Hi all,
So I guess this would be a good time to introduce myself. I'm T from London, 25. I graduated last year from a fairly top university in the UK and am currently working a corporate finance job in the city. I hate it, and I want to change my life through business.
It's been nearly 5 months since I finished reading TMF and joined this forum. I remember my general reaction after reading the book, 'err, so I know I need to start a business, I know I need to solve problems, but erm, what on earth can I actually do?'.
I think when you're a complete newbie in business, this is always your natural reaction. You know you need to solve problems, but you don't know where to look. You may find certain problems, but you don't know how to go about solving them. There is a strong impostor syndrome you experience in that you don't believe that you have what it takes to create something valuable.
But the problem here isn't that you're not competent enough, the problem here is that you don't know that there are people like you, perhaps much less smarter, who are making money, lots of money, doing stuff that you can do too, better. The difference between you and them is that they felt less of a hesitancy when it came to actually taking action and starting that business. But why is that? What gave them the confidence to start and overcome any initial fears?
To answer this, I think it's interesting to look at how people make decisions when it comes to the things they devote a large portion of their lives to. One major example of this is career. Most people don't choose their career by thoroughly researching all the possible opportunities out there, weighing up the pros and cons and considering their own relevant skillsets, no. Most people choose their careers based on what's in their bubble of possibilities. For example, if you know a lot about the process of how to become a doctor— you know the grades and work experience required and the exact route you need to take—and let's say you have some family members who are doctors, then becoming a doctor to you will probably seem a lot easier than to someone who has no knowledge of the process. Or at least you will have a lot less hesitancy in pursuing that career than someone who was completely unfamiliar to it. In this scenario, becoming a doctor is something that is well within your bubble of possibilities. It's something you know the exact process for and should you decide to pursue it, you know exactly what you need to do. However, if someone tells you to, say, become a Typeface Designer, you'll feel a lot more hesitant even if it earns more. It's too far from your bubble of possibilities. It's too unfamiliar. You don't know anyone who's done it, you don't know how much the job pays, you don't know the path it requires and you don't know whether people like you do well in it. There's just too much friction.
You see, the more something is within our bubble of possibilities, the more confident and less hesitant we feel when it comes to pursuing it. The problem with when you're a complete beginner in business, and lived a scripted life your while life, is that your bubble of possibilities is too small. You don't know many people on a personal level that have done well in business. You don't know the process and steps behind creating a product and launching it. You don't know what the hell sales or marketing is. All of these don't-knows create friction.
Friction = Hesitance => Inaction
The greatest thing that this forum has done for me in the past 5 months is that it has added so many things to my bubble of possibilities. I've read countless examples of exactly how people have started certain businesses and made them a success. You see when you actually read case studies of processes and execution in action, your brain sort of goes 'ah, you know what, I could actually do that too'. Once you feel that feeling, that thing suddenly becomes a part of your bubble of possibilities because, well, it now seems more possible for you to do.
My advice to any complete newbie to this forum would be to read actual case studies on execution. Start making things feel more possible by seeing exactly how they're done by people like yourself. I think these psychological things make a huge difference. We feel a lot more confident about doing something if they have been done successfully by people that look, talk, walk and dress like us. The problem is that people in our real life circles have never created anything or started a business, not because they can't, but because they are still living the scripted lifestyle whereas you are closer to escaping it than they are. They haven't started the same reason you hadn't, it's too unfamiliar territory. It's only natural that you feel apprehensive and scared, I don't blame you. Heck, I was and probably to some extent still am the same. But this forum right here, it's full of people just like you who are making money, just like you could too. Read their specific case studies. Interact with them. Ask questions. Start pushing things into your bubble of possibilities.
BUT
...practice to act. Do not get lost in analysis paralysis. The chances are, even if something enters your bubble of possibilities, you will still fail. But that's ok. Zoom out, the point at this point in your entrepreneurial career isn't to hit a home run on first attempt, it's to get in the practice of doing. Do and fail as much as you can and as fast as you can. One day you'll hit that home run.
So I guess this would be a good time to introduce myself. I'm T from London, 25. I graduated last year from a fairly top university in the UK and am currently working a corporate finance job in the city. I hate it, and I want to change my life through business.
It's been nearly 5 months since I finished reading TMF and joined this forum. I remember my general reaction after reading the book, 'err, so I know I need to start a business, I know I need to solve problems, but erm, what on earth can I actually do?'.
I think when you're a complete newbie in business, this is always your natural reaction. You know you need to solve problems, but you don't know where to look. You may find certain problems, but you don't know how to go about solving them. There is a strong impostor syndrome you experience in that you don't believe that you have what it takes to create something valuable.
But the problem here isn't that you're not competent enough, the problem here is that you don't know that there are people like you, perhaps much less smarter, who are making money, lots of money, doing stuff that you can do too, better. The difference between you and them is that they felt less of a hesitancy when it came to actually taking action and starting that business. But why is that? What gave them the confidence to start and overcome any initial fears?
To answer this, I think it's interesting to look at how people make decisions when it comes to the things they devote a large portion of their lives to. One major example of this is career. Most people don't choose their career by thoroughly researching all the possible opportunities out there, weighing up the pros and cons and considering their own relevant skillsets, no. Most people choose their careers based on what's in their bubble of possibilities. For example, if you know a lot about the process of how to become a doctor— you know the grades and work experience required and the exact route you need to take—and let's say you have some family members who are doctors, then becoming a doctor to you will probably seem a lot easier than to someone who has no knowledge of the process. Or at least you will have a lot less hesitancy in pursuing that career than someone who was completely unfamiliar to it. In this scenario, becoming a doctor is something that is well within your bubble of possibilities. It's something you know the exact process for and should you decide to pursue it, you know exactly what you need to do. However, if someone tells you to, say, become a Typeface Designer, you'll feel a lot more hesitant even if it earns more. It's too far from your bubble of possibilities. It's too unfamiliar. You don't know anyone who's done it, you don't know how much the job pays, you don't know the path it requires and you don't know whether people like you do well in it. There's just too much friction.
You see, the more something is within our bubble of possibilities, the more confident and less hesitant we feel when it comes to pursuing it. The problem with when you're a complete beginner in business, and lived a scripted life your while life, is that your bubble of possibilities is too small. You don't know many people on a personal level that have done well in business. You don't know the process and steps behind creating a product and launching it. You don't know what the hell sales or marketing is. All of these don't-knows create friction.
Friction = Hesitance => Inaction
The greatest thing that this forum has done for me in the past 5 months is that it has added so many things to my bubble of possibilities. I've read countless examples of exactly how people have started certain businesses and made them a success. You see when you actually read case studies of processes and execution in action, your brain sort of goes 'ah, you know what, I could actually do that too'. Once you feel that feeling, that thing suddenly becomes a part of your bubble of possibilities because, well, it now seems more possible for you to do.
My advice to any complete newbie to this forum would be to read actual case studies on execution. Start making things feel more possible by seeing exactly how they're done by people like yourself. I think these psychological things make a huge difference. We feel a lot more confident about doing something if they have been done successfully by people that look, talk, walk and dress like us. The problem is that people in our real life circles have never created anything or started a business, not because they can't, but because they are still living the scripted lifestyle whereas you are closer to escaping it than they are. They haven't started the same reason you hadn't, it's too unfamiliar territory. It's only natural that you feel apprehensive and scared, I don't blame you. Heck, I was and probably to some extent still am the same. But this forum right here, it's full of people just like you who are making money, just like you could too. Read their specific case studies. Interact with them. Ask questions. Start pushing things into your bubble of possibilities.
BUT
...practice to act. Do not get lost in analysis paralysis. The chances are, even if something enters your bubble of possibilities, you will still fail. But that's ok. Zoom out, the point at this point in your entrepreneurial career isn't to hit a home run on first attempt, it's to get in the practice of doing. Do and fail as much as you can and as fast as you can. One day you'll hit that home run.
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