After 7 years as a high school teacher, I had lost my mojo…
Countless (unpaid) hours of planning, marking and extra- circular expectations began to eat away at me and I started to resent my job. I was tired and grumpy all the time and my personal relationships were being sacrificed. I just didn’t love it enough anymore. I remember thinking, ‘there’s got to be a better way’. I simply wasn’t living the life I had dreamed of. This was not on my vision board!
When my partner and I made the decision to run our own business, many people thought we were crazy (some still do). Armed with youthful enthusiasm and a ton of motivation we forged ahead into the world of business retail. 5 years on, and we haven’t looked back.
After the final farewell and wishes of ‘good luck’, a mentor pulled me aside and quietly said ‘I wish I could do something like that, I’ve always wanted to own my own business, I wish I was brave enough’; it was this exact moment I knew I had made the right decision.
The timing could not have been more perfect. I didn’t want to be 40 or 50 and live with regret or what-if’s. I started to meet people of all ages and all walks of life, who hated their jobs and kept waiting for the lottery to strike it big.
I was determined to create a business and life that was fulfilling and financially freeing. I wanted a lifestyle that would allow me the freedom to travel whenever I wanted (not confined to by school holidays), spend extended time with family and friends and also freedom from the fortnightly pay check. Business was one way to achieve all this and more; the other was to marry a millionaire. I made a commitment to myself to find my purpose and make it earn me an income.
Having no previous business experience, I equipped myself with volumes of information. I read profusely. I studied business balance sheets and profit and loss statements. I attended courses on starting your own business, strategic planning, retail management, marketing, payroll and tax.
I read business success stories and financial freedom best sellers. Anything that would give me greater insight and knowledge, I took it. I even had the small business development corporation on speed dial! There’s a lot of information (some of it free) out there, you just have to go and look for it.
The beauty about business is that it’s basically a series of systems. Once you’ve got all the systems working effectively you can replicate and duplicate, allowing even greater financial rewards. When you work for someone, you rely on them needing you. If they no longer need you or can’t afford to employ you, your job and pay check ceases to exist. The security you once had in your 9-5 job doesn’t look so secure anymore.
MINDSET
Developing a business mind-set was not quick or easy. Re-training your mind to accept an unconventional way of living and earning an income requires great discipline. It is a path of personal reflection and development, which can be time consuming and often frustrating. Once you learn a better way, you can’t unlearn it; once your eyes are opened to possibilities of another way, you can’t walk blindly in the opposite direction. It is important to continue to work through the process, don’t give up. I love the quote ‘fall 7 times, rise up 8’! I believe that part of being successful, is experiencing failure. Failure is a wonderful thing if you learn and grow from it and be willing to adapt to change quickly. Accept that things will go wrong but be committed to finding a solution and if that doesn’t work, find a new solution.
Evolving into a new mind-set requires dedication and time. It’s great to get all the advice, knowledge and tools for success but unless you actively practice it, you’re not operating at your optimal level. Be opening to learning, accept that you are with faults and make a promise to yourself to be the best you; if you can live by this alone, your state of mind will improve tremendously and you will begin to achieve success in many areas of your life.
It is important that you get clear about your picture of success. This is a useful strategy that has helped keep me focused and motivated. Sometimes, you can get caught up in comparisons and what the world perceives as successful, but knowing your measure of success is the only judge for comparison.
Others will project onto you their model of success, but when you start to compare your business today and your business tomorrow, is where you will see the greatest accomplishments.
This is a sample taken from a chapter in the book How To Escape Your 9-5 And Do Something Amazing.
At last! A guide to stepping off the corporate hamster-wheel and living a fuller, more rewarding life. Written by people that have successfully made a break for freedom, How To Escape Your 9-5 And Do Something Amazing is your freedom manifesto.
With thought-provoking, insightful features written by people from all over the world, this book will change your life. If you have ever wondered how you can shake off the shackles of your 9-5 but still make a living, then this is the most important book you will ever read.
