend, we already have the design for our first game.
The risk involved is spending our own money as well as raising money to hire programmers to write our game for us. Also the time spent learning how to operate and market the App store. The money I’m making for the steady check as a professor pays the bills, but that’s it. The hypnotheraphy practice is growing slowly. The real big one, is this video game. It’s going to cost us more money than we have together, and the rewards might not come for a while, but when they do, they’ll be through the roof.
John Jurica — June 15th, 2012, 9:11 pm
I am a 56 year old family physician that has transitioned my career over the past 26 years from that of a full time medical practitioner to a full time physician executive. I work as the Chief Medical Officer of our local hospital where I began practicing 26 years ago, fresh from my family medicine residency. Although very successful in this role, I have for years yearned to create a new business or become involved with an enterprise that would offer new challenges and opportunities for learning and growth. I believe that I have truly allowed my risk aversion to stop me from actively seeking such new opportunities.
I have made some half-hearted attempts to interview for a new position and I am currently in the early stages of seeking a CMO job at a new hospital, but I fear that the closer this new job becomes a reality, the more likely it is that I will sabotage my own efforts. And what I would really rather do is take the skills I have developed in this highly regulated, low margin yet stable industry, including project management, team building and communication skills, and apply them to an unregulated, high growth industry. I could really use some coaching and advice to help free me from my self-limiting beliefs and move into this new position or to seek work in another industry.
My primary fears center around the erosion of my ability to pay for college expenses for my youngest two children and the risk that I will not have sufficient funds to ensure at least a modest retirement for my wife and me.
Chad — June 15th, 2012, 9:35 pm
Wow. I’ve read >80% of posts on this blog. I don’t recall any of them being as provocative as this one (as evidenced by the 160+ comments already made). Tim, your ability to connect with people (guest-bloggers and readers alike) is uncanny, and your content is seemingly timeless. Keep it rolling. Thank you!
Ben Casnocha — June 16th, 2012, 7:51 pm
Really appreciate it, Chad. Thanks!
Jonathan Bechtel — June 15th, 2012, 9:47 pm
My name’s Jonathan, I’m 27 years old, and I’m starting a health supplement company called Health Kismet.
I make a greens powder called Incredible Greens.
My big challenge: raising money for the next step in my company’s progression.
The release of Incredible Greens has gone well, sales have steadily increased, and most of the vital signs have been improving.
However, I’m reaching a point where Health Kismet either has to hydroplane or get an infusion of cash in order to grow. Developing a new supplement isn’t free, and I’m using my own personal savings….which are running out.
So I need to put some time into growing my network of contacts that can eventually put me in touch with people who are willing to invest in a health supplement company, or people who would be willing to work with me on putting together a good pitch on Kickstarter.
I need to start now because at the moment I DON’T need the money, and I want to ease my way into making the right introductions.
This is particularly important because I don’t want or need a lot, and it’s more important to have it on the right terms than getting some arbitrary sum.
I’ve spent much of the last 6 months refining my business systems to the point where I’ve whittled down my day-to-day activities into a productive routine and have automated most of the unnecessary.
So I’m ready to begin sticking my nose into some fundraising, and am hoping that by being proactive I can do it on my own terms.
Ulrich — June 15th, 2012, 9:51 pm
Great article! Even if you are aware of our mental biases, they can play tricks on you. Nobel prize winner Kahneman admits this in his most recent book as well and he looked into human psychology and economics all his life.
I urge you to print out the list of mental biased on Wikipedia (four pages) and stick them to your fridge.
Now my actionable insights:
I have a great job in the market research industry. High-learning opportunities, expanding company, a team full of smart people and you can have a beer with them.
Why do I think I should take more risk?
There’s little opportunity to “hit the jackpot” and I don’t like office (i.e. not being my own boss). I’m lucky because my quant skills are easily marketable.
Thus, I pursue two options:
1. Push for a 4-day work week (sorry for not quite following your advise here) but keeping the same salary.
2. If that doesn’t work out, go freelance.
Will happen before end of July 2012.
Thanks for the push,
Ulrich
P.s. Unrelated comment: allow me to say thanks, Tim, for your constant inspiration. I wrote this on my journey to a micro-vacation: Saturday highest summit of central Italy, Sunday beach.
vipul — June 15th, 2012, 9:56 pm
Dear Sir,
Really inspired from this post….after understanding the basic relationship between risk and opportunity…..now i have my mind to join actuary course.
I always fear that if i fail in that what will happen to my career….for becoming more resilient and successive manager ….we have to certain bold steps where other people hesitates and i certainly manage this situation now….thanks once again……i want to become very successful Actuary and please help me in that….thanks once agian
JG — June 15th, 2012, 10:47 pm
Wow, look at all these comments! Looks like everyone wants a copy of that book! Count me in.
Couldn’t agree more that the risk not taken is more dangerous than the one you avoid. In my 40s, I’ve had a reasonably successful career, doing all the right things – going to the right schools, studying the right things, taking the right jobs, making the right investments. That won’t work in today’s business world, or today’s economy. Looking at my gutted retirement fund, with no one knows how much more pain to come, I’ve realized I can only count on myself and my network of friends, family, and business associates to survive in this world. Depending on a single company, a single skill, a single career, is a recipe for disaster.
I’m lucky, in a way, to be recently laid off. Now I’m taking my big chance and starting my own business as a product management consultant for consumer internet / software businesses. At the same time I’m taking advantage of the freedom to start building my own passive income systems to eventually build financial freedom for me and mine.
It will be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to the freedom, the learning, and the chance to push aside my fears and create the career I love and an eventual life of financial freedom, doing what do only because I want to do it.
Good luck to us all!
Tim Ferriss — June 15th, 2012, 11:08 pm
Thanks again for all the great comments, all! Outstanding stuff…
Have a great weekend,
Tim
Rose — June 15th, 2012, 11:19 pm
If I may, I would propose a challenge to your post. You write about risk as though it is a choice that one must make in an instant – that the beast will leap out of the bushes and kill you if you don’t act now. You also seem to describe risks as having to be something huge and life-changing, without leaving much room for possible risks that are subtle. And that this mentality is the only way to take the risk you need to advance your career. (I may have misread you, but this seems to be the goal you are presenting.)
(I would ask one question just for thought, if an entire generation adopted this way of life, would we not have a lack of stability in family, home, financial preparation for the future, and communities at large?)
But I think that we can take risks in our careers without that split-second decision, or without it having to be a huge life overhaul.
I am in the early years of an established career. (Stable, past entry-level, and qualifying for jobs that require 5-7 years of experience.) This is a great place to be, no doubt! Except that I’m not really happy with where I am. And I’m one of those people who never really knew what I wanted to do with my life. (I always thought I’d get married young, have a lot of babies, and be the happiest Suzie Homemaker. I’d spend my adult life cleaning, making jam, hosting all sorts of dinner parties, and raising the best kiddos in town, and lovingly supporting my bacon-home-bringing husband. But at 32 and single-as-they-come, with a good career foundation, I’ve begun searching for what I might do with the REST of my life!)
So I have begun in-depth study of myself, my experiences, my gifts, my skills, my education (not just college, but all the things I’ve learned through simply learning and living!). My latest reads have been Marcus Buckingham’s books (“Stand Out” and “Strength Finders 2.0″), as well as “What Color Is Your Parachute” and “Do What You Are”. I’ve begun to meet with a career counselor. I’m taking inventory and studying for the future. I’m considering a few of the entrepreneurial ventures I’ve dabbled in, and making intentional plans with my time, energy, and resources. I still don’t have an ultimate plan or goal, but I’m forming it and will probably be forming it for a while (if not decades!).
My point is this: “Risk”, defined as a split-second-leap-of-faith-decision doesn’t make sense for me. I wouldn’t even know where to leap to. I also don’t feel that I need to just drop everything, get in my car, and go start over somewhere. However, with study, personal growth, planning, and a lot of prayer, I can take large “Risk”, defined as a move to something that may be markedly less safe than staying where I am. A new career path may not have the same salary, comfortability, prestige, or status as the one I have now. And it may take years to develop respect in a new path. So while your article seems to lean more on the former definition of risk, I believe that it’s equally fair to give attention to the latter. Your life doesn’t have to turn upside down for you to take risks. And risks don’t have to be extreme to still be risks.
David — June 16th, 2012, 9:50 am
Hi Rose. I see that you are studious career woman which might be one of the reasons for your confusion. It can take a long time to make a decision. There are research to be done, advice to be sough after, analysis to be done and so on. You’ve done all you can and now you make a decision(choice, go-no-go). The actual decision to take risk in of itself is usually very short, usually lasting less than 1 minute.(but can be much shorter) Once to made a decision, it’s time to implement what you need to do and your mind moves on. So the actually decision is a “split-second”, the preparation to make the decision can be very long.
I am very happy you are in a established, stable, and accomplished career. (I mean wow.) You have a valid point of not having to take extreme risk in your career(or life) to call it a risk. One I would like to point out, that taking small risks is some times now possible. Others who misjudged their career stability and lost their job will have to make high risk decisions. There are also instances when small incremental risk taking is not possible. Personally, I find that risk taking actual takes practice. Life throws things your way(huge, significant and very unpleasant) ,And without practice one can panic, make less optimal choices. that’s my thoughts. hope it helped. Thank you for reading.
Gena — June 16th, 2012, 12:01 am
I couldn’t have read this article at a more perfect time. I’ve always been drawn to taking risks, but lately that has not been the case. I studied Business & Chinese at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. My junior year I decided to study abroad in Beijing, China. It was such a wonderful experience that I decided to head back after graduation for an additional six months. When I returned this past January, I did some traveling around the US and ultimately decided that I wanted to stay in the US for the beginning of my post college career. I was very low on cash and decided to stay in my hometown of Detroit, MI. I got a part time job as a waitress and began working for free as an intern at a financial media startup. Days kept passing by and I never felt quite content. I think it has something to do with the general attitudes of people in Detroit. Everyone here, even the young college grads, is searching for stability, rather than excitement. That just isn’t me.
So I began searching for other options in different states. I first thought about Raleigh, NC because I figured if I’m going to be a waitress who works for free at a startup, I might as well do that somewhere with nice weather all year round. Weeks passed, hundreds of hopeful emails were sent…and now (somehow) next Monday I’m moving out to San Diego, CA. I’m leaving with not nearly enough money, no job yet, no housing plans yet, a few friends there, and just a really big dream. Every time I start to worry about the uncertainty, I remember a couple different lines from 4 hr work week I have taped to my desk “The most important actions are never comfortable.” & “Failure is not an option.” I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do recognize this nervous feeling in the center of my gut: excitement!
Hsu "Fatbuddha" Li — June 16th, 2012, 12:53 am
To Ben, Reid, Tim, and all the Friends who have chimed in, my name is Hsu (Shu), aka Fatbuddha.
Having spent the last decade of my life in and out of certainty, I’m no stranger to taking risks with my life. Growing up in a somewhat typical first-generation Taiwanese-American family, I was the odd one in that I constantly had non-typical ideas.
My family was consisted of teachers, engineers, and farmers. I joined the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan, foregoing my studies to become a doctor.
My high school and college buddies all became professors and doctors, got married to people from their academic circles and churches. I moved to China to find my career and married a wonderful Chinese woman, my wife JJ.
I’ve worked in 10 different jobs since college, taking something away from each that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
Looking back, I felt like I spent that last decade fighting against the cultural inertia of my culture in order to reach a place where I can positively evaluate the opportunities before me; I am finally not fearful of my potential to be successful.
Last winter, I started working at Gaopeng, the heterogenous China offspring of Groupon and Tencent. It was the startup of a lifetime, with so much hype, cash, and momentum to change the course of O2O business in China. 3600 employees and 200 expats later, the dust has settled, the money’s gone, and I’m one of the handful of expats who are still at the company, whose management is to be handed over to another group-buying company under Tencent.
It was the most awesomest experience of my life. And I couldn’t have had that experience had I not decided to leave my previous job.
Which is funny thinking back, because it was right after I read Tim’s book, that I decided to outsource my job to a virtual assistant in Utah, successfully negotiated with my boss to work at home, so that I had more time to spend playing guitar, meeting new friends, and finding new opportunities.
Tim, thank you.
Now, it’s time for me to take the next plunge. The experience at Groupon China has convinced me to pursue my own startup instead of just being an employee at one. My goal is to develop multiple income streams and live life doing the things I enjoy. I am now organizing web startup seminars, singles parties for our single friends, and life enrichment gatherings for the busy Beijing urbanite. I am also writing an e-book on living a “No Bad China Days” life as an expat.
Most of all though, I want to develop a mobile/web application that helps us map out our personal contacts via the cloud. Which is essentially LinkedIn on crack.
To all the friends who have read my post thus far, this is my goal for the next 30 to 60 days. To find a partner who shares my vision and to build a small team to prove this concept.
If any of you are in Beijing, I would love to meet and chat about anything!
Thanks again guys, happy risk-taking!
Fatbuddha in Beijing
Damien Jowett — June 16th, 2012, 1:10 am
Hi,
My name is Damien, I’m 22 and have been truck driving for 3 years to save money for helicopter flying lessons.
I have a lot of spare time in my job and want to either write an e-book or sell products online to create a passive income of $5000 per month to fund my dream of becoming a chopper pilot. Trading my time for money feels like banging my head against a brick wall and at my age I am already sick of it.
My dream is to not only become a pilot, but own my own aircraft with a large enough passive income to fly around Australia and visit friends and family and live life.
The risk involved financially is fairly minimal (I think), but quitting my job to create online businesses is something I know little about but like the idea of. Also, announcing to friends, family and peers my intentions to ‘not work hard’ could be an insult to their ideas of making money/careers/jobs/financial security etc. This risk of being ‘a failure’ in their eyes is daunting. But it is my dream nonetheless.
Vidya — June 16th, 2012, 1:45 am
Great Post!
I am Vidya, 25 working for a financial advisory firm as an associate advisor. I returned from my first solo backpacking in Vietnam 2 months ago and was made redundant in my previous upon returning to work. I just started this job 2 weeks ago which is a 6 month maternity contract.
I am loving this job because not only I am working with smart people, i am also earning approximately 20k more than my previous job given that I have only 6 months experience. Although it has only been 2 weeks, I am being pushed well beyond my comfort zone. The epiphany I had after starting this job was, realizing the fact that getting a job after Uni is not the ultimate destination, in fact the journey only starts now for doing amazing things and achieving overall success.
1) What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)?
Although it is not quite a change in the next 30-60 days, the change I would like to make is to convince/impress them to hire me on a full time basis after the 6 months – on my terms. My ultimate goal would be to work for 6-9 months in BA, Argentina while travelling South America. Working remotely in the finance industry which is highly regulated is a challenge in itself. But I want to convince them that this can be done.
So far I have demonstrated my commitment to learning by creating a blog and blogging on the things I am learning every day. I am also in the process of convincing a couple of other advisers to outsource some of their work to me. This will give me an chance to test and see if this could really work and with the results, I can convince my current boss.
2) How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
The 1st worst case scenario is that they dont offer me a full time role after my 6 months.
The 2nd worst case scenario is they offer me a position but do not agree with the working remotely option.
Either way, I think the next 6 months is going to be one hell of an adventure in starting the side project and working full time and making contacts through this new job and make my dream a reality.
Amit Sonawane — June 18th, 2012, 4:54 am
If you end up in Chile, let me know. I think we have some interesting brain pickings to do. What’s your blog?
Antoine — June 16th, 2012, 2:57 am
We’re all Phileas Foggs. Will you stay in your cosy London house or go for a little trip outside? Fill your life with new experiences now. I don’t see how you can regret it.
Sam — June 16th, 2012, 4:08 am
Wow, so many comments here of people trying to figure out their ways in life & business.
I think that instead of picking just one comment and help them why not propose this help under a paid service for all those people.
I know that you time is limited but helping all the commenters here will benefit everybody.
After all this blog is all about giving hope and different view office and business.
I usually read only this blog because it gives the real deal for the readers.
I will be happy to pay for the service the post authors offered for just one person, please think about it for the sake of all.
Best
Sam Goldfarb
Renae — June 16th, 2012, 4:42 am
Hi. I am that staff editor at an Australian newspaper. Print is dying rapidly. My risk is to move into digital within the company, an area that is yet to make any money, and use it to springboard into the humanitarian aid field, an area that would pay less money, yet which I am passionate about.
The risk is maintaining an income and work hours to support my three-year-old daughter and my new mortgage (acquired in a falling housing market). The greater risk is not acting – redundancies are expected to be announced on Monday.
Amit — June 16th, 2012, 4:51 am
Hi,
Tim: Thanks for continuing to inspire and bring great advise to us. Keep up the great work, my friend.
Ben and Reid: Thanks for a wonderful message. Here’s my story -
I am a 26 year old guy. I came to the US in 2006 to complete my BS in Aerospace Engineering and then went on to get my MBA. I felt that I was on the right path. An MBA in my hand? I felt almost invincible. I couldn’t be more wrong.
Cut to 2012 – I have been searching for a job for about 4 months now. I am an international student in the US so, any company that hires me will have to sponsor my H1B visa. If I don’t find a job by August, I get kicked out of the country. I do not know if it is my qualifications, the economy or my international status that is hindering my job prospects, but I know that I will not let it take me down.
Last month, I felt helpless. I almost felt betrayed by the USA, which I have called home for the last 6 years. I felt that I was robbed of my “American Dream” and the least the government could do was give me a permanent residency (like almost all other countries – Canada, Australia, NZ, etc) and not just kick me out of the country in August after such a long romance.
However through all this crisis, I developed a sense of adventure. I questioned my ambitions. I asked myself, “Is this the only way to accomplish my dreams and career ambitions? Is this the only country?”. I was not raised ‘normally’. I traveled a lot as a kid, I have lived and studied in over 5 countries and my graduate school was my 12th school overall. Knowing my not-so-normal background, I was stunned at my persistence, now, to lead a very normal life. I wanted what everyone out there wanted. I was, as Tim says, eager to choose unhappiness over uncertainty. And that was unacceptable.
So, last month I applied to English Opens Doors program in Chile. It is an initiative to volunteer as an English Teacher. I was shocked when I read about you too spending 9-months in Chile – if there’s such a thing as a sign from above then there it is! I was accepted into the program yesterday and I plan to move to Chile next month and teach English there for 6 months. At the end of the program, I plan to apply for Start-Up Chile ’13. I had applied last year but got rejected for not having enough ties and network in Chile. Now, after volunteering and connecting there for 6 months, I sure don’t think that would be a problem.
Also, I have already got a job offer in Chile (after the volunteer work) as a language consultant for a startup company that was recently selected for StartUp Chile. I, unknowingly, made a friend with the CEO while Couchsurfing for a place to crash at when I land in Santiago next month. Now she offered me a job after a Skype interview, has promised to introduce me to some of her entrepreneur friends in Santiago and some mentoring.
I feel the risk of leaving a sure-thing in the US and heading into the uncertainty has definitely been the right move. I haven’t even step on the plane yet and opportunities are already coming my way. It’s a small risk at the moment and my biggest concern is deferring my student-loan payments, but I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. If it works out, then I’ll have an interesting story to tell. If it doesn’t, then I’ll still have an interesting story to tell about my adventures in Chile. So, when I read this article I could very much relate to it and had to reach out.
It would be nice to win this contest and get to chat and gain some important insights from you, but at the moment, I am just happy to share my story with the world.
Best,
Amit
Stella — June 16th, 2012, 5:13 am
A big “thank you” to all three of you for this post and for the inspiration and comfort you ‘ve given me. I live in Greece, a country that up until (very) recently valued the stability of a “secure” (see: civil servant) career most than anything -and now is looking in disbelief as thousands of jobs are lost everyday and stability (in all senses) becomes an obsolete word. I will print out this post and read it again and again as I go about building my business, without knowing if my back-up job will be there for me tomorrow or if I will need to work in a field that I have never contemplated, in order to provide for my family and/or learn new things and stay on top of this game. I will share it too -because there are millions out there, in this country, who need this kind of boost more than even before in their lives.
Chris — June 16th, 2012, 5:20 am
Mate, this post couldn’t have come at a more important point in my life, helping me think that I am indeed sane in what I’m doing.
It can be tough for people trying to take a leap when it seems the world is against them. A post like this can change all that, a massive kudos to you to planting the seed.
Hey Ben, Tim, Reid and everyone else playing at home.
I’m Chris, I’m a Melbourne based guy and have been working with the web since school and have dont nothing but. I’ve always had a burning desire to make something that will fundamentally change the way people [INSERT VERB HERE].
The first IT job I had, I wanted so bad I lived in a friends shed in the middle of summer since my home town was 2 hours away and I couldn’t afford the rent near the office. An experience I look back on both with humility and pride.
While working full time, on the side I created my first startup, twithawk, which had moderate success and got some good attention in the US, and it was enough to wet the appetite. It’s still running, and evolving, and was a playing factor in the decision to leave work to pursue working full time on my own startup.
The last 6 months has been all about risk, and so are the next few.
I’m currently bootstrapping, but with the fallback knowledge that this experience in attempting to turn an industry on its head (an industry that 6 months ago I had zero knowledge about), has been the biggest growth of my career, and will give me the upper hand should this not work out and I need to find work.
Added to that, the risks actually bring with them excitement, and as scary as it can be at times, it’s something I’d easily recommend, but do yourself a favour and build yourself up in risk levels rather than biting off too much too early, or you might scare yourself away from taking risks.
For me, the next couple of months will involve pivoting a website that I just took over, changing it’s direction and and turning into a company. It’s my entire focus, and it’s completely new to me. I’m a web developer, not a CEO, not a marketer, but I’m going to go balls deep and give it a red hot go.
I’m only 6 months into a 3 year payment plan which scares the crap out of me, but the potential upside has changed from my initial goal of financial independence to actually having a long lasting and nationwide effect on an entire industry.
That excites me enough to take on the risk of potentially putting me into massive debt by ruining something yes contractually having to continue to pay off for another 30 months from now.
Like I said before, I’m hoping that this experience will help me land a job should all fail, which over time will get me back into the black, but the thought of having a lasting effect on an entire industry is just too tasty not to chase.
And all for an industry that my friends laugh at me for, a web developer trying to take on the hair and beauty industry, so not only am I risking my financial future, but putting up with the “hilarious” banter they come up with, it seems I’m in this alone, but the light at the end of the tunnel beckons.
I wish the absolute best to everyone who’s left a comment, there’s some super inspiring stories in there. Too many to feel I have a chance at securing the invaluable prize, but it was something I simply had to chance at.
Also, as an FYI, last year I created an app that does exactly what Alex Kourkoulas’s idea was to win the last competition, letting people use their own photo and add meme-like text and share with their friends. It’s called memefy, in the app store.
For those that spared the time to read, thanks. Ben, Reid, Tim… good luck in finding a standout
Ron Dixon — June 16th, 2012, 6:02 am
Thank you first and foremost for this opportunity to be able to spend a little time with the both of you. It will truly be an exceptional learning experience.
I am currently working as a full-time police officer and to make ends meet, I work a lot of off-duty jobs. My wife is a stay-a-at-home mom for our one daughter, which I wouldn’t change for anything in the world. The benefits my daughter receives from having my wife with her far exceed any paying job my wife could have. In the next 30-60 days, I would like to take the risk of not working the off-duty jobs so that I may laser-focus my attention on what I would love to get more involved with which is product licensing.
In February of 2013, I’ll be fully vested with my department, which means that starting at age 50, I’ll be able to draw the minimal amount from my pension or I could draw my full pension if I stayed another 15 years. No thank you! Being a police officer wears on you in unimaginable ways. A police officer, on the average, lives just five years after he or she retires. Not me! I have so much more to offer my family, my friends, and the world. There is way too much to do and way too much to see to be checking out that soon.
The risks that I am evaluating affect my whole family as I am currently the sole money provider. I’ve also discovered that the risks I’m willing to take are not the risks my wife is willing to take. She see’s I’m in a secure government job with a nice pension awaiting at the end of the rainbow like your article speaks about above. I see that pension getting converted to a 401k and me trying to choke out everyone above the rank of lieutenant!
I admit I’m an adrenaline junky but now that I’m in my early 40′s I am shifting my attention from chasing bad guys to capturing wealth. I want to be able to give back and to be able to pay it forward. With great mentors available such as yourselves, Tim Ferriss and Stephen Key, I know these risks are worth taking. The risks I take everyday as a police officer are so much greater than a lot of financial risks associated with my early retirement. I think that I’m just familiar with those everyday risks and I’m trained to react accordingly.
It’s time for me to get trained up on how to take the unfamiliar risks that are sure to propel myself, my family, and my friends forward.
A sincere thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Ron Dixon
Sebastian — June 16th, 2012, 6:51 am
The risk of not taking risk throughout a lifetime of working for others can result in soul drain. As I have grown in my career, I have become increasingly fatigued. I’m finally doing something about it. Thank you Tim, Ben, and Reid for the inspiration and support.
Simon — June 16th, 2012, 7:03 am
Fascinating post. Very timely as the Guardian just published this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/15/happiness-is-being-a-loser-burkeman
My thoughtful comment (2 mins):
Last year I prototyped a property design and development concept after a couple of years’ research.
Although I’m an engineer I was really scared about the prospect of purchasing property in today’s economic climate, the design and developing, finding and dealing with trades-people, materials and products suppliers, council officials and national legislation, the financial commitments, and the potential end results.
So I kept researching to try find answers that would make the fear go away. That data doesn’t exist. My fear did reduce as I learnt an amazing amount about relevant industries, but it never disappeared.
I realised fear would never go away, so I started. I purchased a property.
I designed my ‘worst-case’ scenario to be something I was okay with, part of which required finding the most affordable, best deal I could find, which happened to be a 3-year-vacant bedsit that had been repossessed, with needles in the overgrown garden, wet rot and woodworm on the inside, and I told myself that if things didn’t work out then I would at least have a home.
I was involved in every single aspect of the project, often physically doing/assisting the work with my own hands.
I rarely socialised last year as if I wasn’t doing hard labour in the property I was researching products and materials or project managing in the evenings. Friends would ask how I was getting on. I’d always say ‘I’m still really scared but I’m making progress’. When they’d ask me how I knew what to do and how, I’d reply ‘All I can do is approach everything with a learning attitude and the willingness to improvise’.
The project went well, actually hitting my ‘best-case’ scenario model, and I learnt so much that I’ve had professionals who worked on it asking me for advice!
On reflection, I think I can summarise the approach which worked for me within this risky environment:
“Always scared, always learning, always pushing forward, always designing an acceptable worst-case.”
And I now realise, regardless of how things could have turned out in the end, I can always be proud of my approach.
Simon Scott
Daniel — June 16th, 2012, 7:37 am
I want to surround myself with successful people, and put myself in an uncomfortable place in the short term to get there.
I’m thinking this risk will involve networking more, on top of the work I’m doing, and potentially risk anything I need to in the short term to get there (health, money, security, etc). I think this opportunity is a start, but it’s also going to involve traveling more and spending concentrated time and effort to make it happen.
Jesse Lee — June 16th, 2012, 7:42 am
I have already taken big risks in my career:
- I gave up my 9-5 Marketing/Sales salaried job to move to Panama with two kids under 4yrs old… from the US and become a freelance commercial writer and consultant for my previous employer.
- It’s Time to take the next step in my career: Harness Amazon, Kindle, iBooks and other eReader/online book stores to self publish children’s books that I wrote for my kids.
Plans are being made now so a 60 day roll out is not unreasonable with the proper input by you guys.
Thanks for reading.
Jesse Lee
Jesse Lee — June 16th, 2012, 7:47 am
…Also, I began creating iPhone apps with no experience about a year and half ago. Currently, 1/3 of my income now comes from Apple… This experience shows you that I have the ‘scrapper’ mentality to hustle, learn quickly and produce ideas that make money.
Chris — June 16th, 2012, 5:28 pm
Hey Jesse,
Congrats on the success of your iPhone apps… where can I see them?
Peter Piche — June 16th, 2012, 8:29 am
I’ve read the book–twice–like you might do with a good movie so I could superimpose the truth that was revealed within more than once on my constantly evolving menagerie of thoughts.
Here’s a thought: In North America we’re rich by any world standard. Many of us do not vie for fulfilling basic needs. Often a roadblock to taking a career risk is relative comfort. We rationalize why we shouldn’t take a risk because of worry about potentially losing our creature comforts if we did.
Example: My brother and I are both 8th grade teachers. He’s in public education (traditional). I’m in private education (Montessori). He’s feeling the dissatisfaction that comes with toiling in what amounts to a basically top-down management operation that restricts much of anyone’s creativity. He makes 40K more than I do and I’ve been in education two years longer than he has…I still wouldn’t trade with him. I get up every day (okay, more like 80% of the time) and say: “Great, another day where I get to go ‘play’ and get paid for it.” He’s not feeling that way. He’d like to take a career risk. He’d like to switch careers and become a personal trainer. He’s fit, in the gym religiously, a bachelor…he’s set UP to make this switch–and do it easily. But I’m 95% sure that he won’t. Why?
He’s plagued by the potential ‘loss’ or ‘risking’ of his creature comforts. He fears not being able to pay his mortgage. He fears not making enough money compared to the 90+K he makes now (yes, he’s a teacher…I know!) which in turn, inspires fear that he won’t be able to feed himself, that he’ll struggle, that it won’t be as EASY as it is now, that he’ll lose what little autonomy his salary DOES grant him outside of his job.
So, I guess my observation is that what holds us back is fear (duh) BUT, if we didn’t have it so good in North America…if we had less to lose by taking risk, there might be more people willing to take them.
ES — June 16th, 2012, 9:03 am
Dear Ben and Reid,
I have taken significant risks in the past: Left a 10-year career with a large multi-national for the opportunity to grow a newer category with a smaller, more aggressive company. Grew the category from $12 mil to $110 mil in three years and gave notice when I was not rewarded. Took the very big risk of accepting the counter offer. Was assigned a $460 mil category and am on target to grow it to $920 mil this year.
However, now I am faced with a situation that most people tell me is fantastic and I am seeing as practically a death warrant.
You see I was promoted to Director, and am being asked to sign a non-compete agreement. Most people are saying, “hey you’re now at the executive level in a multi-billion dollar international company. Congratulations! Enjoy it”. But my head is screaming things like, “sign the paper and seal you coffin”; “sign and resign yourself to a life of mediocrity”, and “don’t let them own your ideas.”
Trouble is, the agreement would limit my ability to pursue entrepreneurial activities. I’ve just launched a website to market an ebook I’ve written (10-minute Guitar Chords: the fastest, easiest way to learn. Guaranteed.). A primary purpose of the ebook is to build a mailing list to be used to market a line of unique guitar accessories that are prototyped and production-ready.
Yes, I’ve just been promoted and have increased my income 34% in three years. But I am not willing to sign up to be a wage slave for the rest of my life. It is far too risky.
Surely you, like me, know it is far safer in the long run to downshift on the corporate career track, and put the pedal down on the entrepreneurial circuit.
Looking forward to having you select me for the 30-minute phone call with you. I have read The Start Up of You and 4 Hour Workweek more than once, and am striving to continuously improve my implementation of the principles (over 800 LinkedIn contacts, selectively growing and nurturing them). Clearly you can see I take action and get excellent results. After you spend 30 minutes with me, you will feel it was well worth your time.
Thanks for the opportunity.
Ed — June 16th, 2012, 9:04 am
Hi Ben and Reid,
Wow. It is never too late to try again. After over 30 years in finance, accounting and technology, here I go again. Now involved in marketing Cloud hosting technology in Canada.
I have dealt with working in the U.S and Canada, 4 children, two marriages and two strokes and still kicking. (health is much better now).
I believe that you are never too old to keep learning and we are on the brink of another technological explosion.
Any advice and direction you both can provide would be truly appreciated.
Enjoy the weekend.
Ed
David — June 16th, 2012, 10:02 am
Forget about Ben Casnocha, Reid Hoffman. or Tim Ferriss.(stickiness established)
I know a lot of people have put up their ideas, dreams, and life story (some in great detail) on this blog for the contest. This is good. But as participants we have to consider the 99% certain possibility that you will not win. A contest is a sensation generating tool to create certain effects for the contest holder’s benefit, after all. So Let’s forget Ben Casnocha, Reid Hoffman, the contest and even Tim Ferriss. Yeah, Tim Ferriss is a cool guy, but he can’t help you with your idea/muse/project/career decisions. It won’t happen.(99.5% sure) Since you are the one taking risk and only one who can help yourself, it’s time to brainstorm what your next move is if you don’t win this contest.
Tommy McDonald — June 16th, 2012, 10:24 am
This is exactly what I meant to provoke with my own comments : a real risk of accepting this contest’s challenge is that of exposing, albeit thoughtfully, our career insecurities and wishfully thinking that a free book and an interview will resolve things for us.
And the risk to the ones offering the reward, well, will be how the participants – winner and all the losers – choose to view them from now on.
I’m willing to bet, though, that many of us have already been rewarded by the spurt of inspiration and moments of self-reflection needed to just participate. But you’re right, this is only where the fun really begins.
David — June 16th, 2012, 10:31 pm
Thank you , Tom, for reading my comment. Not many people read comments at all. It’s especially difficult when there is a contest which results in numerous and very long comments.
I sort of like this contest. Put your name in a hat and you might win something. Sure why not? If people don’t put more emphasis than that, there won’t be any miscommunication or a mismatch in expectations.
I strongly recommend caution when inspiration seems to hit you. This is because inspiration is usually fabricated and it is not real. Inspiring people isn’t really that hard because, through storytelling, it is the audience who is inspiring themselves. And let’s face it, people get inspired by almost anything.
When we see a video, hear a pod cast, or read blog posts, we think that we are in the inner circle and given secrets of whatever topic. Of course, this is not true. Yes, we are here to listen to master storytellers, marketers, entrepreneurs and learn. But it is a very naive notion to think that those same storytellers, marketers, and entrepreneurs are not using those skills on us, the readers. Of course they are selling us, marketing us, and telling us stories with profit in mind. They get prestige, your email address(future marketing), your admiration and your money. You get to be inspired. Fair trade?
So be careful.
Jon — June 16th, 2012, 10:29 am
Some of the best advice I ever received was, “It doesn’t matter how much it costs to get into business with the right people. Just make it happen.”
Those were the words of wisdom from my former boss when I was launching a new business in a market where I had just moved, didn’t know anybody, and had to succeed at a high level (or find another job). Eight months later, the business had grown to a headcount of 42 and was on its way to consistent profitability.
How did that happen? I was focused on attracting the right people and helping them succeed. Everything else that went into building that business was a distant second place in my mind. Until I had built an amazing team, nothing else mattered.
This is coming from a guy who took a 75% pay cut (!) last month in order to get into business with the right people, in an industry where I have to start at the beginning. I’m 33 years old and currently making less than I was making as a new college graduate 11 years ago. Why? Because I took an entry-level job at an exciting tech startup. And I did it with my eyes wide open.
I don’t know where this job will lead, but I DO know I’m making new connections, learning new things, and exposing myself to ways of thinking that didn’t exist in my world before working there. How could I put a dollar amount on that kind of exposure? The distance between where I am now and where I want to go is a matter of relationships, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get the right people into my life. The short-term discomfort is insignificant when you consider the long-term potential.
In the next 30-60 days, I plan to move into a larger role at my current company. The beauty of working with startups is you can often carve your own niche if your plan fits with the company’s vision. The risk I see is in approaching that conversation with the CEO. If my plan doesn’t fit with his vision for the future of the company, it could create an awkward situation or lead to my termination. It’s a necessary risk, but a risk nonetheless.
Clint — June 16th, 2012, 10:36 am
Back in 2006 I was a common, manual labor construction worker. In 2007 I realized bosses/jobs will never get me what I truly wanted (money and time) and limited my creativity. I got a great PLOC, quit my job, started my own woodworking company and gambled way too much borrowed money into an investment that eventually failed. I plugged away with self-employment blindly. I educated myself by reading a lot, taking an Entrepreneur/Business course, networking and learned as I went. First hand, I realized that my self-employment was really just another job (actually jobs plural, that paid bad).
I also have been dabbling with E-commerce/ Internet business, as I know this is the future.
To keep afloat financially, I’ve worked a couple jobs since. But, I haven’t looked at the “wage” only. For the 17 months I have been working in Sales and learning more business and marketing techniques. Although, They’re nothing to write home about yet, I’ve created a Personal Brand/Blog, have joined a Toastmasters Club to become a better speaker and communicator. In my spare time (after family), I continue to keep stepping forward, outside my comfort zone, watching and waiting for an opportunity that will pay off.
My real setback was risking a significant amount of cash and losing it. Though, I’ve had a tough time financially (barely keeping ownership of our house) for the last 3 years, the last words of Steve McQueen as “Papillon” ring in my ears…
“Hey, you Bastards! I’m still here.”
Thanks for the great post.
Clint Moar
Ben — June 16th, 2012, 10:48 am
I think the past few years has taught Americans and the entire world a lesson in that there is no such thing as safety and security when it comes to your job. Taking smart risks is essential in today’s world because you learn to adapt and handle things that come your way. Unfortunately, there have been so many displaced workers with jobs that could be outsourced and done cheaper elsewhere. Nowadays, the world is becoming flatter and we must all figure out ways to adapt. Here are some ways to acquire new skills:
Start a business! Put yourself in an uncomfortable situation, but take smart risks. Start a business on the side but maintain your day job until you can afford to cut loose. Oh yeah, and do something you’re passionate about.
Move to a foreign country! If you’ve always wanted to go abroad but never had the guts to do it, now is the time! Find a way to volunteer or teach English and build skills while you’re enjoying yourself in a foreign land.
Take classes! We live in an exciting time where we have access to so much information at little or no cost. I always regretted not learning better computing skills. Guess what? Now I can take programming classes taught by the best in the country for free online.
We only have one life to live, may as well go out and live it to the fullest. No one wants to live their life as a cubicle slave. Do what you love, take chances, and life will reward you.
Basil — June 16th, 2012, 11:53 am
There’s going to be a career change coming my way. I’m not sure when, but I know there are huge risks involved. I’d be leaving a secure job where the top of the food chain is in my reach within the next year. My new venture leaves me a freelance writer, scouring the global stage for business and environmental capstones and conflict.
There are plenty of risks, however only one can provide unlimited payoff.
Current Risks- Staying in a career where learning opportunities are limited, and seclusion is the norm. While it comes with high pay and plenty of time off, the day to day tasks don’t ignite passion or play to my strengths.
Future Risks- Embarking on a volatile freelance writing career. Meeting sources internationally and in fields where I have no prior contacts. Language barriers. Low Pay. Fierce competition on a local and global level.
The Pay Off- Having an international network that spans several industries. Adventure of a life time. Using my strengths and passion to be a contender in a difficult vocation. Unparalleled learning opportunities. Overall growth.
The true risk is never being able to live the life you desire and settling for mediocrity.
Establishing myself on the local level will be a tangible success and will keep me inspired. Risking multiple trips a year to cover interesting opportunities will keep me focused on the outcome I desire and give me experience and connections where I need it most.
I’ll be covering local entrepreneurs to start, joining a local entrepreneur club to network. I’ll seek international stories which affect local life. And I’ll seek to bridge the gap between what is possible here, and what may seem impossible.
Time to use Tim’s language posts to get my Portuguese down, and I’ll be planning for a trip to Brazil this year where I can further learn the language and report on the business sector.
Bill — June 16th, 2012, 1:19 pm
I love this idea. Thank you so much for allowing me to explore my thoughts and feelings on such an impressive platform.
For me, I have spent the last 11 years focusing on growing micro and small business. It has been very rewarding but my true, generally undisclosed passion since 1983 has been to understand life and our relationship as human beings to this experience.
So in the next 30 to 60 days, I’d like to redefine myself and be seen more as someone who makes the contribution of empowering the consciousness of people vs. being yet another business growth agent.
I’m bored, the market is bored and people are so overwhelmed with the business growth conversation they’re numb, along with being bored.
As far as how I’m thinking about the risk, honestly, I’m scared sh_ _less. How do I make a living empowering others through the direction and re-direction of their human subtle energy (the BIG reason why I haven’t lived my true passion in life, leaning instead to the path I’ve always followed for making money).
But, historically, emotionally, physically, spiritually and energetically, the time is here to make a move like this. The question is, will I have the courage to go from comfort of familiar to the realm of the unknown. What will that look like and how can I make it all happen now?!
Big questions, big vision, big fears … but with discomfort comes powerful growth.
Thank you for allowing me the space to send this out there in such a meaningful way.
Courtney — June 16th, 2012, 1:39 pm
I am embarking on a complete life change as of TODAY. I actually just put my two weeks in at an Ad Network company in Los Angeles and had my last hard day of work yesterday! I quit my extremely stable, decently-paying job as a Product Manager with a rockin start up company so that I can head to Costa Rica for a month, earn my Yoga Teaching Certification, come back and get my Nutrition Certification- to open a health and wellness counseling business. I am planning on incorporating what I learned in my last job and in my yoga nutrition and diet training, to run a business that works by training and coaching individual clients and small groups, particularly in the corporate arena, on the topics of physical mental and nutritional health. Many of these clients are people who work hard, play hard, and also do some major damage on their bodies (I should know, I have been experiencing it firsthand). And beyond that, so many of these young hustlers are dying for a bit of balance. Because of my connections, I am hoping to build up a clientele shortly after I get back, but saving up enough money to actually open my own business location (complete with yoga studio, office and conference area) will be a LONG and difficult path. I not only hope to build a clientele amongst many of these blue, white or no-collar workers, but also want to open a kids summer yoga and wellness camp and teaching center, in which I would teach children and teens the factors of maintaining a healthy body and mind, meditation practices, and insightful food choices. My ultimate goal with this endeavor is to build a team of health and wellness experts and yoga instructors underneath me, run a studio center, and build out a lifestyle model that would be accessible to many who do not have an opportunity to spend tons of money on health coaches or personal trainers. I live in Santa Monica, CA and while this demographic is very tuned in to a more health conscious way of living, there are too many cities and regions that have absolutely no knowledge on this style of living. I have concerns for the future of children- who will soon be coping with high obesity rates, the issues of heart problems and cardiovascular diseases as a result of stress, and the impact that over-working has on one’s health. Hopefully I can be a part of the influence on America in making smarter health decisions and learning how to nurture your body. Unfortunately the path to opening a business as far spread and stacked with resources as the one I mentioned above will take some major time and savings. I would like to write my own books, do a road show and visit schools and businesses in order to reach a wider audience. Ben, I hope I hear from you, I have truly just risked it ALL to embark on this path because I feel like it is not only a risk, but a DESTINY that I need to fulfill. Thanks for your contest, and your interest in helping others make it happen. Appreciate your blog!
Moad — June 16th, 2012, 1:58 pm
Hi everyone, it always feels great when i read about how other people made it and became big entrepreneurs no matter what are the challenges!
I am Moad from Libya, 26 years old, i did electronic commerce bachelor degree and worked in more than 10 different types of jobs on the past 8 years of my life, currently i work as an exams assistant at the British Council teaching centre, i learned English with a pen and a paper at my house then i went to learn Italian, i have learned self development materials throughout legendary masters such as; Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy and Zig Ziglar, i chased all start up companies and read about their experiences, now when this may sound just normal for many of you it is actually unusual to happen where i live, in Libya! i learned web development and now i set up my own website which i look forward to engage every single retail to start selling on it just like what happens on Ebay and Amazon! i think in a county where houses do not have address and delivery service companies are hard to find its a big challenge to even think about starting an ecommerce site. today i am only two weeks away from lunching the site on the internet and i can promise everyone in here that Libyabuy.com will be the next Amazone in north Africa.
Moad Rgeyi.
John O'Leary — June 16th, 2012, 2:32 pm
Hi,
I’m John O’Leary and I am the only Mexican O’Leary you’ll ever meet (most likely). First, thank you Tim for all the years of inspiration. Your work really means a lot to me, and, especially, your willingness to share so many of your failures, since most don’t. Also, thank you Ben and Reid for being so kind to share your time and insight.
Here is my post to be considered for the competition (under 500 words):
It’s a beautiful city full of warmth and culture in the eastern arm of Mexico. It’s Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, and I was born there. My parents are both scientist-artists, so education is very important to them. My father is an American photographer-anthropologist, which of course explains why I have a very not-Mexican name. And my mother is a Mexican concert pianist with an MD.
When they split up for good my mother had this giant dream and took what seemed like a giant risk at the time. We decided to leave everything we had, our family, and friends to move to this great country. She was smart, and turned our dream into a 3-month summer experiment. The goal was to get a job, and find a community of support. If she failed, we would come back at the end of the summer and resume like normal. But if she succeeded we would have a chance to pursue the American dream, and for her (and my dad) that meant that I could have an American education.
She succeeded! I am finishing my PhD in the neurobiology of stress (serendipitously with this post it’s on resilience, and how it can help prevent and treat stress-induced psychiatric diseases). And my mother has had a wonderful career inspiring children as a spanish, music and biology teacher.
Now, it’s time for me to pursue my dream. I want to be an entrepreneur, and a professional jazz pianist, and find a way to incorporate science into them. I already play jazz piano professionally in my area, and so the change that I want to make in the next 60 days is to start my first business. This is something that I have been very passionate about for the past 3 years since I first read Tim’s 4-Hour Workweek, but I have failed to put something for sale, over and over. Every time I tried to start I found a way to “overestimate threats, and underestimate opportunity and resources,” and quit.
Except this time it’s personal! Thanks to this post (thank you Tim, Ben and Reid!), and to the desperation induced by three years of complete failure, I think about risk differently: I take little bets (like this one), I purposely try to stick out in little ways to help me deal with the fear of public ridicule and criticism (like driving the speed limit, and quitting a perfectly good and safe career in science), and I consciously manage my anxiety by meditating on overestimating myself and the opportunity, and on underestimating the risks, since I am very gifted at doing the opposite! Also, I realize that the reason my mother succeeded was because she tried. She performed the experiment.
I have 1-2 years left in graduate school, and the same amount of time to make a living from music and business. This is my experiment and I believe in it! Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
John
Brendan — June 16th, 2012, 3:04 pm
Hello all, my name is Brendan Ronan. I’m a motivated, passionate renaissance dude with a primary career goal of traveling and exploring the world while working remotely. In the past 6 months, i’ve begun the process of self actualization (left my worthless and stifling retail job, re-tooled my skill set and working tirelessly to found a legitimate and interesting tech education business) and am laying the groundwork for a new life.
In the last 90 days, i finally left a job that was highly time intensive, highly stressful, and thankless (think: TPS reports from Office Space), and have found a legitimate employment working 3 days a week as an entry level Web Developer (My qualifications? A few online classes taken for free at the local JC). One paycheck pays the bills, a luxury which has lowered my stress level and provided me legitimate time off to be productive at home, and the best part is i’m ingesting truckloads of information daily. In the next 30 days, i hope to have a venue secured for my business concept and in the next 60 days i intend to be marketing our first session to the world. At the time of this writing, i have no idea how to do either.
I have worked extremely hard to minimize my risk in this situation, but i am also an amateur with no prior experience. At times i feel as if i’m shouldering too much of a burden; Other times i wonder if i’m aiming high enough. I guess these are the kind of questions an ambitious 26 year old asks himself when he’s fighting in the trenches to create a better life.
Roger — June 16th, 2012, 3:38 pm
I had an opportunity to start a company with a friend, but it was in a foreign country. He was going to do it with our without me, so it was simply a matter of if I was going to be a part of the experience. I had a nice management position at an aerospace company making good pay, so I had quite a tough decision to make! But not really. When I looked at the situation critically, I saw that I had but one option. There were four possible general outcomes–four futures:
A. Don’t go and they fail (whew–missed a bullet!).
B. Don’t go and they strike it rich (bummer).
C. Go and we fail (another bummer).
D. Go and WE strike it rich (Yeah!!).
In option A, although I might feel vindicated in my “wise” decision, I would be constantly plagued that things might have been different with me pulling my weight–some possible (probable) regret. In option B, there would be much regret for having missed out on the opportunity. In option C, at least I would know that we went down fighting and doing the best we could–who knows? It might even be fun regardless. Option D, of course, is the desired outcome.
Given that one of these scenarios was the inevitable futures, I saw that I really had no self-respecting choice but to go. I now live and work at the company in Medellin, Colombia. How did it turn out? Well, it’s still in process (2 years now). But I have absolutely not regrets and it has been (and continues to be) a blast.
If I had focused on ANY of the risks, I would not be here today. The risks (and there were many from severed income to foreign-country issues) clearly would have overwhelmed any “cost/benefit analysis” I could have done. Instead, I focused on the outcomes–on the POSSIBILITIES–not on the risks nor on the opportunities, and saw I really had but one thing to do if I was to be at peace with myself thereafter–I had to go for it!
Tural — June 16th, 2012, 3:57 pm
I was born and raised in a small town in Azerbaijan (you may not have heard of the country). At the time when I was graduation from high school I knew I wanted to be different from everyone else who surrounded me, I knew I wanted to do something extraordinary but I was not sure how to get there.
Not knowing much about the rest of the world or the opportunities available (well, there was no internet in my town until after I graduated from high school) I headed to Turkey to work on my English language skills and to see more of the world.
It was here that I learned that there was such place called MIT and one can apply and get full scholarship. I decided give it a try and managed to get in the top 3% of MIT undergrad applicants who were offered admissions. Who knew?
When I was graduating in 2009 it happened to be difficult time to look for a job especially if you were an international student on student visa requiring H1-B sponsorship and otherwise had to leave the US. The economy was not doing well at all and companies were going out of business.
Nonetheless, I decided to go for a startup called AdMob (turning down my two other offers) because that is what I wanted to do, a startup. It turned out to be a really good move – AdMob was really awesome place to grow and we were later acquired by Google. After almost 2 years at Google (and getting my green card) I am out to start a company of my own. Now, I imagine the next 30 days are going to be amazingly adventurous and I will do amazing things.
I believe risk is a way of life. It is the way you think, the way you breathe, the way you talk, it is the way you live. I have learned this throughout my life and this thinking has not let me down.
Kurt — June 16th, 2012, 3:58 pm
I thought for a while about this and came to the conclusion that I’m not sure how you could help change my career in 30-60 days. But it’s free so what the hell.
I’ve felt stuck in the same job now for almost 6 years. I tell myself I hate it and want to get out, but have never followed through. After I read 4HWW I decided I needed a job I could do remotely (I’m a meat cutter/manager). For some reason I clung to programming with the idea that I could practice by making a website for my boss for free. I completed a free tutorial on html online, but never made the website.
That was a year or two ago. Now I’m feeling the itch again. I recently read Jane Goodall’s In the Shadow of Man. I was blown away by the observations she was able to make studying chimpanzees in the wild. And I was drawn to the idea of roughing it out in the wilderness, carrying everything you need on your back, watching animals in their natural habitat. It’s become my dream job. But I have no idea how to go about getting a job like this. I contacted the Jane Goodall Institute, but never heard back. So I thought I might get a job as a zookeeper to get some experience. I applied to a couple places already knowing that I’m underqualified for the most basic entry level position. Apparently you need a B.A. to shovel shit. So I decided to volunteer at my local zoo. I’ve only had an interview so far, but was pleased to hear that a volunteer went on to study animals in the African wild on a temporary basis. Being seasonally employed to safari in Africa is a risk I would definitely take.
The risk in volunteering is minimal. I lose a little free time I would’ve otherwise wasted with distractions that kept me from doing something about my discontent. I don’t have a lot to risk right now, because I’m already poor. Not foodstamps poor, but free health insurance poor. I don’t even own a car (I’m not complaining, I actually like not buying gas.) But the one risk that I have been dodging is going back to school. I only have about 15 credits left for a B.A. in psychology. I finally got all my loans paid off and the idea of accruing more is not appealing. Maybe if my degree was in biology, or something related to zoology, it would be of use. I don’t know if my grades would be good enough for a Masters program. And I don’t know what I can do with a BA in psych, except be a counselor, and that isn’t appealing either.
Then I had the idea of going to a 2 year technical school to learn programming so I could do contract work in my free time. I still would like to achieve the level of freedom that 4HWW outlined, but I’m not sure if I can divide my time between two new ventures and still work full time.
But I have to do something, because the biggest risk I face is doing nothing and staying in the same job for the rest of my life.
Kurt
Trevor C — June 16th, 2012, 6:09 pm
I think one thing I would like to do is quit all together. Focus on starting something that I love and have it work for me. Use the increased free time and flexibility to travel the globe and work from anywhere in the world.
I would love to have a portion of my sales go to charities as well and free myself to travel globally helping various people in a multitude of nations do whatever it may be that they struggle to do daily that people aren’t aware of here.
Being rich isn’t my goal. Being free to experience this life and help others do the same is. A goal of escape.
More specifically a startup I’m trying to initiate is in regards to shipping monthly boxes of healthy food to people, of which a small percentage goes directly to feeding people in need.
Thanks for such an inspiring and enlightening post!
Ravi — June 16th, 2012, 7:16 pm
Well I have been involved in contract/freelance programming works for some time now giving up the temptations of full-time, high paying job in IT companies. I intend to excel in this kind of work. I need motivations, mentoring to prosper.
Faria — June 16th, 2012, 7:24 pm
After Living the spontaneous life for three months across Europe, studying full-time and working part-time didn’t give me the fast-paced run I craved for. I wanted challenges and I wanted them now.
After working part-time for 2.5 years in the current company I was working in, I applied for a leadership position.The catch? It meant I had to work full time, and I was studying full time. Furthermore, the day I got the job was the day they announced that they will be looking to offshore that department overseas and testing would be taking place.
I used Tim’s approach, “What’s the worst that could happen?”
The risk:
- Failing subjects at Uni ( AKA- College) due to pressure to work both roles.
- I was entering a role that could not offer job security in the long run, this meant I could lose my job.
The opportunities:
- I have obtained a leadership role within a major bank at the age of 21.
- I have great examples for interviews for change management/environments.
- I have the freedom to create my own challenges, push myself to another level from both a personal and professional perspective.
Results:
Taking that risk actually allowed me to perform better in my full-time studies at Uni. I had no time to procrastinate, and I achieved the best results since I started my Commerce degree. It improved my time-management skills and I still had time to have a life!
I gained experience in mentoring, public speaking, reporting and analysing data, presenting in front of upper management and I built many relationships in the company.In less than a year of being a Senior Associate, I have gained more experience than I would have ever gotten working part-time and procrastinating at Uni.
I applied for another Senior Associate role, which is eventually being sent abroad overseas as well. However, once again the benefits outweigh the costs. The experience I’ve gained by the time I’m 23 will hopefully put me ahead when applying for graduate roles in investment banking industry. Which will present me with my next challenge – Quitting my job to obtain a lower income, internship role.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” is one line I live by when weighing up the risk vs. opportunities in any aspect of life because when you actually say the risks out loud compared to the opportunities, it isn’t as bad as you think!
Saeed — June 16th, 2012, 8:40 pm
I think the post does a good job re-defining the word risk as a feeling inside of us. I think the biggest message to get out of this is that it’s GOOD to be uncomfortable and become accustomed to hustling in life a little bit. I felt I could really relate to the post because I recently quit my job. I decided I couldn’t keep working like a slave and I finally slapped myself for saying ‘should’. I’ll never say the word ‘should’ again – it instantly disqualifies most the opportunity I have at the moment. You either do it or you PLAN and DEFINE How, Where, When, and with who you’re going to do it.
I don’t know what it is about us but I think our lazy tendencies mixed with our ‘I can predict the future’ powers tossed in with our ‘I wonder what they’ll think of me’ function makes us our own fun police – and my work was simply not fun.
Be true to yourself and ask yourself whether you’re actually doing what you want to be doing with your life. Think about all of the things you grew up wanting to do – have you experienced them? Don’t blame it on anyone else if you haven’t – blame it on your unwillingness to take risk. Then slap yourself and start taking some risks so you don’t have to do this again 5 years later when you realize that hoping something will happen won’t make it happen
Chase — June 16th, 2012, 9:53 pm
Hi, Chase Doran here.
I own a company called WolfDisc LLC that sells the first ultimate discs with a rim grip.
Sales on the field are going alright, but sales online are lacking. Selling exclusively at tournaments doesn’t scale very well as a student at the University of Florida trying to maintain a 4.0 GPA.
To fix this and seize the next opportunity, I’m going to:
-Take a play out of Tim’s book (turns out if you take his advice, its generally pretty good. Imagine that!) and start using actual metrics to differentiate my disc from other discs (turnovers per game, # of accurate tosses through a hoop 30ft away after 50 tries, etc).
-Take a play out of Chase Jarvis’ book (also very good) and make sure to include on the site the story of what went into actually making the product that they will hold in their hands and give people an appreciation for it.
Even further down the road, I’m planning on using video from the trials and research along with testimonials to create a really kick ass, well done video.
The risks of losing money (and time) are great, and the company still may not achieve our goals. At the very least, I’ll have that much more knowledge of how to run a successful company.
I figure that if I can fail faster, then I’ll learn faster, and be where I want to be with a company I’ve created at some point in the near future.
Thanks for your time and the great read!
Tyler — June 16th, 2012, 10:22 pm
Wow, that is a ton of comments – how to stand out…?
THOUGHTFUL COMMENT:
Great post. I think it’s important supplement this message to make sure people dont go risk-overboard and miss the underlying point: to make better and more fruitful decisions.
The point of the article is to recognize the brain’s natural tendency to over value the downside of risk and assign it more weight in the decision making process. The article urges you identify this shortcoming and recalibrate your decision making algorithm based on this knowledge – it DOES NOT give you a free pass to choose the riskiest option available in the decision set and claim that Ben and Reid said its OK.
The ultimate goal of understanding true risk is to be able to make the optimal decision – Ben and Reid have illuminated the path to true risk, it is still up to you to decide what the best decision is now that you have a more clear view of the variables.
BACKGROUND:
As a background, I’m a risk taker. In Feb of 2012 my wife and I quit our stable, high paying jobs (me as a software solution account exec for local governments and my wife as a public finance attorney working for a firm in Chicago) to travel the world. We’re currently in Panama about to sail across the Darien Gap to Colombia. I started my first company in late 2011 and broke the $1M mark in revenue the first year giving us enough cash to do some geo-arbitrage per Tim’s preachings.
WHY I NEED TO WIN:
I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but until my recent success, I was a wantrapreneur (to use an AppSumo-ism). Now, following the success, I’m confident that I have the skillset and drive to make it happen again. The difficult choice came last week. Until last week I had been planning to travel for a year with my wife and come back in Feb 2013 and start my 2nd company. That decision became a bit harder when I was recruited on LinkedIn by an interesting technology startup. I’ve recently been given a great offer to work and learn from people much smarter then me, sharpen my selling skills, and work for a company who’s technology does global and social good.
THE QUESTION:
Identifying the riskier option is easy: go with uncertainty and start a company in 2013 and overlook the guaranteed paycheck. But this post isn’t about picking the riskiest option and disregarding all other criteria – that would be a pretty awful career heuristic to follow. I want to make the best decision here, not the riskiest. Knowing which to pick is the difficult part. That is my ultimate question and the reason I could benefit greatly from the 30 min session. I’ll be listening to the audio book anyway (assuming its on Audible) so maybe that will point me in the right direction…
Angie — June 16th, 2012, 10:39 pm
Well, I’m two for two on working in non-volatile careers: I have been working in the education field in school boards and provincial (state) government for the past decade.
However, that doesn’t mean that I’ve sat back and chilled out – I can’t.
In an bureaucracy loaded with PhD and Masters program graduates, I can’t lay claim to an undergraduate degree – not even an associates degree. I have to work harder, be more creative and hustle more than my counterparts. I’m grateful for this.
Now that I’ve worked in government for a little over three years, the blinding flash of the obvious has happened: government does not innovate and does not take risks. I finally realized this two months ago (I didn’t say that I was a fast learner – LOL!). I recognized that this is an environment that will drive me crazy.
I’m not the type to sit around and moan about the politics, the lack of innovation, and the leadership issues. There are those who have been doing this for years.
If I don’t like a situation, I try to change the conditions, and if that can’t happen, I change my situation.
So…I’m packing my bags, moving to another city and taking up a position with the most innovative school board in the province. They are creating a job tailor-made for my skills, attributes, and interests.
When I get there, I’ll need to plug into the community and start making connections. I’ll also need to learn the politics of the province’s largest school board and build relationships there very quickly. And in the meantime, I’ll need to handle a million details stemming from my old life.
I don’t know what it would take to “win” this contest (such as it is). I do know that I can handle this change on my own. I also know that it would be easier to manage the change with a bit of advice.
Thank you so much for the article. I’m planning to morph this into something to help school jurisdiction leaders think about accepting greater risk when it comes to innovation. We keep framing the issue rationally, but there’s an emotional frame that we’ve been missing…
Morgan — June 16th, 2012, 11:23 pm
Hi!
My name is Morgan. I’m a Canadian that’s always looking for my next adventure.
I’ve started my career change a bit already. I had a stable 9-5 interactive development job that I left 3 months ago. I am now working as a nanny on a farm in the Northern Territory of Australia. I love to travel and experience other culture. The goal of quitting my job was to travel and start my own business. I want to become a travel blogger and entrepreneur. I’ve gotten some really positive feedback from people so I’m starting to think making a living at it is a real possibility.
The biggest risk for me is not making enough money to pay my student loans ($1500/month). I make just enough with my nanny wage. I now make in a week what I used to make in a day. I’m surviving, but not having any income could be detrimental.
Another risk is that I don’t have the connections that I need. I am in need of a great mentor. I feel like I have enough knowledge to do really well, but guidance from someone that’s already been there is essential.
I’m not worried about landing on my feet. I always find a job when I want one. I’m keen, adaptable, and a fast learner.
Thanks for the great post Tim!
Kind regards,
Morgan
Michael — June 17th, 2012, 12:03 am
What have I risked? After 12 years of being a decorated public school teacher, I’ve had enough with fighting against this mediocre, socially-engineered school system and its guardians, and have decided to intentionally create the condition whereby I was laid off from my job last week- nine days after the birth of my daughter- so that I can devote this year to launching, marketing, and selling a new kind of vodka to a particular type of consumer. I’ve been discussing and planning with a contract distiller and bottler for the past 12 months and we have been working with the ttb on our formula; we expect formula approval in the next 30 days, then label approval 30 days after that, then our first batch will hopefully be bottled and ready for market about 30 days after that.
As this vodka is intended for a particular audience that isn’t really being marketed to by spirits producers, I’m hoping the uniqueness of it will garner public/press attention and bring in positive initial sales, in order to afford continued production.
I’m risking a hell of a lot here- potentially ruining my “safe” teaching career (which has quite a colorful backstory) has me teetering between terror and excitement. I have no working experience whatsoever in the spirits industry (though I’ve learned quite a bit over the past 12 months), which business philosophies like the E-Myth say can actually be a very good thing (yes, I’m holding on to whatever hope I can get here).
I’m writing this at midnight with my wife and newborn sleeping right next to me, to say, I would absolutely, positively appreciate your help to make this thing work.
Does this sound risky enough to you?
-Michael
Peter — June 17th, 2012, 12:22 am
Dear Tim
another useful and interesting train of thought that I am sure will set many of your subscribers off on adventures in thoughts and deeds they might never have started had they not been exposed to it.
Over the past few years I have given considerable thought to the issues raised by Messrs. Casnocha and Hoffman and on the premise of my having little to lose by trying, a year ago I left the US law firm in Hong Kong, where I was a partner and set up an “eat what you kill” firm with two like minded partners.
For the past 32 years I have practised law in London and Hong Kong in what is arguably the most specialised legal field in existence – maritime casualties or as we call it “bumps and scrapes”
for 3 decades this has been a challenging, interesting,remunerative and fun business which has taken me to ships and ports all over the world, sometimes at considerable personal risk. There are only a handful of lawyers doing this sort of work in the world and most of us are known either personally or by reputation, to one another. All in all, an enjoyable first career.
However, shipping is an up and down business and the downs in the market tend to last longer than the ups. That has made me look out beyond my comfort horizon for other things I can do which can fill the gaps when casualties don’t happen (or I don’t get a piece of them).
The legal market in Hong Kong is primarily divided between the large international firms servicing large multinational companies and local firms concentrating mainly on private client work. That leaves a yawning gap in the market for the fairly under-serviced Small & Medium Enterprises which are not targets of interest for either the local or international firms.
The SME’s are not large enough to have in-house lawyers, cannot afford the fees charged by the big international firms and have needs that are not readily serviced by the local firms. They also require a degree of certainty in their overhead costs which is not usually available when instructing Hong Kong lawyers.
To service this need, I have started offering a basic, general legal service at a fixed monthly subscription fee which is entirely transparent and enables my clients to have short telephone or email advice on matters that are concerning them, letters of demand to persons owing them money, responses to letters of demand addressed to them, review of contractual and transactional documents, employment advice etc.
Having spent most of my career “fee earning”, I am a little short on the marketing skills I require to make this business fly. To this extent I am taking a risk in being able to attract the right kind of client but I am sure these skills will materialise as I get on with it.
Thanks for making me aware of Ben and Reid’s book which I will try to get hold of this week.
With kind regards
Peter Mills
Micah — June 17th, 2012, 1:44 am
I’m a 30 year old lawyer, and I just moved to China a few weeks ago for my wife’s job. The move required me to leave my job with a law firm in the US, so now I am essentially unemployed and looking for my next opportunity.
In the next 30-60 days, I hope to start a new chapter in my career, one that may take me away from simply practicing law. I hope to use what I have learned in law school and legal practice to provide a fresh and valuable perspective in the business world in a new country. I am learning that making this transition may be difficult because lawyers typically only have (or think they only have) the skills and knowledge needed to act as lawyers. Convincing myself and others that I have the skills and experience to make significant contributions to a business will be the main challenge for the next few months.
As for the risk, I have already made the big leap and have left the safety of regular employment. The primary risk I see right now is the risk of wasting time and resources. I am anxious to start something (anything, really) so that I don’t feel that I am wasting time, but I think I have to balance that desire to get started now with the need to make a good decision on where to focus my energy. I need to determine a direction and a focus for my learning and working, and I have to do that without knowing everything I would like about each of the myriad of options. I have an amazing opportunity to start fresh, an opportunity that may not come again, and I want to make the most of it.
Ben and Reid, I would love to have your thoughts on where to go from here!
Shira — June 17th, 2012, 3:22 am
I started Hunter & Bard a year ago. We’re an marketing and design agency located in Israel that works with start-ups, small companies and intrepreneurs. Our business model is taking a small bit of equity in addition to cash – and we only work with start-ups that we think will make it. One more thing – we’re all women from North America (American & Canadian).
I took a risk 15 years ago moving to Israel. I took a risk a year ago opening the agency. Now I want to grow it and have several branches (Far East and SF to start). We have a good solid base here in Israel now. I mentor at The Founder Institute (in Israel), The Junction (local accelerator), Microsoft’s Accelerator, and have given lectures at several local colleges and universities in various entrepreneur programs. I want Hunter & Bard to grow internationally. To be THE marketing and design agency that start-ups use to grow. Having Ben and Reid as connections would be nothing short of amazing.
Thank you for this opportunity,
Shira
Christian Baker — June 17th, 2012, 7:17 am
#1: In alignment with my goal of launching my own nutritional supplement company I want to work on a voluntary basis with one of the worlds leading companies in this field (Gaspari Nutrition) as they are a perfect role model and would be my version of Ben’s product design experience with Apple. I will contact them right now and get the wheels in motion.
#2: There are multiple risks involved such as time management, conflict of interest as my retail nutrition store is a customer of this company among many other similar competitors, I live in Australia and this move may involve moving to the USA for a period of time (which I’m super keen to do anyway, I want to shop at Wholefoods!), all in all I love change, uncertainty and/or chaos and am determined to make this happen with or without Ben and Reid! (That being said, I’m meditating on winning this and look forward to the call and email session)
Brilliant blog post!
Cheers
Christian Baker
Veit — June 17th, 2012, 7:28 am
Dear Tim & Co,
very great post, exactly what I am living up to so far.
I have a background in strategy consulting and I am also writing thrillers for the German and European market. My latest thriller, Final Cut, about a serial killer who approaches his victims via the internet, made it into the German bestseller list.
For a quick summary in English, have a look here:
http://uklitag.com/site/attach/final_cut_synopsis_en.pdf
I am also advising companies on corporate storytelling, which is, how to tell the story of your company in a convincing and sticky way. As I know the world of business and storytelling, I am able to tell companies more than some guy, who just knows one of these worlds.
While being successful of doing corporate storytelling consulting in Germany, I would like to take this to a global scale. I could imagine, companies in China would need a good story to more differentiate themselves as premium providers.
For any advise, which risk to take to take this global, I would be very grateful.
best wishes
Veit
Freddie — June 17th, 2012, 7:36 am
I quit my job to start my second company (I already started an automated niche lifestyle business as a learning experience). Realising that the success of a company is greatly tied to the strength of the team you surround yourself with, the mentors you have and the amount of energy you can devote to the project, I knew that quitting my 9-6 job was vital.
But like most people with new business ideas, the requirement for income to satisfy the monthly bills often takes priority. So my business partner and I worked intensively for 10 days to establish and launch our startup that will fund our actual startup. We launched a creative agency and within the first 3 days had secured our first project which was plenty to sustain us both for a month. We set one rule for our ‘startup to fund our real startup.’ It couldn’t take up more than 2 days a week of our time. So within 10 days of quitting my job, I was earning more than I was in my full time job even though I was working only 25% of the time.
With the income from this comes freedom of time to work on our real startup. I’ve always found Tim’s principle from 4HWW of “What’s the worst that can happen?” to be a great guide for life. Every great opportunity that life has presented to me has stemmed from an inherently ‘risky’ situation that pushes the realms of normal comfort.
When you think about it, it’s not surprising really. Much like human muscles respond to increased stress by growing, we develop as people by placing ourselves in stressful situations of uncertainty and risk.
If you think something is risky then there’s a great likelihood that the general population agrees with you. This presents a fantastic opportunity – less people will tackle that risk and there will be greater reward for the person who tackles and conquers it. Treat risks as opportunities and life becomes a lot more fun.
Steve — June 17th, 2012, 8:00 am
I have one dream in this world: get paid to be me.
I’m tired of being a cog in the gear of a large company that gives two shits about who I am; as long as I keep raking in the money. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself; which is why I write.
I am diligently working to infuse a simple principle into my life: enjoy the journey. Not in a hedonistic fashion, but one of true and genuine appreciation for all that we currently have in our lives. I’ve found that one of the fastest ways to get somewhere you want to be is to appreciate where you already are.
The catalyst for this life principle was a similar experience to yours in Chile (though mine was more along the lines of a travel experience than living). I sold everything I owned (literally on Craigslist), packed up a 40 pound backpack and bought a one-way ticket to London in 2010. Three months, 13 countries, and 28 European cities later I finally landed back in the U.S.
My life changed forever.
Ever since, I’ve been struggling to find my place, my purpose, my mission. Through much trial and error, highs and lows, and failures and triumphs I’m beginning to see the big picture. Like Santiago in The Alchemist, I’ve finally discovered my personal legend: share with the world what it means to enjoy the journey.
If I had 30 to 60 days left to live I would stop at nothing to get my message out to as many people as possible. The blog I write, hobodrifter.com, would be known worldwide. Offers to publicly speak would be pouring in and my inbox (which I don’t like checking often) would be blowing up with questions, comments, and thoughts from all those who read my writing and listen to my speaking. Book deals would emerge and I would be one step closer to my goal of having a New York Times bestseller. I would no longer be working dead end jobs whose only purpose is to pay the bills while I pursue my dream. Now, I would be living my dream and working for myself.
Is this impossible in 30-60 days? Not at all – but it’s definitely not easy. I’ve seen it happen to far less qualified individuals. The main difference between myself and the indiscriminate masses who stumble upon success: I’ve been preparing my entire life for this moment. It’s not arrogance, just confidence.
So, what am I doing to make this happen? Constantly writing new content for my blog and doing my best to see that I do one thing each day that scares me (makes for great stories). I’m writing guest posts, making sincere comments on other blogs, and telling everyone I meet about my blog to increase exposure. I’m working on a free ebook for new email subscribers – a manifesto. I frequent Toastmasters and attend improv class to fine tune my speaking skills and feel comfortable in front of an audience. I know what has to be done, I just need to consistently do it. I’ll continue to do what I do – improving, growing, challenging myself – knowing that each small step I take will eventually culminate into something huge. But I am always looking for that big break; the homerun.
There is one concern.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared shitless of being put in the spotlight. But the fear is a distant second to the excitement and shear joy I receive from being in front of an audience – whether they are reading my work or listening to me speak. The butterflies always subside, but the high I get from delivering a genuine, heartfelt message that I truly believe will help people enjoy their life is unforgettable.
I want to get paid to be me. No more mindless time consuming jobs. I am going to be a respected author and speaker with the freedom I dream about… it’s only a matter of when.
I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this comment. Best of luck with your contest!
KH — June 17th, 2012, 9:42 am
Tim, Ben, and Reid,
Thank you for the wonderful post and the continued inspiration you all bring to me on such a regular basis.
I am a 32 year old investment professional working in Finance, Asset Management to be specific. I am in charge of identifying talent (such as Portfolio managers, analysts, and traders) and bringing them onto a platform where the firm invests its own/client capital. I’ve been in this role since graduating from college and currently have achieved a high amount of success at a relatively young age. I mention this with fear of sounding arrogant, but it factors into the challenges of objectively evaluating risks and opportunity costs, two points which I will address below.
One of the challenges in being entrepreneurial in the finance industry is that often (but not always) one of the key traits of success is experience (i.e. age or “gray hairs”). If you compare it to the tech industry, a programmer could study/program intensively for, say 5 years, and take this experience to launch a new company. While this is definitely possible in Asset Management, that same individual would likely hear criticisms such as “haven’t invested through different cycles,” “haven’t had to make enough individual decisions,” or “strong performance can be attributed to good luck.” More on this point too.
My ultimate goal is to build an incubator of investment talent, providing them with the infrastructure, relationships, advice, and capital to harness all of the collective talent and investment ideas. While this would initially start in securities, the concept could be expanded to include any form of investing including private equity, venture, real estate, etc.
My 30-60 day goal is to introduce the concept to potential partners in a more direct manner with the ultimate goal of building something by next year. To achieve this goal I have used one element from your book, which involves strengthening my weak ties. I’ve made a commitment to spend the entire year meeting 3 new people a day (bkfast, lunch, and coffee/drinks/dinner) and testing the idea with them. I get to kill two birds with one stone, because as an identifier/evaluator of talent, this type of networking also helps lead me to the “raw materials” for my craft. After each meeting, I map out patterns, common threads, and of course, criticisms to my idea. I’ve been pretty disciplined in systematizing and logging all of the comments… (it has been hard, I work 12 hours a day as well!) I do feel that I am missing a key sounding board for a few reasons: finance-types tend to be less entrepreneurial, confidentiality concerns, and age constraints (my peer group seems to be right in family-starting mode). Given this void, I have tried to make the best of this opportunity to learn from Ben and Reid.
How do I think about risk? This is interesting, because as an investor (in capital markets) it is a question we think about all the time. We think that we can understand and more importantly QUANTIFY risk, which has arguably lead us to the recent Global Credit Crisis and makes it harder for me to avoid the negativity bias you so clearly describe.
Finance generally quantifies risk using the volatility metric, which is the typical movement of a stock over some pre-determined time period (if I were explaining the concept to a child, I would use the metaphor of waves in the ocean, with turbulent waters being higher volatility). All things being equal, if two stocks have the same projected return, an investor should pick the one with the highest volatility. Finally, the common (AND FLAWED) assumption is that stock returns are normally distributed, that is, have an equal chance of winning/losing.
This is where your advice has really been key to the continued development of my concept. While I have to be honest with myself and my ideas, you have very well illustrated that the downside risk can be both OVERSTATED and CONTROLLED, which will help me to better frame the appropriate risk to take on the upside. You have also helped me see that upside is not just success of the venture but the EXPERIENCE gained in the process. I always hear that some of the best start up experiences were the ones that failed, and that should not be discounted in this calculation.
The one area I wish your article would’ve spent more time is OPPORTUNITY COSTS and where I struggle personally. I see two primary opportunity costs: TIME and INCOME. As I mentioned above, my “day job” requires 10-12 hours a day so all the “building” takes place pre- and post- work. Furthermore, given my title, income, and desire to start a family soon, the direct opportunity costs become harder. This is a common struggle and I don’t think I am in any unique position relative to other aspiring entrepreneurs.
Your post, particularly the advice on “defaulting to yes” assumes that one’s time is an infinite resource. In reality, it is our most scarce resource and it makes the process of sizing up the risk/reward math even more CRITICAL. I’ve gotten myself in trouble from saying yes too much (YES, I’ll read this article; YES, I’ll take on the consulting assignment, YES I’ll comment on this article). If you were to select my comment, understanding how you each deal with this would be one of my first questions to you.
Finally, I wanted to touch on behavioral biases. Again, putting on my finance hat, the one bias we are always highly attuned to is Overconfidence. It’s interesting to contrast overconfidence (overplaying your strengths) versus negativity bias (overplaying your weaknesses). I’ll save that one for another posting. I do keep a very defined list of biases on a small piece of paper, and test myself, every time I need to make a decision. They include:
- anchoring
- confirmation
- overconfidence
- recency
and I will be adding negativity to the list!
Thank you
KH
Khaliah J. F. — June 17th, 2012, 10:04 am
Hi My name is Khaliah Ferguson,
In the next 30-60 days I would like to have my Personal Shopper/Life improvement website and business running. Being raised in a lower income househould and environment there was a lot of social resources I lacked. As an adult it took a lot of reading and researching to find the opportunities I have found for myself and I’m still searching for more. I’ve always felt intelligently inferior because I moved into an affluent neighborhood and worked in environments that were socially and economically different from my experiences. I always worked in retail from sales to management but more in the cosmetic fields. I’m now a traveling makeup artist with Estee Lauder so I meet and work in large high end department stores from Neimans to Saks and all the rest.
This background has shaped me as the go to person for all my urban lower class working poor associates, friends and families. Everyone has told me I should become a personal shopper, a blogger for navigating social classes for the poor etc. I must be honest and say that I use to reject this notion because I believed it wasn’t an honorable “smart” way to live and it brought higher insecurities in myself that I can never be that “respectable” lawyer, accounted etc..you get the picture right. That sounds like the typical job for a single mom with a two year associates degree, something I’ve been fighting to disprove.
It’s apparant I have a gift for it so the risk comes with stopping my quest for approval as an intellectual paralegal and to ACTUALLY put some apples into what I do well in naturally. My risk involves taking a step back and working in the sales department in one of the department stores to get more clarity on how customers shop for clothes and to find a way to market my personal shopping and life improvement website for customers and sales.
It appears that one client can change your life in an instant. I have read books that says target a targeted niche and the one niche that I know can benefit from such information is the lower working class. Being apart of both worlds allows me to see the gaps and missed opportunities for those who are socially outcast and from those I speak to daily at work. I’m always advising the working poor where to go, move, shop, act, behave, improve, how to raise childrens test scores, where they should shop for food and all of the above.
I think this job is one that many would look to as “unstable” work since it’s not intellectually gratifying. Working with the lower class on teaching them how to navigate the tough world of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is all about connections and small self improvements can be very rewarding and lucrative.
K.F
Anonymous — June 17th, 2012, 10:15 am
I was a full-time employee for 10 years with one company and I found out I quickly reached my plateau within 3 years after joining the company. I decided to become a consultant after leaving this company. Consulting always has an inherent risk of unpredictable income. But I am glad to say that I learned more and did more networking in the last 3 years of my consulting life than my 10 years of being a full-time employee. Oh, did I mention that I did an all-paid international consulting gig for 3 months straight?!
Mattia — June 17th, 2012, 11:00 am
I am an Italian artist, producer and entrepreneur in my mid-30′s. I never studied English apart from mid school but I traveled a lot in my life, always alone cause I love to breathe culture, energy and life. I began to read Shakespeare’s sonnets at 12 and thru partying with girls worldwide, writing and singing songs in English and reading tons of books in English I slowly learnt it well. I have lived everywhere, from Shanghai to London to Rome to Berlin and Miami and established businesses in Italy and Uk. As side jobs I acted in theatre plays, made assistant director in tv series, sold French wines to luxury hotel and dance in club as image guy. I lost my father last year for cancer, but I have a strong mother and a strong fiancée. So what now? I got a label in London and I am about to launch my second startup in Tech City. Everybody told me to focus on songs production or business but I love th multiple slash aspect of life. But I agree I have to focus. So what the conclusion? I totally blurred the lines btw artistry and business and I am gonna launch my entertainment b2b startup in a few weeks, using my music and video productions as a go-to- market strategy for customer acquisition, partners engagement and exposure augmentation. I love risk, pretty managed and measurable risk each day, otherwise we would live in caverns yet. Seth Godin calls it lizard resistance. And as Reid and Ben said, we have to make a leap and take calculated risk to make an impact in this universe, bridging the gap btw security and progress. It’s called human evolution and now is the time the world goes on, beyond what we know. P.s. to expand to USA in the long term, Inhave enrolled a submission for 2013 with the guys at Blueseed. Amazing project.
Cheers guys
Laura KK — June 17th, 2012, 11:31 am
My next 60 days will be a continuation to something that started in May, while I was reading the Start-up of You: careful, yet determined, steps towards a new career.
Re-thinking my career path is nothing new to me, for throughout my 7+ years of work experience I have been exploring different options from research to PR to event management to journalism. Some years ago I congratulated myself for finding the perfect path – immigration & media research. Then life happened: while on an internship in Ottawa, I fell in love, and 2 years later I immigrated permanently to Canada from Finland.
Immigrating to a new country and adapting to work in a foreign language have been the biggest risks I’ve ever taken. The new life hasn’t always been easy, but taking the risk has provided me with a life full of love and happiness. Through hard work I have also been able to re-establish myself professionally, by switching from immigration research to counselling immigrants. A year later I found myself leading a team of employment counsellors, and I therefore thought my career was happily going the way I wanted to … until something happened this spring.
What was that something? The Hoffman & Casnocha book.
The book awoke my inner explorer, who had been hibernating after I had successfully settled in Canada. Suddenly I was again yearning for new challenges, opportunities, and learning new skills. I realized I had let work take over my life and career, and now it was time to show who the boss is – c’est moi. The book helped me to narrow down what I really like in my current job, and with plenty of thinking, researching and networking I have found a new direction for my career: diversity management.
The transition won’t happen overnight, and at the end I might not even end up in diversity management, for maybe I bump into something more appealing on the way. Therefore I’m not worried about the end result – as long as it includes a happy me – and I’m just fully enjoying the journey, and utilizing the new energy and excitement I have.
Based on my previous experience, I know that a career shift is not a risk for me; a bigger risk would be not to take it. I also know, however, that the honeymoon phase of planning a new career is not going to last forever. After sometime, if and when the shift will look more difficult than I thought, fear and doubt will try to oust optimism. However, such battles become easier to win with the support of encouraging, idea rich and creative mentors. Would be absolutely amazing if my mentors would be called Ben and Reid.
Ben Casnocha — June 19th, 2012, 7:57 am
@Laura – Thanks for the comment! Can you email me at ben@casnocha.com? A question about your reading of the book….
Bendik L. — June 17th, 2012, 2:01 pm
First, thanks for a _GREAT_ post, so many awesome comments too.
I feel it`s important to push yourself out of your comfort zone everyday, snap out of your habits that hold you back from facing new opportunities.
I recommend everybody to read “The Flinch” by Julien Smith. It is about our everyday fears we face, that really are no threat to us. It`s just a primal behavior, flinching as much as we do.
I believe his ebook is still free at amazon, google it! (no really. do it!)
Within the next 45 days I will have:
1. “Risked” giving up more control of my main business by outsourcing most of the operations I do not need to do myself.
2. Pushed through the first stages of an Educational Non-profit.
3. Traveling to Dubai to assess new opportunities and concidering a long term stay.
4. Contacting potential freelance customers most people don`t dare to, offer them a solution to a problem I have identified.
Risks:
1. The risks of the first one is frightening emotionally but realistically it can be backed up by a well working system to make risk almost non existent.
2. Risk wasting time if not getting the right coop-partners to support the project.
3. Risk losing money relocating.
4. Getting turned down.
Never stop chasing, just change the way you chase!
-Bendik
Ryan Wayne — June 17th, 2012, 3:23 pm
Good afternoon Ben and Reid! Thanks for the informative blog post and wonderful opportunity you’ve presented to all of us here to take advantage of. As an ENTP, risk and I have built quite the relationship over the 27 years we’ve known each other. I currently run an admissions team of 13 counselors for a university that primarily offers online courses. I’ve been with my current organization for almost 4 years (managing for 2) and have begun to get comfortable with my leadership style and confident in its effectiveness. I have seen great success so far and am truly excited about the career that lies ahead of me. It’s amazing what you learn about yourself in your first two years of management experience.
Growing up in Southern California, I’ve always had a fascination with the east coast, NYC in particular. I’ve had the opportunity to visit twice in the last four years; the summer between my junior and senior year of college and the Christmas of 2012. To say I’ve fallen in love would be an understatement, NYC and I are having a full on affair…risky to say the least.
The issue here is that my current situation is VERY good (and lacking risk). As they say, good is the chief enemy of great. In my current position I’m challenged on a daily basis, work with great individuals, make great money, and have a 5 minute bicycle commute from my apartment to my office in downtown San Diego. Leaving this situation to go clear across the country, without a job, seems to have ignited the flame that risk and I seem to keep sparking. I would LOVE to make a career move to NYC in the next 30-60 days.
As far as how I’m thinking about this risk, I’ve found great success enlisting the help of my family and parents. (Happy Father’s Day Dad!) My dad thinks the best course is action is to travel out there a few times, setup interviews, and find a job before leaving my current one. My initial thought was to drop everything and go, especially because of the confidence level I have in the skills I have developed since I started working full time almost 10 years ago. I’m wondering if my dad’s negativity bias is causing us both to exaggerate the risks of a cross country move sans employment. I’m not sure if moving back to SD from NYC is a risk I’m willing to take, especially given the awesome job I currently have. Writing this comment is the first “yes” step I’ve taken today, I’m excited to see if the risk pays off!
Thanks for reading.
Helen — June 17th, 2012, 3:37 pm
Some people take risk and think, “I took the risk, I deserve to have it pay off” yet they are surprised when things don’t work out.
Taking on intelligent risk requires forward planning.
Reckless risk and intelligent risk often look the same to an outsider looking in on your situation. Yet understanding the consequences and your own fears can reduce some of the negative effects if things don’t work out.
Asking “what if” makes me prepared. (It’s even saved my life once!)
A few years back I desperately wanted a break in the tech industry. I sought out the exact role I wanted skills wise. Yet it paid a third of a regular wage.
I took the risk that this would be my ‘in’ to the industry. I took on an second job just so I could afford to work the day job I had chosen.
I spent 2 years absorbing skills and working 96 hour weeks. Then 4HWW helped me make the jump with those skills into contracting way earlier than I had expected.
Fast forward another 2 years & I’m ready for the next big move. I want to make the jump into a creative role in the tech industry. Business improvement & advice, developing products, putting my ideas to work. As an employee then a freelance consultant.
Now I’m considering the risks involved. Can I afford to take a lower paid job like I have done before? What would happen if I aimed for the stars and tried to go straight into consultation? What would I have to give up if I failed?Will I enjoy the work, how would I get clients – the list continues.
Dealing with multiple risks is tough. I’m trying to mitigate the ones that are most important to me first.
I’m testing the work environment by speaking with founders and writing feedback reports on their products for free in my spare time. The feedback has been fantastic and I have loved it.
I did a full audit of my finances and know exactly the level of salary that makes it or breaks it for me. This narrows my opportunities but because I understand the consequences, a lower paid salary is not a risk I can take.
I’m testing my idea creation abilities by building my own products, going to startup weekends and I have even taken part in a startup incubator.
Now I’m seeking the best opportunity aligned to the intelligent risks I’m willing to take.
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” ~ Warren Buffett.
Bryce finck — June 17th, 2012, 4:01 pm
I’m Aussie Bryce from the great land down under. My next career step is to become the face of health in Australia by starting a lifestyle mentoring website that assists people in changing necessary facets of their daily lives that may be harming them. Often the face of health and lifestyle is a 60 yr old man in a white coat and glasses which is quite intimidating. I want to flip that perception and make health and lifestyle care inviting and thus easier to access. The risk of this venture is that people won’t listen to a 25 yr old bloke that looks like he is going to his first prom…but as I have encountered in everyday practice, people’s perceptions and mindset can be affected by a smile, confidence and most importantly a zest for something they are passionate about…assets that I have in spades!! I have been sketching ideas and developing videos, the next step is to create the website…something I have no background in but one that I’m keen to tackle!! Thanks for the article
Sue — June 17th, 2012, 4:03 pm
Hi guys. I’m the freelance writer you mention, happily bouncing along making a good living because I’m used to “hustling every day for gigs.” A journalist and speaker based in Sydney, Australia, I write for major newspapers and magazines in Australia, including for the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) on careers and productivity.
30-60 day goal:
Make my income less about selling words (which I’m good at) and more about selling products (not yet good at). I’ve got an e-course and in-person masterclass ready to launch on stopping death by email. Everyone I know has an overloaded inbox, including, according to students of my business writing course at Sydney Writers’ Centre, those in the corporate world. I think my market lies there. I write about productivity in the SMH, and know how to manage what comes in, better write the stuff going out, and when to use other methods instead!
Content is inspired by Merlin at inbox zero (his approach changed my inbox forever), Tim (what can I say, been using 4HWW tips daily since book launched), plus my own experience as a successful journo and wordsmith.
Dozens of PRs email me daily and I know what catches my own attention. Meanwhile, I’m always aiming to ‘cut through’ so my own emails reach, persuade and build long lasting trust-based relationships with key editors or business partners. Basically, if I couldn’t write persuasive emails I’d be starving in a garret. I know what works and what doesn’t. Now it’s time to tell others. Would love your advice.
How am I thinking about the risk?
The risk is only a short term, time-based risk. Sure, I could use that time to sell/write other stories for more editors, but that will lead to more of the same – good income, fragile career, versus GREAT income, resilient career. (Tim, I realise I am sadly lacking my muse business!)
Thanks for a great post. Would love to win this one.
emmanuel — June 17th, 2012, 5:50 pm
Hi all, my name is Emmanuel, an ambitious 24 year old from Zimbabwe, currently in the US. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own t-shirt line. i have a great concept and brand for the products and for years have been sitting on this idea but have put it off due to other obligations such as school, work etc and procrastination.
In the next 30-60 days, I want to officially start up the t-shirt line, this means selling the completed product to customers. In order to get there,i need to produce the shirts go through the printing, branding and packaging process and have them ready to sell. I need to get boutique shops to carry my products as well as set up an online store and website.
Up until a few weeks ago, i knew nothing about the t-shirt and clothing industry. Other than knowing what looks good, i really knew little about how finished clothing products were actually made. BUT!!!!! I decided to not allow that to be my excuse anymore and just started learning as much as i could.. I’ve been hanging out at clothing stores and studying fabric and clothing(gotten alot of funny looks for doing this) and also used the internet to find information I need. It’s weird how when you focus on
something, it seems to some how come together. I heard about a creative fashion workshop at a local college which i attended yesterday and met some amazing people who are involved in the fashion industry. So not only was it an awesome learning experience, but it was also a great organic networking opportunity that also opened my eyes to things i hadn’t thought of yet. These things will ultimately strengthen my brand.
I also really like the idea of “working for free” which you mentioned in this post, as you said “learning and networking is key in business” therefore, I could learn a lot about the ins and outs of the industry this way and will probably find a local fashion company to intern for in the next 30-60 days. I have also banned myself from using the word “no” and for this week will say “yes” to everything.Ok, maybe not everything, but i will exercise the power of “yes”.
I have realized that i am the only person stopping myself and decided to just get on with it. Risks associated with this move are financial risk as i would have to invest my savings into this project, (however that is a risk that i am not afraid to take as i feel the investment would be worth it in the long run). There’s the risk of people not liking the shirts, boutiques refusing to carry the line and the line not being as successful as anticipated. but so what???!!!!the only real risk here is failure, but id rather take action than risk looking back and feeling like i could’ve done more.
I feel motivated by this post and now i know who Ben and Reid are, so shout out to Tim for that. (you can always rely on something helpful from this blog).
To expand on risk-taking and feeling comfortable with risks, a recommended read is “The Art of Being Unreasonable:Lessons in Unconventional Thinking” by Eli Broad and for people like me who have ideas their sitting on and need an extra nudge to get up and do something about it,I recommend “Making Ideas Happen” by Scott Belsky and off cause “4 Hour Work-Week” for anyone who hasn’t read it yet (do yourself a favor).
have a great week all..
Galina — June 17th, 2012, 6:21 pm
Hey guys,
Thanks for the post.
I’m from Moscow, Russia. I’ve always wanted to be an international
professional so when I was 22 I moved to China, the new promise land. I’ve lived here for 3 years and now work for one of the top Chinese companies. I can’t tell you how proud of myself I am. Few foreigners get to experience the real corporate culture in the traditional Chinese company where nobody speaks English. Is the experience different from what I expected it to be? Well, the word different is not strong enough in this case.
I know that my job doesn’t garantee me a good life long term – even laws in
China change every day. So I don’t get too comfortable and look for new opportunities.
I think that we should accept taking risks as part of the lifestyle, but I don’t agree with taking risks if you can’t afford it. Anything might happen. And according to my experience, when you are not prepared financially something is more likely to happen to you.
You can easily take risks when you have money and stability. That’s one of my priorities. My desicion making process becomes a lot easier and faster – I don’t hesitate and say yes or no to proposals without fear of losing anything. Instead I consentrate on things I can benefit from.
And of course the fact that I’m a young woman makes me take care of my
safety even more: it’s harder for a woman to get a legitimate well paid job
where man treat you as an equal professional (especially in not very developed countries). Lots of things are more complicated for me: even in China I have to pay extra to get visa, and I need to justify my life here especially because of my age. Being a woman I’m gilty until proven otherwise.
To change my life and professional development I decided to keep my well
paid job and start online consulting for foreigners that are eager to come to
China to pursue their international carreers or learn more about the real Chinese culture (I started working on this project thanks to Tim’s 4HWW. Tim, you are awesome! I learned about you from my Russian friend who you met in Beijing).
Tim, Ben, Reid, I’d really apreciate if you chose me!
Galina
birdhouses — June 17th, 2012, 6:29 pm
Thank you for the inspiring post. I have taken a huge risk by not re-entering the workforce as quickly as possible. I was laid off in 2009, and decided to start my own business. My first 3 attempts were failures, but I learned a lot in each case. My fourth attempt, I hope, will be a winning success. At this point it has to be, because I think that I am too long out of the workplace to re-enter in my previous job title. The current project is e-commerce. I plan to have multiple sites up selling multiple products. I look forward to any insight you can provide.
Will — June 17th, 2012, 6:39 pm
Hey fellas,
Thanks for the opportunity and many thanks in advance for reading my entry.
A little history about myself:
Currently employed, making a fantastic salary at a start-up company. I’m on the verge of implementing software and workflow processes that will change the way our parents receive healthcare, the way we receive healthcare, and dramatically change the way our children receive healthcare.
For the better.
I still get job offers on a frequent basis, completely unsolicited; much like Hans Keeling before he started Nexxus Surf. I pass these job offers to my friends and watch them undertake new, exciting opportunities equal to the monetary benefits of my current position. They laugh and ask what I do to get these offers and the answer is unbelievably: nothing.
It’s all very rewarding and fulfilling- yet I’m still not satisfied.
My real passion is health and fitness. I dream of helping others change their lifestyle to be one of health and happiness fueled by lifestyle and comradarie. As a former 24 hour mountain bike racer, I love the thrill of dedicated pursuit of, well… that’s the funny part: anything. I love the pursuit, not the prize. Maybe that’s the difficulty I have in staying at a job.
I wholeheartedly believe I am capable of greatness, greatness worthy of history books (or e-books, as the technology goes) but only if surrounded by honest people dedicated to similar passions and mentors to help me navigate the questionable waters ahead.
So what is keeping me from it? Maybe as Tim states in 4HWW: unfounded fear. A tolerable existence is more comforting than the unknown, even though I know the worst-case unknown is still not as bad as scenarios I’ve already overcome. I’m a geek at heart, and bring with me the common trait of many of my brethren- stick my head in my monitor and suffer alone in silence. Having identified this as my weakness, I’ve taken action to overcome it- I’ve joined a local group of entreprenuers to network with others successfully doing what I dream of. I’ve joined Toastmasters to learn to be a better speaker and to better communicate. I attend meetups and learn new skills that better position me to accomplish my goals. What I don’t do is “network” at networking events. I don’t take the step needed to execute. Fire power up the wazoo and I don’t pull the trigger. In short, I’m scared.
On Tuesday, I have a meeting with a “Business Incubator” firm to discuss my ideas. I live in a small town filled with upper-class folks that perfectly identify my target market of opening a CrossFit gym that would allow me to pursue my passion of helping people reach their fitness and nutritional goals and build their own self-confidence and self-esteem. Getting that off the ground would allow me to focus on my nutritional planning software that simply “gives” people the menu and grocery list they need to meet their dietary goals. This software differs itself from others in the same category in the fact that it simply tells you what to eat rather than offering you thousands of confusing choices that might fit your goals. Both of those items have exit strategies and plans to extract me from the day-to-day operations, while still providing me with a diversified income and relieving my family of the stress that a single misfortune in any one area can have a significant impact on our quality of life. Even after exercising my exit strategy, I’m not content to sit on the beach picking my nose for the next 50 years- I’m prepared to continue on with my “to-do” list, each project building upon the successes of previous events and undertaking new ventures and goals, all the while further diversifying my income stream.
So what’s holding me back? Well, my current job- it is very exciting. It has potential to fulfill my personal goals ten-fold over my own ideas. I question where the commitment of our executive team is though. I think their commitment is to the IPO, not the business model we preach. You know what scares me most about that? The things that irritate me the most are the negative traits they exhibit that I recognize in myself. We spend a lot of time herding chickens. Either that or I’m just scared and willing to endure a tolerable existence over the unknown.
If chosen as the winner of your contest, I’d like to pitch my current position- it’s potential as a company, it’s potential to me as an individual employee and pitch my business plan for my personal growth. We would then discuss the pros and cons of each and how my own personal strengths and weaknesses line up with those objectives. With that information, I would hope to provide you with a realistic perspective of my own personal “state of the union” and eagerly listen to your advice.
As I walk away from our meeting, I would hope to have a clear picture of what you believe the best course of action is, as well as how I can leverage my network of peers, mentors, and friends to best position myself for success. Also when and how I should create “milestones” to make sure I don’t wander off-track and start herding chickens of my own.
I’m not looking for someone to tell me what to do, or layout a step-by-step plan- that’s called a job, I have one of those. but to point me in the right direction with a smile and a nod- just enough to bolster my own self-confidence.
Thanks again for your time and attention.
I honestly and sincerely look forward to hearing back from you.
Steve H. — June 17th, 2012, 6:49 pm
After graduating from business school, I took a position with a technology firm as a business analyst that paid me much less than I was expecting. The decision to sacrifice a higher starting salary was made easy due to the company’s growth potential and my ability to learn a new skill in an industry I wanted to stick with for the rest of my career.
After about 2 months in my analyst role, I was offered a position as director of a major revenue channel at the company. While initially feeling completely over-my-head, I learned as much as I could about the channel and put all of my effort into turning my piece of the business into the most profitable channel in the organization. Over the past few months, my channel has led the company in revenue production and has allowed us to continue our impressive growth curve.
While my channel has been extremely productive since I took over control, I’ve still been paid my initial starting salary. There’s no doubt that my production to the company has come at a discount, and I feel like the time is right for me to ask for a raise. I’m going to approach the conversation in a scientific manner, presenting the hard revenue data to back up my case. The initial risk I took with my pay grade paid off dividends in term of my learning, and I believe it’s time to ask the company to recognize my commitment.
Thanks for this post, the advice has been extremely helpful and motivating!
Trista — June 17th, 2012, 7:47 pm
My risk is that I may be giving up great for just good. I have an amazing job running a foundation that supports people that are changing the world and I wrote a book last year for people that work in nonprofits that has allowed me to travel around the country, helping young professionals take the risks that you talk about.
I feel like my next big step is developing a side gig of helping social entrepreneurs figure out how to maximize the social good of their efforts as an advisor or board member but I don’t yet have the connections or social capital to make this happen at the scale where I could make the greatest difference. Because I have been successful in my work life, it feels really risky to start doing something where I will be starting from scratch, even though I believe in it 100% and know that I can add real value to the efforts of social entrepreneurs. It would be great to have your advice.
Damien — June 17th, 2012, 8:24 pm
Hey All,
Can’t wait for the book! Some fantastic comments above!
I’m an Accountant and got into the profession for security. I lacked confidence and a voice. I’ve worked on it for years and now am just about to finish an ebook for people to take control and live a confident and abundant life. It’s about taking control, being innovative, communication and a rejuvenated future. It’s founded on my own personal story of sitting in the rain exhausted after working long hours and not knowing why. The book doesn’t slate any professions, it’s about empathy and inspiration to lead the new economy and live with an abundant mindset.
The risk is in putting my own stories and it was hard. I know it will help so many people. The other risk is i might be thinking too big…i want to inspire now, then change the way safe professions communicate in order to help them into the future. I would love to lead a community in using their skills to make a difference in developing nations. Big dream so i’ll go after it.
I thought about the risk…i can hang onto my secure job and risk being passed around and not be myself. Or i can lead and make my voice heard!
It’s time to make a difference and stop shying away I think!
Have a great day
Eric — June 17th, 2012, 9:25 pm
Great post. Thank you, Tim, Ben, and Reid.
I am a mid-30s MBA who has worked for some of the greatest companies in the world: JP Morgan Chase, McKinsey, Apple, and now one of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley. By any conventional definition, my life has been a success.
And yet. My career has generally been unsatisfying. I fundamentally believe this is because I’ve been unwilling to take enough calculated risks.
In the next 2 weeks, my boss will be leaving my startup. My role will be redefined, and I would like to use this as an opportunity to ask for a promotion. I’ve never actually been promoted (my career advancement has come entirely though changing companies), and the idea of asking scares the crap out of me.
Bigger picture, I hope to use this opportunity to break a 12+-year cycle of letting fear, rather than opportunity, dictate my career decisions. And I am prepared to be held publicly accountable for my future risk-taking behavior (I’d be willing to submit periodic updates). I’d be thrilled to be your guinea pig in exchange for the coaching you offer.
Thanks for your consideration.
Chris Duncan — June 17th, 2012, 9:57 pm
STABILITY V STUPIDITY
After graduating in 2007 I accepted a position at a law firm in Invercargill (southern most city in the world). I have quickly risen through the ranks and have been told in no uncertain terms that if I commit to the firm I will become a partner in the short to medium term.
Whilst I am lucky to be in that position, the thought of doing one job my whole life (as committing to partnership would entail essentially a long term committment) has been playing on my mind and is really a hard pill to swallow.
So my dilema begins. Do I resign myself to life in my current role, in my current city and enjoy the benefits of financial security for my future, or do I make perhaps a stupid decision and take a punt on something else.
Add to this the fact that the UK and European economy is teetering at best and my decision looks to be easy. Stay put and be sensible. But…
The fear of not challenging myself and taking the path of least resistence leaves me with an uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what it would have been like and whether I would be better for it.
After much pained brainwork I decide that I have no option but to run the proverbial gauntlet and make the move even if that decision is inheritantly risky for a multitude of reasons.
Fast forward to today and I have a one way ticket booked to the UK with no job lined up at a time when many firms are saying things like “recruitment freeze” and the like. To say that is a scary prospect and that I have butterflies a month out from my departure date is a massive understatement. But as risky as it is leaving a cushy job/career path and heading to an economy on the brink without a job or a place to stay I know that deep down I have no choice but to take that sort of risk.
What nailed it for me was the thought of jumping forward 20 years and still sitting behind the same desk having not done it!
thanks for the article and the opportunity to put my thoughts into writing.
Cris — June 17th, 2012, 10:10 pm
TRUE STORY.
June 2012: My mom has been unemployed since Jan 2012. I am leaving a 250K+ per year job (high profile corporate job) to build a business with my mom; yes, I am leaving the security of a quarter-million dollar a year job to be an entrepreneur with my mom. (And yes, I offered to simply support her, but her dignity rightfully demands that she contributes to the world, so because she can’t find a job, I am creating one for her, as a business partner, with absolutely no second thoughts). Full circle: Was an entrepreneur before corporate America; gave that up for “security” (and 14 hour workdays 6 days/week) but now that my family needs me, I am back 100% full force to start a new business that will allow my mom to never be a wage slave again. The two most important life goals: #1: Be a good person, #2; Take care of your mom, ALWAYS. Risks? Insignificant when I consider what the upside will be.
Lucinda S. — June 17th, 2012, 10:58 pm
My goal is to launch my (overdue) career as a freelance writer in the next 30-60 days; obviously, I feel very affirmed by this article! Specifically, I aim to complete my website and garner at least three clients in that time. My first love is fiction, but I also have a talent for blogging, copywriting, and article writing, and this is where I will begin marketing myself first.
I have long dreamed of supporting my family with my writing, but well meaning pragmatism and fear of risk have tripped me up time and again. Thanks to the works of Steven Pressfield – and now this article – I am beginning to see risk as more of an affirming factor: If there’s a healthy measure of risk and fear surrounding the goal, then it’s probably exactly where I need to be.
Thank you for the encouragement!
Tommy D — June 17th, 2012, 11:31 pm
My whole life has been one big risk even if I wasn’t aware of it. I grew up on the south shore of Long Island to a lower middle class family. My parents have worked their butts off trying to make ends meet to support a family of six (four children). After graduating High School, I realized that I had an innate ability for creative writing. I craved literature. I was curious about all facets of life. I wasn’t exceptionally great at anything, but I was certainly passionate about many things: music, philosophy, poetry, film, science, art, skateboarding, sports. Somehow I knew that all of these were interconnected. I was nineteen years old and I decided that I wanted to become a renaissance man…a renaissance man? It’s true. I received a bachelors from The New School University in Liberal Arts; Riggio Honors: Writing and Democracy program. I also received a Certification in Screenwriting for Film and Television. I then earned myself an insurmountable mountain of student loan debt…I was enslaved. I had no idea what I put myself into until the day student loans began rolling in and I couldn’t find a full time “career” because I lacked a technical discipline and the job market went splat!
Odd jobs. I began picking up odd jobs that felt damaging to my espiritu. I’ve done everything from ripping up cat pee carpets to shlepping wine boxes in a basement while being timed to do so. Terrible jobs that I hated then but realized later, added dimension to my character. I went on interviews that were clearly ponzi schemes right off of Craigslist. Of course when they called me, I wouldn’t take them. That’s not how I roll.
During my pursuit of “happiness,” struggling to pay off student loans, while feeling like a damn loser because I didn’t have a “job” to move out of my parents’ house, yet knowing inside that I was a champion, I stumbled upon a very important TED talk by a man named Tim Ferriss. I decided to do more research on him and quickly noticed that he was a fellow Long Islander. Of course, having never met the man, we shared a common bond. Long Islanders sort of have that interconnectedness. It’s a small island but big in heart. I bought his book, the four hour work week. I read it and it became a manifesto for me. It was exactly what I was looking for. It wasn’t so much the idea of a 4 hour work week that caught my attention. It was the idea of being an entrepreneur. And I realized then that I should go balls to the wall and start a business. Only problem was…I had zero money. Absolutely no capital. Literally. I had a Chrysler 300, that I couldn’t pay at all (I learned a very valuable lesson “owning” that car…no one cares what you look like! Fabricating an image to “look” cool in front your peers is a foolish way to live life). Luckily for me, during that time of plight, a drunk driver crashed into my parked car in front of my parent’s house and totaled the Chrysler. The whole loan was wiped out and I received roughly $3,000.00. I took a portion of that money and I incorporated my business. The other portion went to student loans, and the last portion bought me a ticket to visit my brother in the San Francisco Bay Area (my second time to Cali, but my first time taking a flight by myself and my first time to San Fran area…I’m travel deprived). While there, my brother took me to San Francisco. I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, massive with the beautiful cliffs dropping off to the Bay. We ventured over to City Lights Book Store (I love the Beat Generation). I felt a sort of liberation. It’s amazing what traveling will do to a person’s consciousness. It broadens every aspect of the mind. San Francisco…that place is paradise. Big Sur…well, it’s no wonder why so many great literary artists took to that place.
Upon coming back to New York, I realized that I was going to have to face my fears; my debts, my inner struggles. I’m an underdog in this battle to win back my freedom. Thus, I began hustling, finding clients. I landed my first client in November 2011 and I tasted the money. I tasted the freedom. I was like a seawolf tasting its prey. I made more money working on my own this past year (not that it’s a lot, but it certainly is a valid sign that I’m headed down the right path) then I have all of those years in dead end jobs.
Which brings me to today. Nothing is determined in my life. I’m constantly being molded. I’m constantly learning and I embrace the experience. I just don’t want to live in an impoverished state any longer. I’ll do anything to become a better person. I’ll do anything to be a champion and make it to the top. The question isn’t how…it’s when.
In Conclusion, I never really had a mentor. I feel that this would be a perfect opportunity for me to bounce real ideas off of successful entrepreneurs. Perhaps you could be my mentor for 30 minutes.
It would be greatly appreciated.
Denny Robert — June 17th, 2012, 11:41 pm
The timing of this post is perfect. I currently work as an HR coordinator, and while it pays well I am tired of the cubical. I am in the midst of finding an ESL job in China so I can reduce my living expenses and work hours. With the extra time I will be able to focus on writing and internet marketing. I am very excited for where life is heading.
Hun — June 17th, 2012, 11:44 pm
Thank you for the post Tim.
I’m a college student finishing a b.sc and looking into medicine, but getting distracted by Sillicon Valley / tech entreneurship.
I’m envious of people like Tim, Reid Hoffman, and others that create things that millions love.
I love all the success stories and hype surrounding startups as it helps me picture myself pursuing this. I realize it’s easier to start a company now more than ever. All of that stuff is great and all, and again, I’m envious of people pursuing their businesses. Personally, I’m trying to force myself to be realistic and humble, and seek the most practical path. There’s the 1% that are smart, resourceful, ambitious, lucky etc.. while the rest that tried and didn’t cut it. I’ve done nothing of merit that would suggest I’m in the 1% and very little of my skills transfer to my desired career change. I’ve decided that I will work towards a conventional and reachable goal that is risk-averse (getting an MD), while working on a product (an app) on the side. I’ve decided not to quit my future day job.
Some of my thoughts and conclusions (written haphazardly) after reading the blog post are below. I would love to be told I’m wrong.
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So what this post is saying is no career is truly stable and one should prepare for “external shocks”.
I don’t fully agree with the “resilient” career being better than the supposed “fragile” career. Firstly, if the government worker or the magazine editor takes intelligent risks to better their position in case of possible disruption (follow your advice), they would be training their resiliency with the comforts of a stable income. This is assuming they will in fact lose their job. Also, what about the freelancers that are getting their asses kicked with the constant instability and obstacles of freelancing? The ones that fail as freelancers will go back to a stable or “fragile” job. So aren’t the ones that succeed in “resilient” careers naturally gifted with the traits of survival and resiliency?
Risk and stability ties into the college degree issue.
Lately, a lot of criticism has been placed in the necessity of a typical college degree (which I totally agree with). I like the idea of being prepared for the work force with a skill (engineering, science, etc..) and getting hired for that skill instead of a piece of paper. However, bachelor degrees are useful first round filters. Do you realistically see them going away in the next couple of years? Maybe in agile industries like tech, but not anywhere else. Current students like me are stuck with the status quo. Nowadays a BA or B.Sc is no guarantee, and getting a higher degree like a Masters is necessary to increase chances of employment in many fields.
Still, there are timeless degrees, yes? Medical degrees. Or maybe even law? Doctors will always be in demand as long as there are sick people. At least in North America, there will virtually always be a job there for a North American physician (perhaps you may have to practice in smaller town).
As a bonus, not only do you have domain expertise, you have the all-important paper that proves it and opens dozens of doors into different career paths.
Compare that with the meritocracy/”no degree” talk coming out of SVally (which I really want to believe). Sure, if you’re incredibly smart like Zucks or Gates and have built an incredible product that people are interested in, you can drop out. Or be incredibly brilliant and become a Thiel Fellow.
What about all the people whose efforts are ignored. Whether the thing you build sucks or just doesn’t grab investors’/employer’s attention. I hear “Similar Work Experience” + examples of your work can subsitute the lack of degree for job positions. However, what if the work experience doesn’t produce anything impressive? Using the 4 years to get a CS degree to get past the first filter in a Google job application or get directly recruited seems worthwhile and helps your chances.
[I heard some people with computer related degrees have trouble finding employment even with the supposedly huge demand from tech companies. Is this true? Isn't a lack of a degree a huge disadvantage assuming you're not the blessed 1%?]
Success seems to happen to the 1%. Alternative paths to success all seem to rely on the individual. Their intelligence, perseverance, luck, etc.. is it not arrogant and naive to think you are special and belong in the 1% when so many others have failed thinking the same thing? The argument to this would be that you should at least try. You can always recover and revert if you fail.
Here’s a scenario: Your original plan was to become a lawyer. You have a change of heart and drop out of college and bootstrap your iPhone app through freelance web work. As the years go on, your freelance business struggles to stay afloat (because it’s incredibly hard or external disruptions like cheap international outsourcing crush you), your iPhone app hasn’t worked (because customers don’t want it, App store does not like you, or the tech bubble bursts), and you’re approaching your thirties with debt (family, stability, and supporting your loved ones are becoming priorities). I think a normal person would give up and try to get a stable income, instead of trying to revert to the lawyer path. 4HWW gives you the tools and examples to redesign your life, but the individual has to have the smarts and focus to succeed.
Wouldn’t getting the law degree first and then starting work on an app be the smarter choice?
#####################################
TLDR:
I wish I was the 1% that is smart and resourceful enough to succeed in whatever they desire, but I have no evidence to support this. Therefore, I’m going down a conventional path to stability while working at breaking into the 1% on my downtime.
Zach — June 18th, 2012, 12:34 am
Before my comment for the contest, I want to challenge the view that “Unless you take frequent, contained risks, you are setting yourself up for a major dislocation at some point in the future.”
While I agree that “Today’s world is full of change and unpredictable disruption,” I would argue that such unpredictable disruption occurs in predictable areas.
That is, I know that employees with careers in the tech startup world are going to be rocked by volatility and disruptive technology, over and over again. For employees in tech, then, it is wise to branch out frequently, mitigating the long-term risk that comes with never taking short-term risks.
But what about CPAs?
I know, I know: “But the print industry seemed stable, and nobody pre-personal computer could have predicted that print would die.” That’s good supporting evidence for the premise here…but an important point is that the print industry was still dominated by people with “soft skills.”
I challenge anyone to offer a historic example of volatility that left employees with quantitative skills (engineers, accountants, etc.) wishing they’d better prepared themselves to “absorb shocks.”
What shocks? This post makes a very nuanced but important point…I’m just not sure that it applies to everyone. The reality is, many employees will never have to worry about hustling or taking risks because their livelihood is protected from shocks.
My risk:
After graduating with a degree in marketing last month, I am applying to teach English abroad for one year in southeast Asia (either South Korea, Japan, or Taiwan).
Many of my friends with undergraduate business degrees are going back to school in the fall to earn an MBA. Living in a foreign country instead, then, feels risky to me because I know I could be using the time to add another line on my resume, a pretty acronym to validate my business acumen and put next to my last name.
An important point about negativity bias: it’s at its worst when you go against what all your peers are doing. Not only do I worry what will happen if I’m making the wrong choice, wasting a year, foregoing a master’s degree, etc. – but I worry that everything will go wrong because I’m DOING SOMETHING UNCONVENTIONAL.
In reality, I consider the upside and I think that becoming conversationally fluent in a foreign language will differentiate me just as much as an MBA and open up opportunities down the road beyond the USA.
Meanwhile, I want to test various business ideas I have. If I can personally visit a product manufacturer in China (per the recommendation of a few Muse case studies), that would be great.
Finally: a note on risk and uncertainty. They are not always the same thing. I think that a risk–like investing in the stock market–always has uncertainty in the sense that I’m uncertain whether I will profit (desirable!) or take a loss (I don’t want that!)
…In life, however–unlike in the stock market–uncertainty doesn’t by definition involve risk. Risk implies the possibility that one of your predetermined “I don’t want that to happen” events might indeed happen “to” you. By contrast, I am excited to travel precisely because I’m not sure what is going to happen…and in my uncertainty, I don’t have an outcome I’m chasing with the “risk” of not getting there.
Taking career risks–or in life, embracing uncertain situations–begets a feeling of control over your own destiny. Uncertainty is inevitable; you can either pursue it intelligently or wait knowing it might turn everything upside down on you. And when I do choose a situation with uncertainty, like Peyton Manning choosing to play for the Denver Broncos then addressing questions about if it was the right choice:
“I make a choice,
Then I make it the right choice.”
Ian Chapman-Banks — June 18th, 2012, 1:10 am
This is so true – Its all about risk taking – I started life as a Pharma Sales guy in the North of England 20 years ago – By taking 4 risks – I have now worked for Xerox, Apple, Microsoft, Motorola and Dell in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai and now Singapore – So 20 years and 5 huge Technology giants in 5 great locations
– how did this happen? with four unconnected risk taking moments that decided the flow of my life events and scared the life out of me when I made the tough call
1) As a Phara sales guy in 1983 straight out of college I made a big bonus one year and instead of a holiday, car or house – I invested in a Cheese and Wine shop in Sheffield with my partner -worked weekends, evenings and all my holidays to learn the trade – I was young and did not need sleep – thats why apple hired me – more on that later – we also become runner up for young business person of the year and met prince Charles – made no money but learned retail inside out – sold out for nothing
2) In 1989 I was a bored Phara Sales guy that loved IT – so I took a 80% reduction( did not cover my mortgage ) in Salary to be Xerox sales guy, – I loved it became the top sales guy – the bets in the office is that I would fail in 3 months – It was hard and stressful my patch was the same area the move the Full Monty was based on and the same year
3) Xerox offered me a job in Dubai with a distributor just after the first gulf war that nobody wanted – but one way – I could no come back – so I jumped on plane with two suitcases became the top sales guy in the Middle East – so they sent me to China in 1996 to do it all again – again two suitcase on a plane no way back
4) in 1999 after 10 years with Xerox now in Hong Kong – Apple offered me a job as the retail guy in APJ – because of the Cheese shop in Sheffield – but as the headhunter said this Steve Jobs has just come back – it could be a disaster or it could be okay buts its a risk – your decision – so of course I thought I have to take the risk – whats the worst thing that could happen – they fire me but by then I know all about PC’s
Thats been my mantra for 20 years – take the risk – whats the worst thing that can happen – I get fired
Chris W — June 18th, 2012, 1:19 am
Totally agree with you guys, especially on the evolutionary aspects, which affects us in so many other ways as well… So here’s my “anthropology”:
I graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering just a few days ago. Until very recently, I was working as a part-time contractor for a reputable company, and was well on my way to becoming hired permanently. The company policy makes it very difficult to fire people once they get hired, which is part of the reason why many employess have been around for decades.
One day I got a call and was told that my contract had been terminated (30-day notice). Though my boss never officially admitted it, and my work was actually well-regarded, it must’ve had something to do with me walking into my boss’s office, telling him that because I’d like start my own business, I would like to continue working no more than part-time after graduation… Whatever the reason for ending my contract, it’s all in the past now…
So now that I’ve completed my degree and should be seeking a well-paid full-time entry-level position at a different company, I’ve spent the last few days focusing more on finding a part-time job, meaning that I’ll be poorer than ever … “What a waste!”, you think? Perhaps, but the biggest benefit I’ll be getting in exchange for my labor (or lack thereof) is something many top-executives can only phantasize about: time.
I will use these 20 “additional” hours of time per week to invest in myself, and build my own company.. The 4 Hour Workweek shall be my guide…
The reason why I’m taking this risk is because I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to design my own lifestyle (which is now, not 20-30 years from now). Sure, things could go wrong, and chances are I might fail several times. But there’s just so much to learn, that, worst case, the only reward will be the experience I gain from it… To me, that sounds like a risk worth taking.
Thanks for reading,
Chris
P.S.: Tim, this is all your fault – and I thank you for it : )
Andrew — June 18th, 2012, 2:26 am
This post require further research to dig into certain things that affect most individuals especially those who have financial related commitment (a family, a mortgage).
I strongly recommend taking further actionable insights to reduce career risk:
Career mismatch can be persistent if you do not know your strength and passion:
1. I strongly recommend that the individual use existing tools (MBTI, http://www.facebook.com/identifii, strengthfinder.com) to figure out their human capital assets.
Do note that human capital can be acquired overtime BUT you have an innate rate of learning on certain areas faster than others. Thus know what is it that you are good at.
2. Figure out the risks inivolved in transisting your career.
E.g. how much does it cost to give up a job and move into another? Family time? Money? Health?
Not everyone can afford to follow their passion if they do not manage other equally important aspects of your lives. To figure out this, please stay tune to future products that can quantify those risks and address them with measureable insights.
Linkedin.com, facebook.com and other similar social media sites have rich dataset but it is a pity that they did not hire a labor econometricians to tease out the above insights and help people enhance their lives with existing information.
There will be more interesting new apps that are coming into this market if these firms do not pay attentions to the above real news in resolving career mismatch persistency using information that have exist in their platform!
Ernest Fung — June 18th, 2012, 3:02 am
In theory, everything works. Everything makes sense. And everybody win.
But 98% of the people reading this post will do nothing. They’ll go back to their same lives and within a week everything will go back to normal. (they might talk about this once or twice within the next few days, but that’s it)
There are people that will do. And it doesn’t really matter if they read this or not. They’re just that type of person.
Eventually people will reach a point where they go ‘screw it, i’m just going to go for it.’ I haven’t read a single account of people being able to trigger this, but it’s not like posts like this aren’t useful.
Shut up, and get to work. Please.
Tanya — June 18th, 2012, 4:45 am
I found an interesting thing today: a way to keep my heart full. It isn’t with hugs or kisses, with having sex (although that does help), or with catering to myself, my needs, my wants. It was by donating $62 to see something cool that could possibly be done, be done. (See Seth Godin’s new Kickstarter project).
I’ll evaluate risk like this: if it is worth paying for the possibility of a certain product or service, than it will be worth paying for the actual product or service.
As for me, I’d like some help turning my website into a series of some sort. I’ve already quit the day job, but a 24 year old Assyrian woman needs a bit more practical guidance. I’m relatively abstract and full of ideas.
Ps: Tim, thanks for giving a girl a good push.
Patrice — June 18th, 2012, 5:38 am
Good post, and great idea to get people writing down goals/ ambitions… certainly helps you make them happen!
My risk is quitting a good and safe job in the very shaky banking industry and world economy. Having got married last year and had our first child 4 months ago, timing is challenging when I “should be” going for the safe options now, but I figure, if I don’t do it now, I will never do it, and wake up in 10 years time regretting/ resenting my life. So I’ve decided I’m going to go for it, change lifestyle to spend more time with the baby and my wife, as well as pursue other business ventures…
- What change am I making in the next 30-60 days?
After a lot of soul searching, I have handed in my resignation, I’m now half way through my 3 months notice period so will not be a salaried person before the end of the 60 day period!
I started this journey over 12 months ago, having made the decision on my 30th birthday to build the life I wanted, not accept the one I had. Cue lots of sould searching and self experimentation to make me better/faster/stronger, which like any self respecting internaut I recorded on a blog (see link on my name for the steps I took to get in a position to quit last month).
Over the past 12 months I have found ways to maximize my energy, motivation, get fit, learnt tons of useful skills, realize what’s important to me and regained control over my life. Guru’s like our Tim, Mark Sisson and Tony Robbins all helped on the journey (and will hopefully keep helping in the tough times). I also did lots of learning by doing, like setting a tan through polo shirt company called Patrice Wheeler just to try out creating a business, and a contact lens case with a mirror and date function built into it (so you never forget when you put your disposable lenses in!), very originally called lens date case, so I could try out crowdfunding. Learning by doing, by getting out there… a great concept.
- How am I thinking about the risks involved in this change?
I can really relate to the Rick Hanson quote and I spent ages over estimating all issues/threats/ road blocks, and did not focus on the upside of what I wanted to do: change of life to actually live life daily, not just exist. I recon when you have a strong enough goal and you really believe in it, the risks and threats diminish. Once you understand and accept your downside, you just have to get yourself in position and go for it.
So emotions have really fluctuated from “lets go, go, go!!”… to “what the hell are you doing throwing away what you’ve built!”. The reason for the blog were purely personal: record my trials and tribulations to give me something to look back on. Seeing how far I’ve come along has enabled me to realize I can take that crucial next step: quitting. The initial mountain involved in making this happen looks a lot less steep now I look back at it, which makes the road ahead (and risks associated) seem a lot less daunting.
Camila — June 18th, 2012, 5:44 am
Wow, I finally reached the end of the comments section! It seemed like it went on forever – which is so truly inspiring, to read about so many people taking risks in order to pursue their dreams and live happier lives.
This post was great, thank you guys. I think I’ve been taking risks for some time now. I graduated school last year with a honours BA in Communication Studies and Professional Writing. I originally applied for these programs thinking I wanted to get into advertising – I envisioned working for a cool marketing firm, full of young people, getting paid good money just to use my creative thinking talent. Now that I look back, it amazes me how my vision was to work for a company. Not to own anything, not to be wealthy, not to do anything out of the ordinary – simply to land a cool, well-paying job creating ads for products and corporations. I dreamed of being being an employee for the rest of my life. That’s what school taught me – that’s how the system taught me to think.
Gladly, I slowly woke up during my first 2 years of university. I think it was a combinations of spiritual epiphanies, with a hunger for wisdom, that led me to realize I wanted nothing to do with the advertising industry and with using my talents to trick people into buying things they don’t need.
I stayed in school because I didn’t know what else to do – and of course, I didn’t want to disappoint my parents. Plus, I have to say I enjoy learning so much, that going to school was always kind of fun for me. So I decided to make the best of my experience, since I’d have 2 more years to go anyway. I started taking extra courses about things I always wanted to learn about, like Celtic history and astronomy. I went on student exchanges to Italy and Thailand. I realized the world has so much more to offer. And I realized I had so much more to offer the world.
So, long story short, I have recently opened my own photography business (bellatrixphotography.com), after having the courage to quit my other meaningless part-time job at nightclubs to turn my lifelong passion into a career. And I have also partnered with two friends and launched a life coaching company targeting youth in transition. Yep – we want to inspire, motivate, and guide young people graduating from high school or college to travel more, identify their passions, and create a plan to pursue fulfilling career paths. Our vision for the company is so innovative that a lot of people just don’t get it. But those who do are immediately impressed by our willingness to take the risk of starting something like this. Our company is called WIDISM – wide + ism = the philosophy of living life wide, the principle of embracing new possibilities, the belief in being optimistic and open-minded, the practice of life-long, self-directed, experiential and experimental learning and development.
I’m only 24 years old but I already know that I will never again succumb to doing something that I hate or that has no positive effect on the world just to make money. My life is way too special, and so are my talents. And I’m committed to taking any risk necessary to ensure I can use my gifts to do good and to live a life I love.
I hope my story inspires others and other comments have inspired me today.
Thanks Tim, Reid, and Ben for the work you do!
Camila
Stephen U — June 18th, 2012, 5:48 am
I’m currently a mid-level manager with a major CPG manufacturer. I have spent most of my career successfully managing people in many different roles, as well as mentoring others on the skills to be a successful manager. I love working with people, helping them grow and watching them move on to be successful in other roles.
Though I have a stable, well-paying job, and like what I am doing, I don’t love it. I’m looking to make a career change that allows me to take my people and managerial skills and share them with others, which is where my passion really lies.
I would think this would require a transition to a consultant role or something similar. I haven’t done a true consultant role before, so I’m not sure how or if I can handle it, but it feels like the right change at the right time. I earn the majority of our household income as well, so the risk is shared by my wife, who is very supportive.
I’ve taken on some risk in my career, but I haven’t really challenged myself. I believe in myself, and I have the support around me. I’d like your support as well…invest in me and watch me soar.
Pete — June 18th, 2012, 5:49 am
I have always taken risks, it seems like the safest thing to do. Although I graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering I’ve been an actor, personal trainer, street performer and now I’m a professional magician and speaker – never an engineer! I walk the line between financial insecurity and personal realisation everyday – it risks what I have but not who I am.
I recently launched a personal and business development course for magicians, only 4 people can attend each event and the focus is all on what I can share. It’s live and in person, there’s no where for me to hide.
I have a well established reputation in the UK which brings with it expectations. As the day that I “open the doors” comes closer I’m feeling the fear of failure breathing down my neck………
Hayden M. — June 18th, 2012, 6:07 am
“To Risk”
by William Arthur Ward
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.
Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
The pessimist complains about the wind;
The optimist expects it to change;
And the realist adjusts the sails.
I think that sums it up nicely.
The crucial point that Ben and Reid make is the relationship between RISK and REWARD. Most people don’t take enough risk full stop but risk must be measured for reward or return otherwise the risk is foolish.
I am taking a calculated risk to build my new business and hope that Reid and Ben take a measured RISK to find out what it’s about to see what REWARDS lie ahead for us all!
Hayden.
Laurence — June 18th, 2012, 6:12 am
Reading the start of your post concerning our genetic material being ill adapted to risk, something did bother me in this idea that natural selection shaped the human brain just to stay alive long enough to reproduce and raise offspring. This really bothered me because I am in the process of making a very big (probably the biggest) risk in my carrier.
I’m also an evolutionary biologist and I know that the genomes (and consequently brains) of our cave ancestors are very much the same as modern humans. Are we therefore ill prepare to take risk ?
I started to think why do we have such big brain after all ? really just to avoid risk ?
To have big brain at a first place, the human baby needs to be born pre-term in order to pass the birth canal. Our very first step in life is an incredible risky journey that every mom and child is ready to take in order to provide the next generation of human with the unique capacity to think. We have such capacities not to avoid risk but on the contrary to take them : Thanks to the plasticity of the brain, human have colonized almost all the continents of this planets and adapted to most climates and challenges. Today, all the people on this planet are the descendants of these entrepreneurs that thousand of years ago took incredible risks.
Does this matter at all in the subject of risk ? Well, if we believe that our genetic material is ill prepared to take risk then you taking a risk means that you will have to go against your own nature. That thought to me is rather depressing and fatalistic because we can’t really change what we are made of.
But if we believe that risk is inherent to our very human nature, we are not only ready to take risk but also well adapted to the consequence of risk. Everyone have realized that, in stressful situations, we adapt and innovate much quicker. This feature is a robust program of our brain to adapt and not some sort of response that goes against our own nature. Knowing this distinction is key to be willing to take risk.
Today I have quit my job as a associate professor in evolutionary biologist. I had a comfortable and successful job but now it is time for me to move onto something else : my goal is to move to Boston and start a new genomic company. I can go more into the details of this long process but I think what is more useful to known is what allowed me to take that risk and this is mainly two things :
My success in my carrier (I’m leaving while I am at the top of my previous carrier)
but also (and maybe more importantly) the conviction that taking risk is indeed hardwired in my genome.
Alexander Boland — June 18th, 2012, 6:31 am
I think the real key here is to understand that comfort is the biggest resilience-killer. We tend to think of things in terms of “resource management”, and think that by working a high-paying job and not moving out of our parents’ house, we are saving resources that give us more options. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t quit work that way.
This post actually reflects the paradox I’ve been dealing with for a while and the conclusion I eventually came to. I’ve always had big dreams, but in recent years the economic uncertainty of the world made me wonder whether it’s more important to seek job security and a lower economic footprint. It eventually hit me that there’s no paradox at all; the conventional route to “job security” is far more dangerous than the personal and economic risks of being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs may not save as much money or have a predictable stream of income, but for that same reason they’re constantly adapting.
The more complex a world we live in, the more our safety relies on our ability to adapt; and we live in a much more complex world than ever before.
Alex — June 18th, 2012, 6:35 am
Wow, a lot of comments. I’ll try to keep this brief. I’m 26 and currently an MS.MBA student (MS is in Information Systems.) Big fan of Ben’s, having read his book several years ago and his blog for a while now, too (even commented on a post a year or so ago defending higher education and exchanged an email or two with him.)
Leading up to grad school, I was working on my own start-up, complete with a team of developers. I decided to go back to school to get a more structured education and perhaps more stable career path. I’m thinking of working once more on my start-up, but I’m afraid this will put to risk a nice, stable career path that I’ve set myself up for. Some help would be really appreciated.
Thanks to Tim, Reid, and Ben for this post/offer.
Bryan — June 18th, 2012, 7:53 am
Hey Guys,
It is redundant by this point, but thanks for the great post.
I really enjoyed the dichotomy of humanity in the past to humanity today. I have always perceived this shift from body to mind in regards to the individuals concern. As outlined in the stories of humanity 15,000 years ago the concern of people was preservation of the body. Whether is was exterior threats or fulfilling the basic needs in life. Overtime and most prominently in todays society we are more concerned about the preservation of our minds.
I think this can be attributed to something Daniel Pink wrote, which said we are in a world of abundance and automation. We no longer have to worry about the threat or lack of our basic needs. This brings me to the risk in my life. I have always been fascinated with the notion a healthy body, brings a healthy mind. Just as Richard Branson said, when you need to focus your mind, work out.
Working in the finance sector in NYC is a tedious and repititive career that does no good for the mind or the body. I have been calculated in the risks taken up to this point, whether it be sabbaticals or seminars. These risks have allowed be to travel to 20+ countries and be exposed to cultures and all they have to offer. Between a mix of friends and family I have been presented a unique opportunity to try and expand and build health conscious drinks.
Firstly, we have tested and experimented with a native peruvian liqour being infused with a mix of local superfruits. (Think Veev). This is expanding on a similar established product.
Secondly, which I am much more excited about is, a proprietary blend of these superfruits used in a health drink. Something that is truly good for you, unlike products that claim to be “vitamins” and provide “life”. This is something that we hope to make availble to the general public.
The risky part, is that capital needed to break into these industries in the States is quite high. I am aiming to move to Peru in the coming months to test the market and hopefully expand back to the US. This will require me to permanently leave my steady job, and also uproot myself culturally. Just as you said in the article I am justifying this overseas adventure as if I fail professionally, I will grow immensely on the personal side.
I would love your help with a push on the professional aspects of this risky endeavor. If it doesn’t happen it is great to see the insighful responses and strides people are making to get to the life they imagined.
Thanks,
Bryan
Dennis Keohane — June 18th, 2012, 8:02 am
Thanks for not only presenting the opportunity to discuss our personal career/risk stories, but also giving us the chance to help each other out by showing how many of us are in the same boat.
**********************
I am in need of some major mentoring.
I have been teaching in a private school for 8 years now, eighth grade English, and I am good at my job, I find teaching boys about literature and life VERY rewarding, and, my career path is stable. The school I work at is full of teachers and administrators who have been here for between 20-40 years.
However, I am not happy. Because people stay here so long, there are very few opportunities for career advancement. Also, although I am trying something new almost ever time I get in front of a class, I am not challenged by my job and don’t find the work rewarding because of the mundane nature of subject teaching.
I am in full blown pivot mode. I know I need to make a change, yet I have the very heavy risk of change weighing me down at times.
My pay is not very good, which I have been told is not going to change. I have a growing family: two kids under 3, a great wife who is also an educator, and a mortgage that is probably more than we should be paying. For the financial stability of my family, I cannot stay in the same job, and I cannot quit and risk the instability of joblessness. Oh yeah, because we both work, we will have the double cost of day care to deal with in the fall.
So, I have been trying to find a different path. I have discussed some entrepreneurship ideas with colleagues but they all seem to fade away. I have been trying to make connections at companies that seem like cool places to work in the Boston area, jobs in tech, marketing, sales, and education. However, I don’t have much experience outside of teaching. I do earn some nods and laughs when I have spoken to people in other fields and tell them that I have a great deal of experience in sales/marketing/product evangelism: I do it everyday, selling Shakespeare and having my customers come back wanting more, etc…
I feel stuck. I am trying to break out of the rut I am in, (I am also trying to finish a thesis on Thomas Pynchon to earn my ALM degree from the Harvard Extension School), but I feel constantly thwarted by my lack of experience and the feelings that sometimes rise that I do have a good job (I know deep down that I don’t have the right job for me – at times my creativity and experimentation in the classroom have been penalized; ex. putting my desks in a discussion circle is not standard practice.) Another aspect tying me to my current job is the carrot that soon my kids could attend the school-which is a good school- for free…
I have thought about creating my own job here, going to the headmaster with a job discription and everything. There are plenty of areas that need guidance and someone to run-yet I feel I am stuck and pigeonholed.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Charles McLaughlin Piche — June 18th, 2012, 8:53 am
Hi there, I just moved from Canada to Spain and just started to work as a location-independent SEO Consultant. The risk is already taken since I’m now in Barcelona since a week and just starting to experience it.
I would have define my move as a high risk a couple months ago but now I know the rewards will outweigh the things (including a job offer) I had to let down to do this move.
I’m currently working on my new website branded as location-independent SEO consultant. Being mentored by Ben and Reid would be awesome
Charles
James Schaum — June 18th, 2012, 9:12 am
The idea of risk is very insidious. If you give into risk (i.e. avoid it at all costs) then things that would not normally be seen as risky take on an aura of risk in ones mind.
The thing that I would most like to change in the next 30-60 days is that I would like to get a new Internet based business started. I have read “The 4 Hour Work Week” several times and although I know in my heart that the ideas are sound, there is something in my head that has kept me from pursuing my dreams of total freedom.
If I had to boil it down to one thing it would be the idea of risk. I keep having questions like:
What kind of business would be the best for me to start?
What if I put a lot of time into an idea and it fails?
Can I really make money doing something like this?
I think I have become so risk averse that I see everything other than my current norm as a risk. I would love to be able to break out of this self perpetuating hell I have stumbled into. It would be great to have someone to help nudge me in the right direction and get me started. Having someone with experience to guide me through the start up phase and get me moving in the right direction would be great..
I really enjoyed this article. Thank you for the great information!!!
Sincerely,
James Schaum
Michelle — June 18th, 2012, 9:17 am
Hello,
Thank you for this inspiring post. My name is Michelle, I live in NYC, I have three children. The oldest is 6 and my youngest is 5 months. My middle son has cerebellar hypoplasia/cerebral palsy and he is just amazing. I’ve worked at my existing company for over 11 years now. The company is amazing. It’s been so comfortable that I’ve made it impossible to take risks. A few months ago our good friends in Cali presented my husband and I with a great opportunity to move to Cali (something we’ve always wanted to do) to run a baby store and it’s website. We were so excited, but after seeing the financials we quickly retreated back to the safety of our 9-5 jobs. After returning to work from maternity leave, I made a request to go part time so I can spend more time with my children and focus on alternative therapies for my son. The request was granted, I would be part time with all benefits. The day before I was to start my new schedule I was told by my boss that they decided to change the offer, I would lose all benefits and would be a 1099 instead. We thought about it and decided maybe it was not the right time to go part time since we needed the benefits. Pretty much our fears has gotten the best of us. Later in the week, I had lunch with a good friend of mine who introduced me to Stuart Wilde’s teachings specifically The Mastery of Money seminar that is on youtube. He presents things in a really interesting way and his words deeply resonated with me. I bought all his audio books, meditations and kindle books shortly after. I started to practice meditations, affirmations and kept an eye out for signs of what I really want to do.
One afternoon, I was in the children’s section of the library with my children and there was a book called Get Rich Click by Marc Ostrofsky. I just glanced at the book thinking what is this book doing in the children’s section. I finally picked it up after ignoring it for a half hour. This was just what I needed, I read the book and thought about the baby business once again and started to really see myself running a shop and website. I reached out to the guy and he was still interested in selling it. I devised an action plan to convince our future partners and my husband to go for it, I stirred a lot of excitement. This is still the beginning stages and we are working on negotiating on the price of the business. I’m a huge Seth Godin fan and I feel I can implement the principles he writes about into this business and use the tools from Tim’s 4hww book and some of Ramit Sethi’s strategies. I do feel we will be successful with the boat loads of great knowledge I’ve already received from these amazing writers but if I am granted this mentoring opportunity it would be the cherry of all cherries, the gravy of a gravies. Thanks for the opportunity and the Michelle before the Stuart Wilde books would’ve never left this comment. So I thank you Stuart for your words and my actions.
Justin Davis — June 18th, 2012, 9:30 am
Thank you Tim, Reid, and Ben for collaborating on this spectacular post! Double-thanks for this awesome opportunity!
At the moment, I have my own graphic design company. Not making a whole lot of money, but for now it’s paying the bills. My older brother, Mark, is a Sales/Finance Manager at a car dealership. He is GREAT at what he does, and has gotten ” the art of the sale” down to a science. We recently decided that with all of his experience, expertise, and a passionate desire to share these techniques and strategies with others, that we should create a seminar for people to attend and learn. Now, we are developing lesson-plans for the event, dvds, audio, and other materials to serve our niche of sales professionals.
Sidebar: I stopped by Mark’s job last week and before leaving I overheard something that I believe I was meant to hear. It was my brother’s boss. In a brusque tone he scolded Mark with these words that I will never forget; “Listen, I don’t work for you, you work for me. It’s my way or the highway.” This sparked in me a new passion to help get my brother’s training/seminar off the ground. He is too smart and talented to be subject to that crap! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again!
Mike — June 18th, 2012, 9:58 am
After failing in a previous start-up, I’m on plan B and having gotten back on my feet financially, I’m pursuing plan – A, and volunteering at a start-up robotics company one day a week, so no-pay/high learning. Along with that I’m reaching out to the local robotics community and other entrepreneurs to gage interest on a robotics start-up.
Is this really risk? I’m only gambling with my time and in reality networking and just setting up a safety net for my next potential job.
Rose E. — June 18th, 2012, 10:43 am
Hi, my name is Rose and I’m quickly approaching my thirties. As a Gen-Y, I sometimes look at where I’m at in my career and wonder why I’m not farther. Then I remember that I have been learning as I go, on the job and through my own learning and development for the past 6 years. I have built and managed HR departments for two small companies in very different industries and when I think about how I got to where I am in my career, I have to be proud because I did it on my own – though I received guidance from mentors when I found myself in unfamiliar territory.
Still, as a Gen-Y or simply as an ambitious person, I’m always looking ahead for more.
In next 30-60 days I want to see myself in a start-up, this time in the tech industry up in the bay area. I want to surround myself with innovative thinkers and people who have a vested interest in the company that they are in. I want to work together and help create an innovative, motivated and FUN environment where ideas flow easily and nothing is out of the question. Basically, I want to help create/contribute to the environment that makes people excited and happy to come to work.
My risk in this move would be a physical move from the people and place that I have been for the past 14 years. I would be leaving behind my network and mentors and going to a place where the only security net I have would be that flights home aren’t too expensive. It’s funny, as I’m writing this the feeling of anxiety far outweighs my actual reasons to fear all of this risk. I have a plan A and a plan B. Plan Z would be to move back and call the whole things a learning experience if it didn’t work out.
I admire those people who have a goal in mind and go for it without worrying about many of the details. Hitting the reset button (or the fast forward button) on your life and jumping into something that has more pros than cons, more reward than risk, it should be a no brainer. We just have to let go of our fear of failure and the discomfort of change. Financially I can do this, even if I ended up moving back home after a year. Leaving people behind, that’s what makes me hesitate, but there is little risk in losing people.
Aspen — June 18th, 2012, 10:51 am
For over 10 years, my life was dictated by a steady job; by expectations put on me by school, my family and, of course, myself. At first, it was fulfilling and satisfying. I achieved goals and made things happen! I was streaking to my goal very quickly and couldn’t wait to arrive!
Then I did. I made it to that place where “all of my career aspirations would miraculously come together and offer me up this extremely rewarding and ever-fulfilling work environment and how could I ever want more”? Once I was there, though, all I felt was drained and detached and disinterested.
What now? I had spent so much energy and so much time focused on this one goal and now I didn’t even like being there? What was wrong with me? How ungrateful I was to myself and why couldn’t I just appreciate the achievement I had, well, achieved?!
Over the next few years, I floundered with no goal. Being a person who needs something to reach for, who had always had somewhere to “go”, I felt vulnerable and confused.
Then, this past year, I was employed at a small company with a scrappy startup attitude (even though they were quite well established) that was bursting with raw potential. My goals there were lofty and ambitious and I felt like I was back! Here is my inspiration! Let’s take this place to the next level, I screeched! The problem was, that next level was my vision for the company, not the owners’ vision for the company. This “inspiration” I had found, was mine alone, I was forced to recognize.
Once I admitted this, a few things happened. I realized in order to truly find fulfillment, I had to invest in me. I had to stop looking at a full time corporate job as the goal, as it was obviously not fulfilling my needs. But I had to be calculating and decisive and make an intelligent decision that wouldn’t put in me economic ruin.
That’s when I looked around me and saw all of these inexperienced but ultra-talented and “hungry” co-workers. That’s when I started to see them as part of my calculated exit and my next goal.
I do need to say at this point that I am not risk-averse. I have taken many risks in my life, but when it came to my career, I always took the route I “should” take.
One day, I woke up and decided I was going to take the road everyone was telling me lead to certain disaster. I was going to quit my full time “stable” job and go out on my own–with no promises of success and no real leads to any sort of real work–with only an idea. I thought the hardest part was going to be walking out the door on my job. Turns out, the hardest part is now– everyday overcoming my negativity bias and convincing myself that this will work out.
Because it has to. I’m more fulfilled now than I’ve ever been.
Jordan Bishop — June 18th, 2012, 11:27 am
Over the past two months, I’ve been looking to transition out of my current career (Accounting) into public speaking. I’m highly passionate about homelessness, and even slept outside on my school campus for 5 Days (raising $15,000) to garner awareness for homelessness in youth. I’m not quite sure how to break into the public speaking industry, though.
I see this as a risk, but not one that I can’t overcome. I have been cold-calling some of my favourite public speakers lately, and have had great success in getting in touch with them and talking about how they broke into the industry etc. What I see as my major barrier right now is an opportunity to demonstrate my speaking abilities in front of a credible audience, so I am currently devising a way to make that happen.
- Jordan
Troy — June 18th, 2012, 11:29 am
I’m 27 with an MBA degree and working and studying to earn my CFA charter. I’ve been married for almost a year to an amazing woman and looking to start having a couple kids soon.
- The change that I want to make in my career in the next couple months is to find a new opportunity in the finance field. My current position is very administrative and bureaucratic. I want to be able to apply some creativity in my work and enjoy a little more freedom to make decisions on my own. I find portfolio management and research very interesting which is why I decided to go through the CFA program. While I believe education is important it is nothing without experiences to apply it to which is why I’m looking for a new opportunity to gain the type of career experience I want.
- Honestly, I do have negativity bias in my thinking towards this goal. For example, the finance industry is flooded with talented people from Ivy League schools and having not graduated from one I realize that I have to do that much more to be noticed. After reading The Four Hour Work Week and having this article reinforce that mentality, seeing that the worse case scenario is survivable in most cases shows that it is not something I should feel afraid of. I am prepared to take risks that are beneficial to me in the long-term not just for my career but my life as a whole.
Tyler Bel — June 18th, 2012, 11:31 am
In the next 30 days I plan to approach a global corporation, Linkedin to be exact, with a concept that many feel can help leverage their business to an entirely new level, take market share away from others giants in the social media landscape, as well as change the way people network for business locally and globally.
There are people who think I might be insane for what I’m doing, but I personally don’t feel that we get anywhere in life by keeping our ideas to ourselves, or by approaching partnerships with a greedy mindset. I want to share my idea because there is a need right now that isn’t being filled and a company out there that can fill the hole. My theory is, why not work with the best and brightest in the industry?
At this stage, I have developed a PowerPoint deck that clearly explains the concept. Additionally, I have been creating my team, including strategic alliances. I know it’s risky to approach a company that can take your idea and squash you in a hot second, but I also know that sometimes the risk is worth the reward.
Honestly, I would just like to see this idea executed and mainly ensure that I’m protected legally. However, I differ from most people in the digital IP sector in that I don’t feel I should create a standalone venture in hopes of being purchased some day. I know who I created this for, and I would just like the opportunity to prove that it can work.
Brent Greenberg, MD — June 18th, 2012, 11:41 am
I was a family physician for 12 years and became burnt out of being the rope tugged on by the insurance industry on one end, and government unrealistic expectations and requirements on the other. I was getting home later and later to try to make ends meet and becoming overly frustrated. After reading the 4 hour Work Week, I decided I did not want to spend the remaining 25 years of my work life suffering in an industry that had no solid direction or vision. I sat down and wrote out the idealized life for myself and my wife and kids. I still wanted to practice medicine because I love it, but under my own terms, and lifestyle. I discovered the world of Varicose Vein disease treatments. No residency exists for this specialty. I essentially cut my pay to 1/3 of what I was making so that I could work part time in family medicine while train with a doctor already experienced in vein treatments. I worked for free for this doctor and in return, saw patients for her which allowed her to make more money without paying me. After 3 years, I’ve switched my career to varicose vein disease treatment. I only work 4 days a week. No weekends, no holidays, no night call, and take 5 weeks vacation. I make 4 times more money than I did in my best year as a family doctor because I discovered a growing niche industry with few qualified providers. I’m so much happier, I could cry, and laugh. What I’d like to do now is continue the momentum by creating a passive income that requires less of my participation so I can travel more with my family. I’m interested in finding ways to use my experience to market something in the field of varicose veins that allows me to earn money without being present. Thanks for reading! — Brent
Parag Dulam — June 18th, 2012, 12:07 pm
Hi guys,
I am an iPhone Developer from Pune,India. I have been through the concept of “LOW PAY HIGH LEARNING” thing and I have to tell you that it feels incredible even if you are paid less. We get a lot of knowledge which helps you survive and speak up when in need. Sometimes people even rely upon your judgements.I want to tell you that I was really happy when the post said “Take the risks that other people dont tend to” because (honestly) I used to bunk my college lectures for 2 main reasons :
1. I didn’t understand a single word that was taught in college.
2. Other students attended it even if they did not understand anything that was taught.
But did my engineering with average grades(which is ok for me).Further, the difference between the Resilient and Fragile Careers. I believe I want to be stronger for which I would like to have a career like that of the real estate agent rather than that of a salaried employee. The overall post tells us to live better and to be stronger in our entire life, I guess. Would love to hear more from you guys.Will keep me motivated.Thanks
–Parag Dulam
Barbara Cox — June 18th, 2012, 12:12 pm
Hi- Here are my answers to why I should win this contest -
What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days?
I have been offered a part-time consulting position in San Francisco -I’d be commuting from San Diego, yes every week, hopping on a plane Tuesday morning and flying back Thursday evening to be with my family. This would be a chance to grow an organization that is forward thinking (the organization cares for the elderly in a more humane way than other models). Hey- we are all going to get old some time, and we as a society better use our business skills to develop some place that we’d want to stay when we get old – right? . I’d get to apply and grow my business skill muscle and help the world be a better place at the same time. The mentoring would benefit not only me but all the families and others involved in the organization – it will have a large scale impact.
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
It will be exciting and a great growth experience. Commuting will be hard at times but I have friends in start ups in San Fran -lots of energy and enthusiasm for new concepts and ideas.
Barbara Cox — June 18th, 2012, 12:19 pm
To add to my above comment – in my coaching sessions with Reid- I’d love help connecting to the best companies in which to present ‘Brown Bag Lunch’ seminars on Insights into dealing with Aging Parents and similar topics. Also, brainstorming on how to develop socially responsible profit centers – win-win.
Thanks!
Mike — June 18th, 2012, 12:21 pm
Reid/ Ben/ Tim,
As succinct as possible/ cliff-notes version:
What change do you want to make in the next 30 – 60 days?
- Implement a strategy to exit my current job by generating income ‘on the side’ (sales consulting, contract work, app dev, etc.). Potentially finding a different job that excites me in the process.
How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
- I have a wife and kids, I’m the sole bread winner and have been for nearly 15 yrs – my risk is becomes theirs too.
- Without a college degree or formal training I have climbed the ranks within a sales organization over the last 10 years and now hold a senior leadership role. I feel like I painted myself into a corner, one company, one industry and now have all the expenses of a ‘successful’ career man (mortgage, cars, pets, vacations that my family attends without me). I want to own my own business or earn money doing things that I enjoy but I can’t afford to take the financial hit (I could handle it, but my family has grown to enjoy the life they have today).
- I can’t play the corporate game for another 30-40 years, I’ve missed too much of my kids’ lives already.
- I have skills and talents that are underutilized in my current environment and I have very little free time/ resource to invest in entrepreneurial ventures that inspire me and others, although I have taken a few swings at things.
Thanks so much, I hope I get the chance to connect.
Mike
Agaponzie — June 18th, 2012, 1:11 pm
Risks are only bad if you are afraid of them. They key to true success is mastering your will. If you have mastered your will, then you can approach ‘risk’ with no fear and with complete confidence in your ability to handle the situation no matter the outcome. With this will power in hand, a ‘risk’ ceases to be risky, but simply an opportunity. Your will power allows you to tame the wolf and have impeccable judegement about the river. Should you still fail, your will allows you to fight the wolf, or swim like hell. Either way, you have mastered yourself and your interactions with the world, allowing yourself to get the most out of every experience until the end.
Kerra — June 18th, 2012, 1:32 pm
Thanks Ben and Reid for offering this great opportunity.
I am reading “The Start Up of You” while in the midst of a mid-career level pivot. My background is in journalism, politics and public relations.
The logical pivots include: external affairs, health care communications, content development & strategy, and brand development.
Moving in the direction of one or more of these pivots will certainly put food on the table for me and in the kitty bowl for my orange tabby, Oscar. But it would be playing it safe and I’ve done that for far too long.
I would like to cultivate e-marketing initiatives in developing countries. My past volunteer work has included helping to bridge the digital divide in Ghana and marketing a stove in Honduras that improves lung capacity while reducing the carbon footprint.
Do I work for myself or do I reach out to existing companies who do this? How do I even find out who they are? Is this a side venture I work on while employed at one of the more traditional pivots or do I go whole hog?
The risk seems so overwhelming, especially given the need to eat and feed Oscar, that winning the contest would provide tactical, strategic and motivational support. Any help you could give would be appreciated.
Kind regards,
Kerra
Andre — June 18th, 2012, 1:40 pm
At the moment I work in the Netherlands for the European division of a US company. I have a permanent contract, a good salary and a job that I made my own in the last two years. … So you could say that I’m in a very comfortable place right now. But therein lies the problem. I reached a point in my job, where the new things I can learn are only incremental improvements. Plus I have a plan B (to use a term from your book) that I want to develop. Therefore I am working very hard at the moment to:
1) move to Berlin, Germany (the city offers lots of opportunities to develop my skills for my plan B) and
2) switch into another industry (opportunity to learn new skills for my plan A)
This move back to my native country brings some risks with it (giving up a permanent position) and some financial downsides (e.g. jobs in Berlin are not as well paid as in the Netherlands). But the upside potential is significantly larger, as the city itself offers multiple opportunities to pivot into a new direction if necessary.
At the moment things look very well and I could be moving to Berlin in as little as a month and switch from the retail industry into the renewable energies sector. (I work in a Finance position that is very similar accross industries.)
Ana V. W. — June 18th, 2012, 2:09 pm
Hi. Thank you for this post.
I am a biologist who lives in Central America. Biology is one of the careers that has more unemployed professionals not only in Latin America but in many countries around the world as well.
I am currently working as a professor in an university. However, I am not a stable employee there and I’m only paid certain months. I also work as a freelance Science editor for a company which publishes children’s textbooks.
Approaching the 40s, it’s difficult to deal with this kind of financial uncertainty; that’s why I decided to make a move. In the next 30-60 days I will work with an online marketing coach in order to create an online business. I will dedicate several hours per week to finish a product in 2 months. On the other hand, I would also like to stop working at my current university and find a stable position in another university, and for that I will start searching for an open position.
These moves won’t be very risky, because I won’t neglect my current jobs. I don’t need to invest much, just time. Nonetheless, I am a bit afraid that the new online business doesn’t take off as I expect, because of my lack of background in marketing. I definitely need a good guidance.
Thank you,
Ana.
Greg Nance — June 18th, 2012, 2:12 pm
Thanks for another excellent post, guys! I’ve read the book twice now and am always inspired to dive back in.
I recently finished business school in England and am embarking on my first start-up. We’re building an online university admissions marketplace that will pair applicants from India and China with advisors at US and UK schools. Tons of fun and some solid traction.
To celebrate the end of my time at Cambridge I embarked on an Alpine adventure. I just returned from Mont Blanc where I free-solo-climbed the Italian face (no harness/ropes + no teammate on a challenging route). It was a great experience and reminded me why I love the mountains.
In the next few years I aim to break into the world of sponsored high-altitude mountaineering. To do so it’s crucial that I build the right track record and network and both these take time. I am all-in on the start-up but am aiming to carve out the necessary time blocks for a couple major ascents each year to adequately prepare myself. Luckily, the team is Seattle-based so the Cascades are just a short drive away but there will be farther flung outings.
There are several risks to balancing start-up life with mountaineering. My team is seeking angel and VC funding and they are unlikely to be thrilled that the CEO is aiming to take a month of vacation each year to pursue an unrelated interest. My team has been super encouraging of my passion for the mountains. Invariably, teams hit roadblocks along the way and I’m concerned that their opinion will sour in those times of stress.
So far I’ve dealt with these risks by investing a lot of time managing expectations. I reiterate that I do much of my best thinking in the mountains and that I’ll come back will the batteries recharged. I have assured prospective investors that I am taking controlled risks and that I can and will buckle down when necessary, even if it means cancelling a climbing expedition.
I’d really enjoy hearing any of your thoughts on work/life balance + long-term career planning.
Cheers,
Greg
Mike Park — June 18th, 2012, 2:19 pm
I want to find a new job. I’m a 21 year old college dropout. I wonder where I can find a good paying job
Chase Thompson — June 18th, 2012, 2:25 pm
Hi Ben & Reid,
My name is Chase Thompson. I’m a mortgage banker in San Antonio, Texas. I got married a few years ago, just had a baby 7 months ago, and I hate my job.
It pays very well, and I’m amazingly fortunate, but I’m afraid to take risks because I have the only income in my household.
My wife is very supportive, and wants me to find another job/career/opportunity, but I’m scared. I’m scared it won’t work. I’m scared there will be a hiccup between opportunities, if one comes, and I won’t be able to feed my family.
It’s crazy to think about being this scared, my opportunities should be endless, but with my wife and daughter at home relying on me, its tough.
I want to try and get a job at Rackspace. They’re headquartered here, but I’m not a software engineer. My real specialty is media creation, specifically video. And, I think they’re missing a huge opportunity with their marketshare for content creation. I love watching Scoble as much as the next guy, but I want to push them farther.
Reading this post, then reading more about you guys, and your stories, I’m going to take my chances! I’m going give it just a few days to see if you pick me, but if not I’m still going to try.
Thank you for the courage and motivation. Here’s to taking intelligent career risks.
Cheers!
Chase
Marcus — June 18th, 2012, 2:45 pm
I’m currently living out the risk taking as a result of my career change. I am a former Walt Disney Imagineering executive. The rise to that level I learned quickly to take on “extra credit assignments” I did all the dirty work. This was plan to gain experience across the company in Ride Engineering, Audio Animatronics, Project Management, and Creative Development. I even conceived and hosted a global sourcing summit with other divisions of the company when I came back from a 18 month assignment in Hong Kong, so think I have instinctively applied these tactic throughout my career.
Two years ago, I chose to leave the salary, stock options, and bonuses of the world I had build for a more entrepreneurial adventure chasing resort development in Libya. Revolutions started in Libya seven days before we were to sign a $30M contract. I had risked a very nice corporate job for pursuits and and equity share in a 3rd world country.
I’ve pivoted to opening my own company that specializing in theme park and themed entertainment development and project management. The first year has been spent doing odd consulting jobs but the real goal is develop and execute a major themed entertainment project. As recently as today there may be a possibility to acquire a moth balled theme park and resurrect it.
In the next 30-60 days I would love to get meet potential investors/partners, put together an assessment of the opportunity. With some seed money (less $1M), I hope to begin that feasibility phase.
Our strengths are in developing and executing the plan; however, our weakness is finding investors.
In short our plan “A” continues to be develop our connections with Real Estate Developers and Owners (strengthening our weak relationships) which we hope will lead to leading a major project through the pipeline. Plan “B” is to merge or partner will design firms allowing the joint venture to share are 2/3 or the pie. Plan Z is to default to straight consulting and/or moving back into the sector by rejoining a corporate owner.
Personally the risks are truly lifestyle risks. At the moment, all the capital is personal and it likely will run out within the next 6-8 months absent another funding source or increased consulting opportunities. That said, I’m not leveraging my home or putting the kids college fund at risk
D. Ha — June 18th, 2012, 3:53 pm
I left my 6 figure job one year ago to grow my current company. (Retail stores).
Company is growing but not fast enough.
1. I currently have an APP in development.
2. I am also pitching a TV show I wrote to Networks.
3. Just starting an Innovative Vending company.
4. Multiple Product ideas that need to be tested or put into production.
A lot to do with very little experience with highly productive people. I would love to see how you guys do it.
Surrounded by the well fed and risk averse.
D. Ha
Delisa Toole — June 18th, 2012, 4:38 pm
I completed “The Start-up of You” a last month. It completely changed the course of my life. The chapter on Risk was a standout. I am a mother of two twenty something’s and have spent most of parenthood fretting over the worst case scenario’s playing out in my mind. After reading the ‘risk’ chapter, it made perfect sense. I know first hand the dynamic of thinking the worst and the worst never playing out. I originally picked up the book to read – to have the ‘information’ tucked away in my brain to debrief with my two adult children. I quickly realized this book was for me. I was a part of a start-up 20 years ago.
2011 included moving away from my job at that 20 year old (start-up), searching out a new direction and losing 97 lbs. So much in my life has changed. But at the core of who I am, is a creative pioneer spirit born to be a part of new things. I just never dreamed the new thing would be ME. So that is where I am headed, a new start-up where I and my talents, are basically the product. You can not believe how risky that is for a person. It is so much easier to hide behind a product and 97 lbs.
The Start-up of You is my bible for this new venture. I am challenged to embrace once again the thrill of risk, and shed the fragility that our brains are hardwired to signal. The world economy seems to be screaming to hold onto anything stable, but that will only induce survival. The thrivers will most likely come to the risk-takers.
Ben Casnocha — June 19th, 2012, 8:01 am
@Delisa – Thanks for the great comment. Can you email me at ben@casnocha.com? Have a follow up question for you (unrelated to the contest).
SHARKMAN — June 18th, 2012, 4:48 pm
WANTED: SHARKMAN AND MANTAGIRL NEED YOUR HELP DITCHING LUCRATIVE CAREERS IN TRAVEL/TOURISM TO CREATE A STARTUP TO HELP OTHERS FIND THE COOLEST ADVENTURE TRAVEL JOBS IN THE WORLD. AND THE RISK? … ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WE’RE TALKING ABOUT JUMPING AWAY FROM THE SAFE HAVEN OF A PAYCHECK STEADY SHORELINE AND INTO THE SHARK INFESTED WATERS OF START-UPS AND THE E-WORD [ENTREPRENEURISM]. BUT RISK IS OUR MIDDLE NAME – CHECK OUT OUR Manifesto & Principle #5 – Embrace Risk. ALSO ON THE MAP IS A ONE-YEAR, ROUND THE WORLD TRIP – ON NO MONEY DOWN – TO CREATIVELY DEMONSTRATE TO THE WORLD THAT YOU DON’T NEED A BIG BANKROLL TO TRAVEL THE GLOBE. AND OF COURSE THE KICK ASS ADVENTURE JOURNAL CUM HOW-TO GUIDE MASQUERADING AS A BOOK THAT WILL FOLLOW
INTERESTED??? MAN, YOU SHOULD BE!
Christos S — June 18th, 2012, 4:50 pm
Well let’s start, I live in Greece.
If that’s not risky enough, I am 29 and I am a freelance musician, which is in the risky jobs that you described already and a lot more riskier in Greece!! On top of that I am on the process of creating my own company with a big idea that I have for a long time now. Working on two “risky” jobs (love them both!) in an unsecured environment is one of the best growth experiences I have already! I totally believe in the long run benefits!
In the next months I am going to find the right partners for working together and creating the business idea and an entertainment idea into reality!
Thanks!
Jason Beck — June 18th, 2012, 5:23 pm
I’m currently working as a developer, but trying to help my small company become a better place to work and a better company overall. I’m trying to learn as much about improving workplaces for the dual benefits of happier, more engaged employees enjoying freedom as well as companies that attract and retain clients and empower their employees to unleash their human potential.
In my current position, I often feel like I’m taking a big risk in making suggestions and pushing hard to turn them into reality, because I could be stepping on my bosses toes and possibly even coming off as condescending to my co-workers. And I am waiting to take the plunge and start my own business consulting company, partially because I want to build my experience, learn more, and gain a reputation for successfully improving a workplace, but also because it’s scary to think about finally going out completely on my own and having to find the next client, sell them on the value I will provide to them and then fully manage and produce.
I’ve never been more excited about the future of my career, though, so I’m working hard to progress down this path every day!
Thomas C. — June 18th, 2012, 5:33 pm
Tim, Ben & Reid,
Some constructive criticism:
Overall, you’ve produced an excellent article on teaching people how to manage their pre-wired risk-of-loss bias. It’s got the makings of a classic highly-rated advice article: counter-intuitive, yet highly insightful.
My criticism, however, is that I think you should cite, or at least mention, Nassim Taleb, whose work you’ve probably read and thought a lot about. Nassim’s new book, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, is the culmination of his recently refined theories of risk and return. It is especially focused on the counter intuitive insight about how some things actually benefit from shocks (i.e. some things are anti-fragile–they benefit from mishandling). One’s career, of course, could be anti-fragile (like political Italy).
Citing Nassim could not only enhance your credibility (not that you really need it), but (more importantly) it could also help “spread the word” of another great modern thinker (to those readers who may not otherwise come across his works, and who “want to learn more”).
All I’m saying is that a little hat tip to Nassim in the article wouldn’t hurt.
Thanks for taking the feedback. And thanks for the article as-is.
Best,
Suzy A — June 18th, 2012, 6:00 pm
Hello.
I’m always up for a challenge and love a bit of competition. To be honest, not sure if I would be happier to win this challenge or to get your professional help and expertise in making the right risk.
Risk 1: Im in that long term low risk or is it high risk short term.. I’m in the healthcare industry. I work at a leading academic healthcare institution on the east coast. I help physicians in 25 different divisions to increase their practices and showcase their sub specialties in 18 counties in a Tri state area. I work for less than 6 figures, and personally upfront about 20-30% of my take home paycheck for work traveling expenses. They reimburse me only if I follow their regulated system to get my money back. I cannot do the work without up fronting these costs, which include insuring my own vehicle that has an increase cost for work travel. I live pay check to pay check and pick which bills to pay that month. I own my house and rent out the upstairs for about 35% of my mortgage.
As someone recently said to me about my healthcare position, “people get paid ALOT of money for doing all the work you do and all the jobs you hold.” How do I ask for the raise and to stop upfronting my own money without a ROI, but only to “keep my job”?
RISK 2: I’m going for an interview for a similar position as above. How do I ask for the job I want and negotiate the salary for it?
RISK 3: I like what I do for work in healthcare. It comes natural to me, as it’s not a clinical position, it’s more networking and bringing key people together. I have always had this dream of being a (sports) clothing or shoe designer for avvery long time. I’ve taken a few sewing classes but am not a seamstress like my mother. I barely can sketch, and have no connections in the biz. People always told me that retail is a very risk business. I have a few ideas but have no idea how to get them started…other than I know what it should look like, and I’ll need high tech fabrics. How do I take the risk of leaping into the unknown territory without losing it all?
Divya — June 18th, 2012, 6:15 pm
Dear Ben and Reid,
I am 21 interning at a large company in product development for consumer packaged food goods.
-I am working here till the end of August and till then I’d like to pitch specific changes to the way they currently operate at the “innovation” level.
-Essentially the change I’m advocating is the use of more metrics/quants –a lot of their new products come on the market by “gut feelings” and not fully supported by market analysis (there is some).
-I’ve already asked for sales numbers and more data and drawn up simple charts for my team to make decisions. I’d like this to become something more permanent in their process.
Thank-you for your insightful post!
Divya
Chris — June 18th, 2012, 6:24 pm
Hi guys, Chris here.
The cole’s notes version: 29 years old, been with the same large company since I was 17 sweeping plant floors and now I am in middle management after a few good breaks and a ton of hard work. I even keep a picture of myself as a kid next to a company vehicle (dad used to work there) on my desk.
After a great decade of tremendous growth, learning and experience I now find myself wondering is this all it’s going to be? After breaking through the Gladwell “10,000 Hour” plateau in my current role the challenges of the day to day, year to year are more routine and boring than engaging and challenging.Don’t get me wrong, i’m treated well, good perks and well respected but it seems to not be enough. My 17 year old self who grew up in the “rough” part of town would kick my ass for even thinking it isnt enough.
So in the nex 30-60 days I have two choices, keep doing what i did the last 30-60 days (nothing and little growth) or get growing and start living. So im going to look for other opportunites outside my company. I know that experience in another company or a different field will restart my growth and I’ll be better for it.
How do I rate the risk? well, it’s a little scary right now (my brain is still wired like the caveman) but hey what do I have to lose? I got this far from starting sweeping floors so theres no reason it can’t happen again!
P.S. I’ve seen the number of posts in here so far and it’s a long list… so if you didnt get to mine or you choose someone else I still have you to thank for the first step for me which was to actually write down how I feel and to start making a plan to change. – Chris
Molly — June 18th, 2012, 6:32 pm
So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.
There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.
-Willy Wonka
My name is Molly, and I am a 23-year-old word artist hoping to make a foot print on this great big ball of dirt. I’m a bit bizarre and definitely dance to a beat most people unfortunately don’t seem to hear.
Recently, I proclaimed ‘I AM A WRITER’ quite obnoxiously for Jeff Goin’s You Are a Writer contest imitating the famous Gerard Butler ‘THIS IS SPARTA’ scene from 300. Check it out here. http://goinswriter.com/contest-winner/ I won runner up # 2.
Right now I am working as a web content writer for a Halloween costumes website, which I have only been at for a few months. The company is awesome, but the only issue is that it’s the 40 hour-a-week grind we are all quite familiar with. I’m a free bird at heart, so the hours spent in one building for such a significant chunk of my week is squashing the reality I wish to dwell in. This reality sunk in when a co worker tattled on me recently for not spending as much time at my desk at as the rest of them. Sigh. Another cold hard slap in the face reminding me that I check my freedom at the door when I clock in. I took a risk with this job because it pays a hair above minimum wage hourly, and I’m learning lots in a small company which is growing rapidly.
However, underneath it all, the biggest fear I have is wasting my time doing the wrong things. My time. Time, and what I do with it are so important. My feet are itchy with all the running wild I need to be doing. Writing is something I love but in a little a box all day? No way. When I accepted this job, my dad asked if I think a wild horse can be tamed. Nope. No taming this brute of a female.
The question isn’t who will let me. It’s– who will stop me?
-Ayn Rand
Because of the time engulfing qualities and low pay of my job, it’s been hard for me to focus on moving forward with what I truly desire. I know it’s possible, but I’m in between learning in a fun company and an overwhelming urge to see the world, but not quite enough paper in the bank to give me some elbow room to research and spread my wings and fully focus whole heartedly on my goal. In my ‘free’ time, I also write for FriendlyAtheist.com which I LOVE. I’m infatuated with the brain, and it’s crazy amazing role in our lives and the world we live in.
Anyway, in order to dive into what I am passionate about, I’ve asked myself how the FUCK can I travel, write and have money to fill the belly and pay off all this wonderful college debt? Well, I have started looking into delivering vehicles and truck driving for a living. I’d love to see the look on my mother’s face when I tell her I quit the job that was supposed to be the seed to my blooming career to truck drive across the US. Instead, I’d be spittin’ seeds out of my face tootin’ my own horn. Oh boy, it sounds glorious. I am hoping to find ways to deliver RV’s or vans cross country. Semi’s are a little daunting. However, I’m open to what I can find to start gaining experience. Eventually, I’d like to create an online business and pick up freelance writing projects along the way.
I’ve looked into Craig Chilton’s program at travelforpay.org which involves vehicle relocation and resources to find jobs, so I can forage my large appetite to make the entire country my backyard. Eventually, with frequent flyer miles built, I hope to make the entire globe my backyard.
I am also a member of Cody McKibben’s Digital Nomad Academy where I have been exposed to terrific connections. At this point, I am teetering rather precariously between information overload and falling head first into a life erupting with no limits. Instead of hiding, I am choosing to face the storm (aka the risk) head on. Not apprehending the possible destruction but embracing the beauty in a little chaos. I’m sooo close. I just need to narrow the focus. And I’m also feeling a little guilty for wanting to leave a cool job so early. I know what I want. I see where I’m headed. I just need One. More. Push.
Sola Lawal — June 18th, 2012, 6:37 pm
Hey Ben and Reid,
I’m a big fan of your work. I have read through the Start-up of you a few times, and I have been a fan of Ben’s blog since I stumbled upon it through a link on Cal Newport’s blog.
I’m a PhD student of Entrepreneurship at Indiana University, and similar to Reid, I would like to do work that impacts the universe. Also similar to Reid, I realize that being an academic will not get me there.
That being said, I recently started working with a technology startup that I believe could have a transformational impact on African economies. I love their product and I would love to leave my PhD program and begin working with them full-time.
The risk is that while I believe that co-founders are talented, I honestly don’t know if they are talented enough to succeed across Africa. It’s not that i doubt their talent, but I just met them and we have not had enough interaction for me to judge. They also have not offered me a full-time position, but I would have to convince them to.
To add more downside to the risk, I have been in my PhD program for 3 years and would be due to finish in 2 (I try not to subscribe to sunk cost fallacy). I enjoy academia to a certain extent, but it’s not fulfilling in that my work would never have an impact on people I feel an obligation to. I could certainly somehow squeeze a life of impact into the academic position, but I would always be swimming against the current.
I believe the risk of being an academic are higher than being an entrepreneur (tenure will disappear in my lifetime), but is it riskier to be an entrepreneur on the African continent where the jolts are seemingly higher?
What is one to do?
Jim Smith — June 18th, 2012, 7:04 pm
Hi guys,
I enjoyed this article and I feel this is a great opportunity for whoever can persuade you to “take them under your wing.” This article got me thinking about my own situation and how risk played a factor in my career to this point.
I grew up in St. Louis, MO and went to college there, got a job, got married, all the things you are “supposed” to do to start a life. Some of my friends moved away and some stayed because they were comfortable doing what they felt was right.
I worked full time while in college as a videographer for almost 5 years taping depositions for court cases, boring work, but it was interesting. It paid my way through school and taught me some very valuable lessons. One that I didnt want to be a lawyer!!! Two, it taught me responsibility. Not only was I paying for my own college, but I was working on some of the largest class action lawsuits in the United States at 22 years old. My videos were of the utmost importance in some of these cases. The jury would ultimately rely on video of witnesses or testimony of doctors that couldnt be in a court room at the time of the trial. So if I missed something, it was a big deal. You can’t ask a doctor to re-explain “false symptoms” in a smug manor, because the person was lying about an injury. That was my first real world experience in a small business and I loved every minute of it. I did everything from shooting, editing videos, scheduling, sales and day to day operations while my boss was skydiving or traveling Europe…. He has over 5,000 jumps, so I believe that qualifies him as a professional…
My next couple of jobs were not as interesting in my post college life. I worked at two of the largest home health and staffing agencies in the United States. I started off as a recruiter. Recruiting nurses for pediatric home care cases. Then moved into more of an operational/training role for our office. Then moved on to strictly staffing nurses on contracts and temporary assignments in hospitals. Nursing is an invaluable profession, but they are some of the most demanding people I have ever run into. I will call that the character building chapter of my life.
As I searched for more meaningful work and really was taking a hard look at what I wanted to do, my friends were moving away and working for successful companies. I had just gotten married and didn’t really want the risk of picking up and starting over somewhere new. Then that changed.
My cousin bought a durable medical equipment company in SW Florida. It was a family owned and operated business and the owners were on cruise control and not thinking about growing the company. My cousin purchased the company in 2010. He asked me to come down and help run the company while he traveled back n forth weekly from Illlinois.I figured what the heck, it was a great opportunity and would give me the real hands on experience I would need to take my career to the next level.My wife and I sold our house and headed south!
From the start I was enthusiastic andI jumped right in. I started doing deliveries with the drivers, learning the fulfillment side of the business. I started obtaining new contracts with managed care companies, increasing our product mix from 5,000 products to 15, 000 products. Hired and trained new staff. Volunteering in the community, I sit on 5 boards and volunteer with the local American Legion, and selling our services. It was great, we grew over 30% in our first year.
Now things are changing. Medicare is 65% of our business. They are paying out at a minimum of 120 days and it is a constant battle to justify services we are providing to the customers. The daily operations have moved from trying to grow to trying to survive.
I was excited about this opportunity and knew the risks involved, of moving, working with family, and going into a difficult industry. Now I am burned out, cant stand working with family, and feel stuck because my networks here are all healthcare related and I dont have the desire to tranisition into another position in this industry. I have been applying for jobs back in St. Louis and other places, but most companies I have talked with want someone local and they are mostly positions I know I will never really like.
So what I am looking for is a career change in the next 45 days. Full on career changing opportunity. I want to work in a completely new industry that is fast paced, with room to grow based on success, either personally or in team environment. I am a person that loves to be around people and take challenges head on. I am open to moving anywhere in the country, will travel, whatever it takes to start a new venture.
The risk involved in a new opportunity is not having experience in a new industry and moving to another unknown area. I have been involved in healthcare over the last six years and it has taught me everything I know now about business and operations. Those skills can be transfered to another industry, but there will be a learning curve. I feel those are valid fears, but they are not anything I cannot overcome.
Thank you for taking the time to read a little about me and considering me for your project. Good luck to whoever wins and hopefully he or she appreciates this opportunity.
Jim Smith
Jake Johnson — June 18th, 2012, 11:05 pm
My name is Jake Johnson. I will be a junior at Tulane University in New Orleans in the Fall. I believe time is the most precious commodity, so I will be thorough and succinct. Although I’m anxious to set sail into the wild world of my own career, I am grateful that I still have more time to narrow in on what I’d like to do. Sometimes I feel limited by my wide range of interests. Talk about paradox.
In the next 30-60 days I am considering cutting myself off from my provided college fund so I can learn to be more independent and manage of all my finances. I know it may seem irrational, but I believe in taking the hard road while I am young as this will increase my later happiness. I am considering the hardships that will come with struggle, but more importantly the room for growth that comes from a feat like this. I have been lucky enough to grow up in one of the most beautiful coastal towns in Southern California. After living in New Orleans for two years now, I understand the adversity that some people face and I’d like to come out a stronger individual.
Tiffany — June 18th, 2012, 11:12 pm
Ever since leaving my first job to move to Shanghai without a job, an apartment, or a plan, I’ve switched between travel and going back to working in advertising to save up for the next trip. After finally making it to the top of my career I finally decided that this time around I am really leaving advertising, an industry I never really loved but was easy for me to find work in.
I’ve decided to go for my master’s degree in the UK studying cross cultural communications and working on research under Sugata Mitra on using technology in education. While in school it’s my plan to implement scalable community building ideas for integrating international students with the local community. As part of community building across different groups I am working on facilitating cross cultural communication through the natural act of eating dinner.
I read Tim’s book back in 2008 and was adverse to actually taking the risk of leaving a steady income and quick growth in my career path, but the lure of travel and bring people together has always called out to me, now I’m ready to REALLY walk away from what I always considered “a sure thing”.
Frankie L — June 18th, 2012, 11:40 pm
My name is Frankie and I’m 23 years old. A year ago I graduated with a BS in Applied Economics and was on track for a finance/investment banking/consulting career path. I was also 1 of 3 people (out of 350) accepted to an Ivy League MBA program straight out of undergrad.
I turned this all down because my heart wasn’t into it.
I took a year off to move home, travel and to think about what I really wanted to do. I’m fortunate enough to have enough savings where I was able to do this and also make student loan payments. Many to this day think I’m foolish because I gave up a years worth of salary; however, I’ve learned that I’m happier right now having less “crap.” I also realize I will never get to spend this much time with my family again and am more interested in learning right now than earning a great starting salary at my first job. I also have taken up an interest in online marketing and currently have an unpaid SEO internship for a popular website to learn more skills.
In the next 30-60 days I want to relocate from Miami to Los Angeles and find marketing work at a B2C tech startup with less than 100 employees. I think technology companies (and entrepreneurship in general) are platforms for having the biggest impact (as opposed to finance companies creating more problems) and will offer the greatest opportunity to learn and put me in a position to start a company later on down the road.
The biggest risk is that I don’t find a job. But, I realize I am a fast learner and have the clarity of mind and energy to put everything I have into it. Also, I do have extended family members that I could live with in case times do get tough (or I could move home again).
I’m OK having less money in savings and taking a low-paying but high-learning job. I’ve been living this way for the past year. I know that soft assets pay off more in the long run and I’d rather be focused on the long term rather than the next couple months. I’m also happier doing something that I enjoy while having enough money for necessities. A lot of my friends dread Monday morning and gave up their dream job for $5k more in salary at a job they convinced themselves they wanted. I refuse to be that way.
I’m ready to take the leap this summer.
Mijata — June 19th, 2012, 1:06 am
This post is just what the doctor ordered as far as I’m concerned. I’m a senior developer working for a ‘stable’ company. As I have grown tired of programming and writing endless lines of code, I began looking for something more meaningfull to work and found it – user experience – mostly information architecture. I have always been good at looking at the big picture and reading between the lines.
My husband (a UX designer) has offered me an opportunity to work with him at his company and gain much needed experience in UX. This is a risk I would gladly take as it offers imense learning opportunity but having two preschoolers is something that is stopping me. A steady paycheck is what pays the bills and puts food on the table for my kids.
However, I’m stuck in a rut. So, no more choosing unhappiness over uncertainty for me.
I’ve made my choice even before I read this post and I will take the risk – it’s really not that big of a risk anyway.
Ben — June 19th, 2012, 1:06 am
I’m considering leaving work to start a couple of project that will turn into businesses. (www.lifeklips.com & http://www.cogiva.com). I’ve been working on them for a while and it’s soon time to take the plunge.
I think about the risk in terms of impact on those I’m responsible for – family. I need to focus more on the potential hugely beneficial outcomes, but it’s a daily battle to not think about what could go wrong….
…but I guess I’ll regret not doing it, whatever the outcome Geronimo!
D.R. — June 19th, 2012, 1:32 am
Hi guys, here’s a bit about myself:
I’m a Dutch national from a tiny village on the border next to Germany. After taking a huge risk, I ended up living in China of all places. Currently I’m residing in a coastal city near Shanghai, China, where I am involved in setting up a new type of language school for foreigners wanting to come to China to learn the language, create “guanxi” (network) and get confronted with Chinese business people and their way of doing business.
I just turned 24 and I’ve been in China for 4years now working all kinds of odd jobs, from modeling & acting to lobbying for Chinese companies with local government officials and waiting tables at local restaurants in China and Korea. I became an “entrepreneur” when I was 11, building websites for small companies. Then I started selling parts for mopeds and selling old mopeds from Eastern Germany to Holland, I imported and sold small art pieces from a tiny village in Thailand during my first year in college and I’m now waiting for my first big break-through!
Also, I am about to graduate from university (post-grad) and already delved into an HR business connecting Chinese businesses with foreigners in a unique way. The goal is to create a networking model that eliminates the “guanxi” aspect through a new and innovative way, amongst others. Several Chinese businesses have showed their genuine interest and I am positive that this will be a game changer within this specific market in China.
The risks are quite high, since I recently lost most of my money in an investment that still has not paid off and will probably not pay off for quite a bit longer. Also, I lost half of my belongings after my bags got stolen 2months ago, causing the number on my bank account to drop below zero.
I am running a risk that the government will shut down my project due to new regulations. Although being perfectly legal, in China you’re simply not the final decision maker..
It’s a turning point for me: I’ve been studying and working my ass off, learning new languages, travelling to the most distant places and trying to find my place in a completely different environment. It’s been fun, but it’s time to take action now. I’ve gotten myself in the most strange positions one can imagine, from dining tables in a small village in South-Korea, to sucking up to Chinese government officials, and I’ve loved every bit of it. I’ve just never had the chance to meet an internet entrepreneur or even someone close to that. To be honest, the closest I got to the ‘tech world’ is living next to the giant AliBaba & TaoBao buildings here in China.
I’m driven, successful (as in reaching my goals, not money wise) and have never turned down an offer to learn something new and exciting. As was written in this post: sometimes just say Yes. I’ve done that, and yes, that’s gotten me into some very uncomfortable situations, but the perk is that I’m simply not shocked by anything anymore and feel comfortable in most environments.
My concrete summer goals: set up the HR business as discussed earlier, become friends with certain influential government officials here, and make enough money to travel from the South of China to Amsterdam by train, to be able to finally see my relatives again!!
Traian — June 19th, 2012, 2:55 am
In 2009 I was a mediocre sales agent and I got fired. I then went to a Empretec work shop that change my perspective. I got a new sales job where I was the number one (in a team of six) in 2010 and 2011 and launched with an acquaintance a on-line shop. The on-line shop did not work out, but I learned a ton of stuff, including about the importance of team work and the importance of choosing the right partners
. I am at the point where I will launch in two weeks a new venture a financial education site for Romania, my american model is: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/. Is not something very risky for me, but I can still use the mentoring 
.
Meisha — June 19th, 2012, 3:05 am
I thoroughly enjoyed this post and it has motivated me to continue to persevere in pursuing my dreams. I recently read a quote from Thomas Edison that stated, “Nearly everyman who develops an idea works at it up to the point where it looks impossible and then gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged.” That’s the point where I am.
I quit my job Oct 2011 to take a 2-year career break and pursue my dream of going on a trip around the world. I previously served as a Peace Corps Volunteer when I graduated from undergrad, but wanted to redo the experience now that I had more professional experience and a Master’s Degree. So I started my trip around the world by serving as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in South Africa. Also, I decided to couple my trip around the world with my desire to help artisans in developing countries, by starting an online art gallery exhibiting unique, handcrafted, fine and traditional arts from around the world. I want to empower artisans in developing countries and sustainably improve their quality of life, while providing an education to my consumers on the artisan’s country and culture.
So to answer your question, the big (or bigger) risk I will take in the next 30-60 days is further investing in my business. I realize now that I was overly optimistic in my ability to continue to pay on my mortgage note worth of student loans, travel the world, volunteer, and start a company. With set backs I have experienced in things like getting the website launched, I was considering forgoing starting the business. Your post has inspired me to rethink my model and figure out a way to accomplish my goals more efficiently. Also, I am giving the company only a year and if doesn’t work out then at the end of my travels I go back to working in corporate America. I figure at least I took the risk and learned from the experience and also got to travel around the world! Hopefully, as you mentioned, if I do have to go back to corporate America, this experience will be appreciated!!!
Thanks Tim, Ben, and Reid for this opportunity!
Jeramie — June 19th, 2012, 4:13 am
I went from a construction worker with nothing but a high school education, to the owner of a large successful real estate brokerage, a title company, and a real estate holding company. I did all this by taking educated risks (or mabey uneducated, depending on how you look at it)
Your message needs to get to our children. They need to take risks and follow thier dreams.
Srishti — June 19th, 2012, 4:30 am
Hey guys,
No need to reiterate, this post was just awesome! And this is what I needed right now.
The questions you asked were the one I was pondering over this vacation. Thanks a lot.
Just to introduce myself, I’m a law student, interning in a law firm right now which made me realize how deadly the so called stability or stereotype life can be.
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
I plan to convert my blog on law school into a site with a legal directory and all the tit bits about law school. Also, I’m working on my e-book on how hack life in law school.
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
I’m not going for a conventional law firm job which everyone in top law school covet for and planning to self employ myself.
Thanks a lot
CMR — June 19th, 2012, 5:55 am
Great post, very well done.
Here’s an analogy to your deconstruction of risk. I can’t take credit for it as it came from a guest lecturer I had in school, but here it is none the less…
The steady career worker is like a chicken. He’s given a nice coop to sleep in, people clean up after him, his friends are all around, and he never needs to worry about where his next meal comes from. Life is good until the 365th day in the coop when he’s brought to the butcher.
Bummer.
The entrepreneur is like a hawk. He never knows where his next meal comes from, is often found in isolation, and is forced to scour the ground in search of new ways of finding food. His life is marked with short term ups and downs, but when trouble comes, he simply rises into the sky to fly away.
So to your point… I’m a trained “wannapreneur” who has started many initiatives within companies but not something on my own. I’m in the process of breaking out of the brokerage firm I work for to pursue a muse of bringing technology to investors so they can fire their broker and adopt the principles of the wealthy. Maybe it’s just me, but paying Wall Street advisors 1% to underperform doesn’t seem to be working.
In the next 30 days, I’m going to (and already have begun to) start to find a technology co-founder who can help hack into this idea.
Problem is this… my firm requires any “outside business activity” to be approved (read: denied) and they just began monitoring our LinkedIn accounts and implemented a policy that we take off all “contact me for…” requests.
Oppressive.
I’m starting this muse – but it’s not without fear of loss. Unfortunately the big brokerage houses in the finance industry are no Google, and instead, force innovation to happen in shadows and fear.
How do I make this leap?
PS: I used initials here because even this post is supposed to be run through my compliance department… See email for name.
John Krukar — June 19th, 2012, 6:15 am
Hi, my name is John and I’m 18 years old. It was around this time that I told my parents that I would not be returning to school to finish my senior year. I had spent the summer worrying about my future and what I was going to do after graduation. People were asking me serious questions that I simply did not have answers to. To make things worse all of my friends seemed, or pretended, to know exactly what they wanted to do. I was reading “Striking Thoughts – Bruce Lee’s Wisdom for Daily Living” in between finishing “The 4-Hour Workweek” for the second time, when I struck a note of clarity. One of Bruce’s tips for dealing with adversity was that, “You cannot clear muddied water with your hand.”
I decided to listen to him and take a trip to discover more about myself and what makes me happy. I knew It would present the perfect growing opportunity and I would be able to let all the silt clouding my mind settle into lucidity. I was resolved. I would finish my senior year online and then move to Australia for a year. I used the 80/20 Principle to convince my parents, as well as myself, that I was being responsible by finishing my senior year in record time online instead of partying and skipping class for a whole year.
I picked up more hours at the credit union where I worked as a teller to save up for my trip and if the 80/20 principle weren’t true enough; I finished my senior year in three and a half months. I bought a one way ticket and left home with one duffle bag and two thousand dollars. Melbourne has been great to me and Australia is full of great people. While I was meeting people I lost all of my money waiting to get paid by a dodgy company in the first two months I was there. I was broke, the company hasn’t paid me to date, and at the time it seemed like I had failed in record time. I applied for work everywhere and became the assistant manager of a video game store, GAME to be specific. When I got my first paycheck I had fourteen dollars left. While I was promoted to store manager within two months and was able to improve the performance of my store by a significant margin, the international chain went into administration just two months later. Two weeks since the store closed and I have only just worked past a major crossroad.
With only 6 months left in the country, fear set in. I told myself I could get a full time job and save money furiously, I mean I’m supposed to be going to Thailand after this and then even further abroad! However, when I crunched the numbers I realized that I would need to work as a senior geologist in a mine in Western Australia for the remaining six months to be able to leave Australia with the amount of money I wanted. I had fear goggles glued to my face and couldn’t see any positive end in sight, but after rereading “The 4-Hour Workweek” I knew it was time to make a change (You’d think I would’ve learned the first two times I read it!). I would get a casual or even a part time job at the most just to pay the bills while I would tackle my first entrepreneurial venture.
Worst case scenario, I would run out of money and be forced beg on the streets and steal McDonald’s from people to avoid starvation; I mean, hey, it’s worked for other homeless people here quite often. More likely, I could borrow money from my parents for a ticket home where I could just try again. If I fail again after that, I’ll just be sure to fail a little better. I can deal with that. Risk can be a great thing, by putting yourself in risky situations you force yourself to new heights. Despite the risk, I feel confident the next six months will be a positively defining moment that I will always remember no matter the outcome.
Looking back on it all, I can’t help but laugh; I have learned and grown more than I ever could’ve by doing what was easy and finishing school traditionally. The biggest lesson: priceless opportunities lack affluence, require ambition, and amplify you in every way possible when it’s over. Finally, here’s my favorite excerpt on adversity from Bruce Lee, “With adversity you are shocked to higher levels, much like a rain storm that is so violent, but yet afterwards all plant grows.”.
Wes — June 19th, 2012, 7:41 am
As a former college athlete and lifelong competitor, I have a passion for sports. Recently, a friend and I have decided to set out down the entrepreneurial path and see if we can create a business that gives sports fans a level of access and interactivity they are not currently getting. As a basketball player, I believed I never hit a shot I didn’t take. Likewise, in business, I’d rather be a statistic of failure than a statistic of inaction. Even witha partner, as a first-time entrepreneur, I realize I’ll need all the help I can get. I’m willing to listen, willing to learn, and willing to fail my way to success because I know that sports fans are passionate, perhaps even a little bit crazy and I believe a business can built giving them what they want and aren’t currently getting.
Diane Dupree-Dempsey — June 19th, 2012, 8:10 am
Our risk level fluctuates with our lives. In my younger days, I tried sky diving, rode a motorcycle then took up hang gliding. And there I stayed for awhile. I loved the feel of flying and I knew the risks (though I might not have believed they could happen to ME). Four broken bones later, I would have kept flying, but I got married and started making babies. Funny thing happened then – I realized that risks that were okay for me, were NOT okay for my kid’s Mom. Suddenly, I wasn’t just me, I was someone’s Mommy and Mommy could not take the chance of having broken arms (hard to change those diapers).
Now, here I am, over twenty years later, having spent most of those years as an At-home Mommy, I am beginning to be free to be just me again. Oh sure, there is the husband to consider, but he is ever supportive. So I am beginning with baby-steps risk wise. I am planning a solo trip to Death Valley in a few months. The very idea scares me, but draws me as well.
But, but, but, but – the biggest fear factor comes from the “What am I going to be when I grow up?” question. I started a Virtual Assisting business almost a year ago. It is beginning, oh so slowly, to take off, but I find myself in a constant battle with my “Mommy-mind”. My M-m thinks I should just forget about this and get a “real” job. We have debt to pay and college expenses and the house needs painting and on and on and on…
The M-m says that my business isn’t growing fast enough and even if it were it is never going to bring in the kind of money I would like to bring in. The M-m is very cautious and very hard to shut up!
Just yesterday I thought, “I wish I had someone to help me with this business” and I didn’t really mean just my VA business, so much as I meant the whole idea of multiple income streams, the finding of alternatives to becoming someone’s Administrative Assistant. Caving in and getting a “real” job just seems so much easier than trying to find my way through all the information I can find on the internet and in books. And yet, I know that, for me, the right path is the one that takes me somewhere unusual. I would love to have someone to talk to, more to the point to listen to. To bounce ideas off of. Guidance. I would love to have guidance. I would very much appreciate it if you would consider me to be the one to receive your assistance.
Paul Rice — June 19th, 2012, 8:29 am
In the next 30-60 days I’m planning to change jobs and move into a senior position for an established retail company. I am currently in a position that is not demanding, but the corporate culture is decent. My skills are in online marketing and I’ve been working in eCommerce for over 8 years now. I also just finished my MBA last month. The goal with my MBA was to make myself more attractive to potential employers and learn more about leading a company. I have had a lot of phone interviews over the past 2 months, but nothing has panned out.
My wife and I own an online business selling baseball goods that I enjoy working on, but it is just a side project. We are utilizing dropshipping many of our orders, but a large portion are products we manufacture. We have trademarks for the names of our products and a couple of patents. One of the patents is for a great little device for baseball players to measure their bat speed. I have several prototypes, but I need funding and connections to get this product in front of the MLB and big-box retail stores.
The way I see it is that I have several options. I can go for the new job/career, make good money, but have less time to work on my side business and new product. Or I can stay where I am now which offers me the free time to work on the side business, however, I’m not making much money and feel stuck every day.
If I don’t move to a new company soon, I plan to use the 4HWW tips on asking my employer to allow me to work remotely and then I’ll have even more time to grow my side business, make enough money to fund engineering for my patented device and either sell the IP or get it into big-box stores across the country.
Michael P. — June 19th, 2012, 8:40 am
Thank you for this post – I recently picked up the 4HWW again two days ago after I purchased and read it in 2010, during my first year of business school. Needless to say, I am glad I picked up the book again and saw this post today.
-About Me:
I am a 25 year old living in Boston and one year removed from completing my MBA in June 2011 (I received a BA in Economics in 2009 and went right to grad school). I work in business development for a San Jose, CA based start-up that manufactures and sells tree-free paper products. I work remotely and am one of 2 people that the company has on the east coast and both my colleagues have 25+ years of selling experience within this industry, while I am going on 1-year.
I was introduced to this company through an alumnus of my grad school, who is an advisor to the company – because they were looking to try something different by taking on a younger salesperson for the northeast US.
This opportunity began as an unpaid internship for 3+ months (June-Aug 2011) as the company was not yet sure if this experiment would be fruitful for them, and they were unable to pay me (being a start-up). Each side took a risk as I passed-over traditional MBA opportunities that would pay me more than double what I make now full-time (started Sept. 2011) – and the company chose a ‘kid’ develop its business here in the northeast.
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
In the next 30-60 days (closer to 60) I want to ask for a raise along with a new opportunity within this start-up, which involves filling-in the void that we currently have in marketing. As of now, we have a marketing department of 0 and I created some of the programs we currently have including social media and a partnership with a not-for-profit. Even though I still have less than 1-year of experience within the paper industry and less than that with sustainable products, I have a grasp of the market and have ideas on how we can grow this business in a new creative way (the paper industry is over 100 years old, and ‘new’ usually doesn’t happen).
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
I am thinking about the risk involved in this move in 2 ways (A and B):
A: There is a perceived risk for the company, who has already taken a flier on me, because the most ‘inexperienced’ person in the company (with no paper background) will be in a decision-making role within a department that does not exist today. They might rather hire someone with more experience to fill this role, which would be safer for them, but would cost them more in total compensation.
B: The risk for me is that I may be overstepping my bounds by asking for such a promotion within a year of working for the company. I am effectively asking for more responsibility, decision-rights, and more compensation. This action may be perceived as me being over-confident in my abilities as well as entitled since I have a MBA and a relationship with an advisor. Neither are the case as I have demonstrated my abilities and have brought additional actionable and measurable ideas to the table (that we have used), without asking for more compensation.
It would be very helpful to receive some mentoring and advice on how to best approach this situation to minimize the company’s perceived risk if they agree to my proposal as well as my risk of being perceived as overstepping my bounds and asking for too much too soon, which I do not believe to be the case.
Thank you for your consideration.
Best,
Michael P.
Mike — June 19th, 2012, 8:54 am
- What change do you want to make in your career in the next 30-60 days? (e.g. Change jobs, ask for a raise, find a new opportunity within your company)
- How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
I am two years out of college with a life science degree currently working as an Assistant Scientist at a Synthetic Biology startup. I have worked 60-80 hour weeks since I started and have been promoted (without compensation) into a more defining role. The company is currently experiencing growing pains and has had a round of layoffs, effectively reducing our staff by half, to align themselves with a new CFOs vision.
This makes it difficult for me to ask for a raise, and has me scrambling to find work elsewhere. I have a broad laboratory skill set and could easily adapt to many different roles, but am having a hard time marketing myself. In addition, I have considered working on the finance side of biotech, and would enjoy some foresight into getting my foot in the door at an life science equity research firm. If neither of these plans work out, I am considering going back to school for a doctorate. Being in my current state of limbo is not very appealing and would greatly appreciate some advice.
Jeff Plotner — June 19th, 2012, 9:12 am
“Every time you’re making a choice, one choice is the safe/comfortable choice and one is the risky/uncomfortable choice. The risky/uncomfortable choice is the one that will teach you the most and make you grow the most, so that’s the one you should choose.” – Derek Sivers
That sums up how I try to look at life decisions, such as posting my first ever blog comment here. The real risk is NOT acting or just thinking about doing it.
What change do you want to make to your career in the next 30-60 days?
I want to follow through on the risks I’ve already recently made in my career (ending regular employment for a Fortune 50 company and starting a small apparel company and an athletic coaching firm specializing in 1 on 1 evaluations). This was done because it was riskier for me to continue on the track of doing something I didn’t like and did not make me grow as a person. I’ve made the initial jump to getting started, now I want make one or both businesses prosper. I’m in the difficult stage right now financially, and need to continue to push towards success instead of succumbing to negativity bias. I want these businesses to become financially sustainable in the next 30-60 days, but there is an indirect way to making that happen.
For example, I read about a entrepreneur I wanted to emulate. I tracked down his email address, set up a meeting, and he offered to mentor me. Huge opportunity.
Focus on passion and creation. I am that person who is pivoting into a new industry and feeling re-energized by the challenges. Capitalizing on the risks you’ve already taken and seizing it as an opportunity is a challenge in itself, albeit an exhilarating one from my point of view.
How are you thinking about the risk involved in this move?
Just like I’ve attempted to approach all other risks in my life: by trusting myself, my wants and needs, and what is really important to me as a person. Being a successful entrepreneur is a central goal in my life. I’m already out on that bridge, and I’ve looked down a couple times and I have a long way to go until I get to the end, but continuing to learn and welcome challenges and capitalizing on opportunities with a specific goal in mind alleviates the risk.
Through this post I have realized and become more comfortable with my “risky” decisions even though I’m surrounded by doubters. A good example would be dropping out of law school after 1 year because it would have been far worse and riskier to stay the course and do something I despised.
For me, the biggest risk is being content.
I am far from content right now, and having the passion and pride to view your life decisions as opportunities as opposed to road blocks or brick walls is important. Constantly adapt and change for the better while staying true to yourself is the least risky thing you can do.
Johan van Zittert — June 19th, 2012, 9:18 am
I enjoyed reading the risk art As a fulltime pastor , I made an acronym of your suggestions: RISN (He has risen) and this is a good way for me to remember your suggestions. I am at retiring age and am contemplating the idea to start writing freelance to ad to my pension. Though a bit stuck; do you have suggestions on topics, websites etc to which I can direct my quiries?
Joe Bozek — June 19th, 2012, 9:39 am
I am a twenty-five year old Chicagoan who has been interloping among risks from music, to travel, to politics for years. However, there is one persistent idea that has left me with an incredible desire to fulfill and has stuck with me for the past two years and I would risk with great effort to see what astonishing results may follow. Thus lies a necessary change to be made.
Within the next thirty to sixty days I want to establish investor relations in my career to propel my company idea to the next level of operation. I want the opportunity to prove to investors that my idea not only would be a disruptive technology but, with the proper funding and planning, would be cashflow and userflow intensive.
Being a man of risk, I know there are ways that one can jeopardize or inhibit a start-up idea by pairing up with investors that may run the idea astray or into the ground. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to resonate with the investors and establish a bond that can enhance the growth of one’s fundamental idea. Therefore, I do see this as a potential risk I’m willing to take.
Additionally, I know that capital in most cases can return if one is willing to say ‘Yes’ and spend the time to know the host. Simultaneously, while going through the process of establishing contacts, one begins to weed out what/who is fit and not fit for the necessary change at hand.
Moreover, relocation on a budget can also be a big risk. In some cases, relocating a company or an idea is highly possible and necessary. The risk itself, due to finding a way to re-stabilize oneself in the new geographical and entrepreneurial environment can be worth the tremendous experience and knowledge.
The risk variables mentioned above are significant components to the equation of a successful change in career and those which I am thinking about. Of course, the right placement and execution of such variables will determine my success.
In closing, I hope that I may resonate with you Ben. Thanks!
Cheval John — June 19th, 2012, 10:39 am
I really enjoyed this post. I thought that graduating during the recession was a bad thing, but in reality, it was good because it allowed me to discover what I was interested in.
Over a year ago, I was approached by a friend, who was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper about being their blogger.
I had a vague idea about blogging and the position wasn’t a paid position, but I knew that I had to take the offer because I would learn something from that experience.
Along the way, I realized that though I was working for them, I was simultaniously working for myself because it was my blog and after a year, they went in a different direction and at the same time, I incorporated my blog into a website and started my own online media company.
This post has shown me that it is o.k. to take small calculated risk to get use to volatility.
I also spent the summer in Chile after I graduated, studying and interning at a marketing company.
Thanks for the post.
Ben M — June 19th, 2012, 10:54 am
Hey guys,
Recently read the 4HWW and enjoyed reading this (and the great article photo) as much as I enjoyed reading the book, which is saying something.
I am a 22 year old British student who has just finished a Master’s degree in International Economics in Sweden.
On the 10th of July I am leaving for 2 internships that I have been lucky enough to secure in Egypt and Vietnam and am then hoping to travel on to Singapore or Hong Kong to secure another internship to lead into a full time role in East Asia, as I hope this will provide me with the best experience for my future career.
At the moment though I feel as though I am facing two kinds of risk; the risk of violence and the risk of uncertainty.
The risk of violence stems from the potentially dangerous situation in Cairo where I will be interning, something that has particularly made my parents worried about my safety. In this context I’m forced to balance the excitement of seeing a country in transition and history in the making, along with professional learning against the physical dangers of the situation turning sour. That balance will have to be monitored by reviewing as much information as possible from reputable sources (such as government travel advisors) as well as speaking to trusted contacts on the ground before making a final decision, shortly before departure date.
The second and far less serious risk is the risk of uncertainty for me in my future career. Although just starting out, by taking myself to East Asia rather than home in Britain or at University in Sweden to start my career I take myself away from the security of contact networks and recruitment systems that I know about and into a world of business that I do not know anything about.
Although this uncertainty is slightly worrying, and there is the chance that I will not be able to get a good job, I feel that the risk is worth taking as the lessons learnt in developing economies could provide invaluable in the world of the future, and ultimately would be able to survive as an English teacher before returning to train as something stable but boring, like a trainee accountant.
I am also hoping to minimise the risks involved by throwing myself into making both business and social contacts as soon as I arrive, something that I feel will be important both in developing my networking skills but also in creating a network that will hopefully help me in the future. Networking that I will hopefully help by improving by language skills when I am abroad.
The key thing that I think will help minimising both the risk of violence and the risk of uncertainty will be the way in which I build and make use of contacts to help me know as much as possible about future risks but also future possibilities and opportunities. Hopefully making sure that my red alerts don’t stop me from seeing a world of possibilities and green alerts.
Thank you for the blog and all the articles!
Ben
Joseph — June 19th, 2012, 11:23 am
Hello – I’m Joseph.
I’ve seen the face of adversity many times and have failed while taking risks as well. Those risks cost me my late teens and early 20′s and landed me in over $35k of debt. They were risks where my heart was in the right place, but the money wasn’t. Fast forward a few years later and I’ve paid off all but about 5k of that debt but added student loan debt. There are 2 risks I’m contemplating on taking within the next few months, but risks that I’ve been hesitant to take because I don’t want to end up in that debt hole like before…
As you mentioned earlier, sometimes you should take a risk on a low paying job if it equals great experience. I took that risk and my savings have since dried up. The experience and knowledge earned is definitely worth it but it’s getting close to the point of diminishing returns. To that end, I’ll be asking for a raise this time next month by selling my worth and everything that I’ve done for the company since my inception here. The risk involved is getting let go, I plan to ask for a 10-15k salary increase. I’m willing to take this risk because I’ll need funding for my app idea that I have.
Whether I get the raise or not, I’m also considering taking out a loan to build out an app that I’ve had in my mind for quite some time. I’ve wire framed the idea out and it seems pretty solid. The risk of course is that the app doesn’t make any money and I’m stuck in even more debt than before.
“No risk, no reward”
Thanks for all of your work.
Chris George — June 19th, 2012, 11:52 am
Howdy, Chris George from Houston here. The timing of this post was perfect.
I am currently transitioning out of the health/nutrition research field and looking to reestablish a new focused direction in the next 30-60 days. I sincerely value connecting people and see the next two months as a great opportunity to help others and myself. With leaving a field I am passionate about, I had to do some serious risk evaluation. The goal now is to create an opportunity that provides aspects of excitement, change and generosity.
I thought this comment may come as a risk actually. In truth, I have gained clarity on many of the previous “risks” I thought I was avoiding. After reading the slew of comments from fellow risk takers, I feel truly inspired to use these next 60 days for repurposing my direction and ideas.
This response, vague as it may be, is in earnest. Thanks for the read y’all!
Krista Giffin — June 19th, 2012, 12:04 pm
Hi I’m Krista. I’m an actress and a teaching artist. Years ago I made a resolution to do at least one risk per month, and it was the best year of my life! I decided to continue with that tradition and, to be honest, I have always benefitted from the risks I’ve taken, even if I’ve taken a hit emotionally or financially in the short term. My current risk is to get my acting to the next level. I’ve trained and been in plays, but now it’s time for moving forward again. Even putting a post like this online feels risky for me because I know that when people search my name, they’ll be able to see it. However, how cool would it be if they are searching me because they’ve seen me in a great new TV show or on Broadway. You really do have to push through fear a bit sometimes. People said I was brave when I moved to New York without a job. I tell them, I didn’t allow myself to think about it too much and just did it. That’s the only way the scary things can happen for me. Just move forward.
Travis — June 19th, 2012, 12:33 pm
I will soon be leaving my career in higher education administration at a Midwestern university and relocating to California to pursue ‘riskier’, but more challenging career opportunities. I am a young professional and am not satisfied with my current, ‘stable’ career path.
The desire to change my geographic location as well as my career path has presented additional risks because both my professional and personal networks are contained to either my current location or current profession. I have been taking steps over the last 9 months to mitigate the risk and reduce the impact of the worst case scenario. These steps have largely consisted of accumulating savings in order to pad any short term loss in income and taking steps to make professional contacts in advance of my arrival.
Mathias — June 19th, 2012, 12:33 pm
Hi, i’m Mathias 33, I live in France. I’m currently working as a Business Intelligence Project Manager and i’m still searching for my muse to have more freedom and more time with my 2 daughters.
- So in the next 30-60 days i really want to quit my current job and to start my own business. But of course, as you can imagine, it looks risky to me to quit my job because i’m also currently planning to build my house and so i have to finance it! Even with my current job it’s far expansive for me…
- In my case, risks involved in this move is to have more debt and to fail the business i will launch. Anyway, i’m really decided to take calculated risks to achieve my goals. I think risk is every thing you imagine it will happen when you’re going to matters you don’t already know. Uncertainty on actions’ results is something that warns people they’re taking risks. For me, risk is the fear to fail actions taken to achieve my goals.
Thank you for all these very interesting and valuable advices and case study, it really helps to take action for a better life!
Sorry for my English, i hope it’s understandable
Best Regards,
Mathias
Devon — June 19th, 2012, 12:44 pm
Hi my name is Devon, I currently work as a team member for Whole Foods Market. I love food. I love working and education people about the benefits of eating local and organic food. I’m currently working on putting together an online community that helps educate people and allows them to connect with like minded individuals as well as local farmers and small businesses. I have lived and visited many places in the world and been both a teacher and mentor. I want to share my knowledge and passion with the rest of the world to create a positive impact in the way people eat. I would love the opportunity to pick your brains and learn as much information as I can from you. I hope I have the opportunity to do so.
“The greatest discovery is the one we’re about to make”
Brian R — June 19th, 2012, 1:00 pm
In the next 30-60 days I look to confront risk by launching an e-commerce platform similar to woot.com or 1saleday.com. All the pieces are in place and our marketing strategy is quite seamless. In conjunction with this new business, I plan on switching jobs by climbing down the ladder to an entry level digital marketing position. Although not averse to risk, I am in need of guidance and direction and would appreciate the conversation.
Chris M — June 19th, 2012, 1:07 pm
Ben and Reid,
I don’t envy whoever has the responsibility of sorting through all the posts above. There are so many great, thoughtful stories that selecting just one will be difficult, I’m sure. That being said, I’ll try to keep this as short and relevant as I can.
I’m trying to transition from public accounting to private equity – I want to be a partner at a private equity firm.
As you mentioned above, I’d LOVE the opportunity to gain some experience and credibility through an internship or apprenticeship but I’m finding it very difficult to find a mentor and get my foot in the door at a firm…and pay rent at the same time. I know there’s opportunity out there – maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places.
I’ve already taken a huge risk – I resigned from my “secure” accounting job to work as hedge fund consultant as a way to get some management experience in alternative investments.
Unfortunately, that fund’s performance has been down and my contract is done, months before it should have been. There is literally no money left. The only reason I found this post was because I needed a break from sending out resumes.
With all of my “connections” tapped and my bank account basically at zero, those corporate job offers look very “lucrative” right now. But I understand that getting trapped in that system makes me more vulnerable over the long term – I’ll likely remain dispensable in that environment and I won’t be moving in the direction I truly want.
So here’s the bottom line – I need a motivation boost (and getting some help transitioning into private equity would be nice too). I don’t expect much help until I prove myself and that’s what I want – an opportunity to prove myself to someone who wants to teach me.
Thank you for reading my post,
Chris M
Kevin Turner — June 19th, 2012, 1:12 pm
Hello,
My name is Kevin Turner and I’m a 34 year old former teacher and coach from Salem, Oregon. Last year at this time, I weighed 317 pounds. In December of 2011, I decided to change. I changed my eating and exercise habits (some of which I took from The Four-Hour Body) and as of today (June 19, 2012) I weigh 225 pounds. I have lost 64.5 pounds since December and 92 pounds since last year. I started a blog to chronicle my weight loss journey, but as I got deeper into the process, I realized that is what I wanted to do full time. I have seen all of the benefits of being healthier and want to help others achieve this.
I was the king of feeling like I was stuck and couldn’t change. I was a total self-defeater. Six months ago, I wouldn’t have even entered this contest because there was no way I could win. And taking risks? No way. Too much stress and discomfort. However, as I have lost the weight and started to reclaim my life, I am more confident and have started taking more risks. This has paid off in numerous ways, and this contest is just another chance for me to take more of a risk. I have already decided I am not going back to teaching. I want to transition into full time writing about fitness and nutrition, so I am looking for a job in the fitness world, at the moment, while I work on building my brand and website. I am not a business guy at all, but I am learning. I have been chewing up books (including The Four-Hour Workweek), and trying to learn as much as I can. Winning this contest would be an awesome opportunity to learn from some great mentors. But, even if I don’t win, just taking the risk of submitting my entry is enough of a win. Thanks for you time!
Kevin
Emma — June 19th, 2012, 1:31 pm
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Clever words by Churchill, which I quoted in my doctoral thesis. Chickening out I continued on according to the perfect career layout – but not perfect for me!
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Not happy.
“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.”
I am jumping ship! With two kids and a lot of time invested in education and work, I will finally close the circle and return full-time to what I truly love doing.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
I intend to be brave, and get going – see you out there!
(All quotes by Churchill. Clever man.)
Megan C. — June 19th, 2012, 1:44 pm
Greetings! I am Megan, a 31 year old mid-career pivoter, challenge seeker, “Jane of all trades,” and newly designated experimenter in lifestyle design. Inspired by Ramit Sethi, Seth Godin, Tim Ferris, Keith Ferrazzi and others, I am on a quest to find my dream job as well as my muse through systematic research, testing, and natural networking. Below is an overview of how I came to create change in my career, how I looked at the risk involved, and what I hope to accomplish.
“Chronology of a Cure”
December 2011 Inspired by the words of Seth Godin and Ramit Sethi, I buy myself a copy of The 4-Hour Workweek for my 31st birthday and am convinced I need to leave my job and start doing things I enjoy before I even reach the first chapter. I try to garner support for my plan by having my husband read the book and also give him The 4-Hour Body for his birthday.
January 2012 My husband reads The 4-Hour Body first and resolves to lose 35 pounds in 10 weeks, but is not yet keen on me leaving my job. I too get enthralled in the mysteries of The 4-Hour Body and join my husband in “slow carbing.” Cheese is harder to give up than I thought.
February 2012 With high hopes of rekindling both mine and my husband’s passion for travel and adventure, I plan a short trip to Costa Rica with an overly ambitious itinerary (the closest thing I could get to a mini-retirement at the time).
March 2012 After 10 weeks, I’ve lost 7 pounds and gained muscles where I’ve never seen muscle definition (and I’m athletic) and my husband has lost 37 pounds using the methods from The 4-Hour Body. We venture off to Costa Rica and my husband finally reads The 4-Hour Workweek. Sometime between zip-lining, water sliding into hot springs and reaching the top of the Cerro Chato volcano, we come to the agreement that I should leave my job and perhaps we should live abroad.
April 2012 Second thoughts about leaving my job begin creeping in. My husband reminds me to ask myself “what is the worst that could happen?” A thoughtful and honest analysis again reveals that the potential benefits of new opportunities far outweigh the costs of remaining in my current position. I develop an action plan with specific goals. We won’t go broke and I can be happy, productive, and fulfilled. Risk and reward analysis complete and plan of action drawn out, I make the final decision to leave behind my “secure” government job and give notice.
May 2012 I celebrate my last day on May 4th almost exactly 3 years to the day that I started the job (it’s no coincidence, I gave myself an ultimatum). I use techniques from Ramit Sethi’s 30-day course on hustling your way to success along with the lessons from his dream job course to secure an interview at a winery I love, less than two weeks after leaving my job.
June 2012 While awaiting a part time job proposal from the winery, I secure a freelance role as a researcher for a new book under development about people in the world who have used their voice to make a difference in society. It turns out that the author and his wife were inspired to leave their jobs of 20 years after reading The 4-Hour Workweek. Neither position pays much, but both offer amazing opportunities for learning and connecting.
I continue to research potential dream job roles and companies through natural networking. I turn to the words of Keith Ferrazzi to remind myself that I must be “audacious” in my pursuits. My goal is to obtain at least 3 dream job offers by the end of July while also developing my muse idea per The 4-Hour Workweek.
Tim, I’m starting to see that promised land you talk about. Thank you for the directions!
Cheers,
Megan
MSF — June 19th, 2012, 2:26 pm
Gentlemen,
As many have suggested, risk is relative to timing and circumstances. As I started writing this post, I was employed as a remote member of the executive management team. Between that start and now (couple of hour window), I have been informed that I am no longer a member of the team, and have a role only as an outside broker. So I was certainly exposed to career risk and now need to determine with much greater consideration to timing a career change.
As a teen, I grew up with a belief that I would run companies, be a deal maker and keep track of success via Lucite tombstones and bank accounts with billions.
Successful through college and in my initial corporate role with Kinko’s, I continued to feel I was on a path towards my goal. After several positive years with Kinko’s in which I learned field operations and lead projects at the corporate level, I attended UVA’s Darden School to earn my MBA.
My BHAG (I studied under Jim Collins and still regard Built to Last as one of the best business books ever published) of financial success was now supported with the education, tools and experiences that should have formulated a path to goal achievement.
Further through time, I have taken risks, traveled the world, moved in pursuit of new career opportunities, and have been part of multiple start-ups along with the resulting melt-downs. Looking back now, with my fortieth birthday in the rear view mirror, I have achieve great success at home, in growing a family and raising my children, but the one thing I have yet to achieve is something resembling my early dreams and ultimately refined BHAG of creating a self-directed path that would yield the type of success or results I envisioned early on.
As noted previously, I have just has a major change in my employment status. As such, in the next 30 days I plan to leverage my network, connections and current efforts to earn an offer in a new firm and fully commit to a new role. Several current contacts present opportunities; all of which could lead towards achieving my financial goal. While these opportunities all are positive and could yield strong returns, my next goal is diversification. This may take more than 30-60 days, but as a secondary goal to the short-term change, I am looking to find a way to rebalance my career portfolio. The concept is to fully fund my new position with energy, creativity and good work while at the same time finding time to build my network so that I have a constant source of new opportunity t
My one major constraining negativity bias is towards any sort of relocation (for now). Travel – fine. Living on the road – less so. Moving – not really an option. I love it here (Southern CA). My family is here; kids are heavily engaged in sports, their own peer networks and their academic paths. So in terms of risk, I just dramatically ratcheted up the challenge of finding a new role locally or one that will support another remote member of the team.
Thank you for your consideration.
Best regards,
Mark
Caitlin — June 19th, 2012, 2:38 pm
I thoughtfully made this short & sweet for you guys:
Intro: Caitlin. 27 years old. Currently working at an Ad Agency from 9am-8pm (which is even BETTER than your typical 9 to 5, in case you were wondering!)
Change I Plan to Make: Quit my job in 32 days to volunteer & travel in Peru and Costa Rica, blogging along the way. End goal is not only to gain invaluable life experience, learn a new language, help those who need it, be free from my desk, & live the life I’ve always wanted to lead – but I’m also focusing on determining a way to employ myself while also helping others. I have my work cut out for me and could definitely use a little guidance (wink, wink).
The Risk: It is riskier for me to NOT make this change than it is to make it. I plan to “remain fearless” and not just because that is the name of my blog.
Thank you Tim for another inspiring post, as always, and double thanks to Ben & Reid for offering their help!
Ntongo Kiwanuka — June 19th, 2012, 2:50 pm
Mr Casnocha, Mr Hoffman, I’m going to let you into a secret. The change that I envisage is so drastic and unnerving to both myself and my family that I haven’t told a soul. Not until this point. My parents have no idea about it, and I’ve only just given myself permission to entertain this scheme in its entirety. You see, I’ve been scared of dreaming*. And I know that you can relate to this fear and vulnerability. It’s what makes us human.
*In this context, dreaming means completely letting loose and giving oneself liberty to think up wild and wonderful ideas and plans; the best form of dreaming in my opinion.
So, let me tell you about the dream of this twenty-six year old receptionist…………………..
I want to meet the world’s greatest English-speaking orators so that they can help me prepare and practice for a 15 minute speech for a TED conference in the USA.
I then want to tour primary and secondary schools across the United Kingdom, talking to school pupils about public speaking, found a number of speaking clubs for under-privileged children under the age of 18 and produce an online course and DVD about this subject, which has been abandoned by all but a few very expensive, elite schools.
After that, I want to go on a semi-world tour by sea; think Old World aristocratic Grand Tour, meets seafaring Herman Melville, with a touch of Eastern Odyssey à la Lord Byron, without the debauchery and decadence, and more of the high culture and language learning. Mororcco, Turkey and India would all be on the itinerary. All the while I would keep a travel journal, and at the end of my tour I would write an eight-page piece for National Geographic, (my favourite magazine).
So, what are the big risks? Well……………
1.I might get kidnapped. I might get mugged. I might get snatched away and sold as a slave. I worry about travelling on my own as a woman who is often mistaken for a teenager.
2.Emotional/psychological risks: I might have a panic attack in the middle of nowhere and have nobody to help me.
3.I have a fear of the open sea (maritime agoraphobia?), I have an acute fear of big ships and anchors, get sea sick and anxious if I can’t see land for a long time.
4.My ego/pride: I have had no notable speaking experiences to date. I dislike the sound of my voice. I might get stage fright at the conference, start stuttering, forget my words, and panic at the TED conference.
5.My family might be totally against this idea. I would risk loosing their support and this is my biggest fear.
6.I will be leaving my current job and lifestyle and stepping into the great unknown. Having read your article, however, I think that staying in my job and going about things the usual way is the riskiest thing that I could possibly do.
The point of this plan is not to go gallivanting across the globe, living a hedonistic lifestyle and then showing off about it afterwards. I want to show people who are in the same situation as me, (shy, semi-reclusive introverts who are stuck in a rut) that actually, they are perfectly capable of coming out of their shells, surprising themselves, and taking a few well-considered risks.
I would love to have this opportunity of having the two of you as my mentors because you are both such inspiring people. I hope that you enjoy reading all of these ideas, and have an absolutely brilliant time mentoring whoever you finally choose. I will let you know how my story pans out anyhow.
I thank you both for taking the time to read my message.
Special thanks go out to Mr Timothy Ferris, for yet another outstanding article. I remember you saying in an interview that you wanted to love, be loved, and never stop learning. I agree that these are among the most important things in life.
Peace and love,
Ntongo Kiwanuka (Miss)
London, United Kingdom
Ntongo Kiwanuka — June 19th, 2012, 2:53 pm
Reid Hoffman Mentorship Competition
Mr Casnocha, Mr Hoffman, I’m going to let you into a secret. The change that I envisage is so drastic and unnerving to both myself and my family that I haven’t told a soul. Not until this point. My parents have no idea about it, and I’ve only just given myself permission to entertain this scheme in its entirety. You see, I’ve been scared of dreaming*. And I know that you can relate to this fear and vulnerability. It’s what makes us human.
*In this context, dreaming means completely letting loose and giving oneself liberty to think up wild and wonderful ideas and plans; the best form of dreaming in my opinion.
So, let me tell you about the dream of this twenty-six year old receptionist…………………..
I want to meet the world’s greatest English-speaking orators so that they can help me prepare and practice for a 15 minute speech for a TED conference in the USA.
I then want to tour primary and secondary schools across the United Kingdom, talking to school pupils about public speaking, found a number of speaking clubs for under-privileged children under the age of 18 and produce an online course and DVD about this subject, which has been abandoned by all but a few very expensive, elite schools.
After that, I want to go on a semi-world tour by sea; think Old World aristocratic Grand Tour, meets seafaring Herman Melville, with a touch of Eastern Odyssey à la Lord Byron, without the debauchery and decadence, and more of the high culture and language learning. Mororcco, Turkey and India would all be on the itinerary. All the while I would keep a travel journal, and at the end of my tour I would write an eight-page piece for National Geographic, (my favourite magazine).
So, what are the big risks? Well……………
1.I might get kidnapped. I might get mugged. I might get snatched away and sold as a slave. I worry about travelling on my own as a woman who is often mistaken for a teenager.
2.Emotional/psychological risks: I might have a panic attack in the middle of nowhere and have nobody to help me.
3.I have a fear of the open sea (maritime agoraphobia?), I have an acute fear of big ships and anchors, get sea sick and anxious if I can’t see land for a long time.
4.My ego/pride: I have had no notable speaking experiences to date. I dislike the sound of my voice. I might get stage fright at the conference, start stuttering, forget my words, and panic in front of all the confident and successful Americans.
5.My family might be totally against this idea. I would risk loosing their support and this is my biggest fear.
6.I will be leaving my current job and lifestyle and stepping into the great unknown. Having read your article, however, I think that staying in my job and going about things the usual way is the riskiest thing that I could possibly do.
The point of this plan is not to go gallivanting across the globe, living a hedonistic lifestyle and then showing off about it afterwards. I want to show people who are in the same situation as me, (shy, semi-reclusive introverts who are stuck in a rut) that actually, they are perfectly capable of coming out of their shells, surprising themselves, and taking a few well-considered risks.
I would love to have this opportunity of having the two of you as my mentors because you are both such inspiring people. I hope that you enjoy reading all of these ideas, and have an absolutely brilliant time mentoring whoever you finally choose. I will let you know how my story pans out anyhow.
I thank you both for taking the time to read my message.
Special thanks go out to Mr Timothy Ferris, for yet another outstanding article. I remember you saying in an interview that you wanted to love, be loved, and never stop learning. I agree that these are among the most important things in life.
Peace and love,
Ntongo Kiwanuka (Miss)
London, United Kingdom
Sean S — June 19th, 2012, 3:01 pm
I have taken career risks all my life, focusing on the benefits of an immensely eclectic skill set that I have developed by working in many different fields. This led to my biggest risk to date, building my business, BizBang LLC. I emptied most of my savings and quit my other two jobs to focus all my time and energy on BizBang. So far it has been the biggest…now on to bigger risks. My company has incorporated, I have bids out on Elance ala 4HWW for my web design and it should be complete in 3-4 weeks. I even have clients lined up, now on to the risky part. I have just purchased an RV and will end my lease at my home to allow me time to 1. Travel and work at the same time, 2. Better facilitate my customers by being able to come to them and spend better face to face time with them while I build the business, 3. Eliminate rent from my budget. The risk in this comes from going from a grounded brick and mortar office and throwing myself into a world of mobile officing full time and to the unknowns of doing business on the road. I know many salesmen work in outside sales but I know of few people that are fully mobile in their businesses. I am confident that my history of diverse employment and general “cockroach in a nuclear bomb” demeanor (Nothing can kill me). Will help me to persevere. That and the assistance that Tim Ferris is going go give me for my well worded response! <———
Tom Cornwall — June 19th, 2012, 4:08 pm
Everything is arbitrary (…and why it matters).
Why do we do what we do?
We act in order to survive and replicate but the strategies that we pursue to do this are, essentially, arbitrary. The way that we explain things is arbitrary – it could have happened for many reasons. You and I will not see things the same way because we have be shaped by different experiences. We will attribute causality in different ways. We will seek evidence from different sources. We will have different emphases and biases. Was that luck or skill? Was that success or failure? Is it safe or risky?
Imprints are important to shaping the way we behave – the experiences that made us who we are along the way. These are the anchors that we use to make decisions based upon, they are the ‘factory settings’. They also determine the way in which we think and we act based on emotional responses (even if we like to think we are rational). These can create thinking traps – the thoughts that hold you back, that force you to bite your lip and wait and the words you use to justify your limitations. Or imprints can set you free. Jay-Z was just an average schoolkid until his 6th grade teacher told him he had a way with words. What if she had bit her lip and never spoken? How would the world be different?
Imprints too are just arbitrary events that have shaped you along the way. This raises the question: who are you? If your personality, your beliefs and your thoughts are shaped externally then is there an authentic you? Would you still think the way you do if you had caught that train, had spoken to that girl or had taken that risk?
Similarly if you aren’t who you want to be then you can change things. You are plasticine in your own hands that you can mould, if only you realised.
Shape your world, do not be shaped by your world. And if you manage this, you owe it to the rest of us to tell us how to do the same.
This is why defaults and social norms are so powerful. They imprint the path to take and affect our behaviour in ways we may never fully realise. Take a simple thought; Times New Roman was for years the default font of choice. What if the decision had been to go with Calibri or Comic Sans, how would the world be different? We know that your imagination responds better to the colour blue than black, how would the world have been different if everything was written in blue? The decision as to what font to use as the default was (probably) arbitrarily decided but this may have an effect on the way we behave, the way we think and the lives we lead.
Consider this; the organ donation rate in the United Kingdom is about 17% whilst the organ donation rate in France is about 99%. Why the difference? A stronger sense of solidarity within the French Republic? Or British rational self-interest?
How about simply the difference between an opt-in and an opt-out box on the form that you fill in when you receive your driving licence? No doubt this default was decided arbitrarily one day by a person who will remain anonymous but their decision on that day inadvertently resulted in a shortage of organs within the British health system whilst another decision has lead to a plethora within the French. It shows the extent to which we follow the road most travelled.
Why not change the default option then? Why not indeed. Yet changing the default is often a big dilemma, only because something existed before. “You can’t change it to blue, it’s always been black”. “You can’t take away my organs, that’s deceitful” “You can’t become an entrepreneur, that’s madness”. How would our behaviour and our imprints be different if that wasn’t the case that some things are arbitrary like this? If the opposite were the norm?
Ultimately the path in life that most people choose is arbitrarily decided based upon the decisions of people they will never meet and who will never be affected by their actions. Going to school and learning what you did is arbitrarily decided. Why maths and not meteorology? Why english and not emotions? Passing tests, getting in to college, going to work is arbitrarily decided by the ‘factory setting’ of the world we live in. It has developed from a default. And most people follow the default.
But the saddest thing of all is that most people never realise this…
Now how do you respond to this? Does this give you a feeling of ultimate fear or ultimate freedom? Because all I’m really saying is: there are no rules.
Do you agree?
I am sure that most people will disagree, but you aren’t most people. Most people accept their circumstances and will never test my theory. Maybe I am wrong, maybe there are some underlying rules to the world. Maybe. But nobody can prove me wrong without first trying to push their possibilities beyond those of everyone that has ever lived. Why not try it today? It doesn’t have to be anything earth-shattering. Everything was once just a thought but it’s these small thoughts that can change everything. Just try to test a few rules that you think you have to abide by.
What will you test first?
[NB: I didn't follow the brief on this one because I knew that everyone would - that's the default option to take. But isn't that the lesson to lifestyle design? There is always a backdoor option if you look hard enough. I do have a plan for the next 30-60 days, a big one, and I'd love to discuss it with you.]