Skydiving. Climbing Mt. Everest. Quitting a corporate job to start a business. What do all of these have in common? They are all extremely risky and have uncertain outcomes. Each of these adventures attracts a specific type of person and demands certain qualities to be successful. Of the three adventures, entrepreneurship is actually the most adventurous. It is the most risky because the odds of failure are highest. If you take a risk and fail, the only person you can blame is yourself. The risk and the fear of failure is what causes most people to be employees their entire lives. They are risk averse. So what is it about entrepreneurs that makes them special? It is their appetite for risk. It is the unwavering optimism and the belief that things will work out. It is the passion, persistence, dedication and determination to a project required to make it successful.
I congratulate one of my best friends and Co-founder, Laurence, in taking a major step towards a lifetime of entrepreneurship and adventure. Two weeks ago, Laurence notified his bosses that he was leaving his job to pursue his dream of starting a business. Today is his last day as an employee, his last day with the security of a comfortable job and a regular pay check (for a while). Tomorrow, Laurence will wake up with the freedom to spend his time and energy however he wants. He understands that to be successful will require countless hours of hard work and struggle. But this work will not be the same as the work that most people are used to. This work will be fun. It will be exciting. It will be rewarding in a way that only other entrepreneurs know. The feelings of accomplishment and fulfillment from building something from scratch is incredible.
