Overcoming the fear of leaving corporate

Be honest with yourself about what you’re really after. What’s your story been, what is it now, and what do you want it to be? Owning a business is hard, and not every day is good. So ask whether it will fulfill you and whether it’s going to make your life better. That’s the big thing.

In the corporate world, I took jobs because somebody else thought they were good for me. They were grooming me to do something and be something. Fifteen or twenty years into a career, you take a step back and ask where you’ve been and where you’re going.

A lot of people answer questions the way they’ve been groomed to answer them, and it’s very politically correct. I’ll work with people who have the most perfect resume you could imagine, and we’re still talking for a reason. Something’s missing. Usually it comes back to fulfillment, in your personal life, your career and your community.

Your why is the most important thing, because it keeps you going when you hit a bump. If you have a picture of where you’re going, you hit the bump and keep going in that direction. If you don’t know where you’re going, you end up in the ditch, and it’s hard to get out.

When I look at the people who succeed, they understand their why. That’s first and foremost. They have a desire to grow, and when today was a tough day, they think about how they’ll respond tomorrow. They surround themselves with the right people.

It’s like climbing one of the fourteeners here in Colorado. Some days you pause, some days you take two steps forward, and some days you step back. Along the way you wonder why you’re doing this. As long as you keep moving forward, you’re growing. I don’t think people dream enough about what’s at the top.

Yes. We all have a sense of fear or butterflies at times, and if you don’t, it’s not real. Some fear is good. When people tell me they aren’t concerned about anything, I usually see them come up with reasons not to do it. Everybody’s risk tolerance is different, but at some point you have to jump in.

It’s like the first time you go up on the high dive. You get to the top and think, that’s a long way down. Then you jump, and it wasn’t such a big deal, so you do it again.

Confidence comes both before and after you act. You take action, you make a mistake, and you work out how to pivot. To get comfortable, I work with people to validate a business: what it takes to build it, the key milestones, and how you keep it sustainable. Coming out of corporate, you also gain a whole new network of people who work together to help build you.

Not always. A lot of people think that having a job means they’re secure. In some cases you are, but in a lot of cases you’re not. There’s risk in going after something, and there’s risk in not doing anything. If you never go after it, you’ll never know.

In the corporate world, you can blame somebody else. When you have your own business, you look in the mirror. Maybe it wasn’t your fault that today wasn’t a good day, but you’re still the one who has to turn the lights on tomorrow. The more time you spend worrying about whose fault it is, the less time you have to solve problems.

Friends and family often try to help by putting walls around you so you’re safe. They love you. But sometimes the day you skin your knee turns out to be the best day of your life. I talked more about leaving a corporate career on Sound BITES.

Don’t wait for the perfect decision, because perfection doesn’t exist. Make the best decision you can with the information in front of you, and give yourself some grace. If you don’t have enough to decide, dig a little deeper. I’m not saying make decisions for the sake of making them. Just don’t be paralyzed.

Entrepreneurs are resourceful. They go after things, and when they need to, they take a step back, assess the situation, make a decision and pivot. You’ll make mistakes along the way. Anybody can sit back and justify saying no to something. The harder question is how you say yes.

Part of getting it right is alignment. A company can be very successful, and you can be very successful, and you still might not be aligned in how it works. It can be the best opportunity in the world. If it’s not the right one for you, you shouldn’t pursue it.