I watch a lot (too much?) YouTube. I even subscribe to it so no annoying ads are interrupting every 39 seconds.
And I’m OK with this because 90% of what I watch on YouTube is useful. But believe me, that other 10% is total trash!
I spend the majority of my viewing time educating myself. I watch martial arts videos for new and interesting ideas. I watch business videos to learn how to improve the services I offer. I watch workout videos to follow along with. I watch seminars by people whom I admire for inspiration. I listen to audiobooks for my car rides. All sorts of things.
I’ve recognized a trend, especially with the “influencer” videos. They all have a story. And while there are slight alterations to their story, they mostly go along the lines of: “I was struggling to make ends meet for years and then I decided to go out on my own. And NOBODY believed in me! EVERYONE said I would fail! They were all laughing at me!” Etc, etc…
So, I thought back to when I decided to leave my full-time, benefited career to start up 603 Karate. At age 41, I dumped my secure salary and opened the dojo with 2 students!
Smart move? It has worked out, so it’s easy to say ‘yes’ now. I had a good plan, so I never thought it was a poor decision, but I definitely would do some things differently if I started over again.
There were a lot of other factors that played into the decision at the time, but I won’t bore you with that. What I’m trying to get at is what people were saying to me when I made this decision.
There wasn’t a single person who said that I was going to fail. There wasn’t a single person who said it was a terrible idea. Not one person behaved in a way where I thought they didn’t believe that I at least had a shot.
Now, maybe some had these thoughts in their heads. I know I had them in my head for sure! But everyone I knew, both family and friends, was nothing but supportive of what I was about to do. Sure, I was asked some practical questions by some people. And I appreciated them asking. It just showed me that they cared.
So, why was my experience so different from all of these YouTube people?
I’ve come up with 2 possible answers.
#1- Maybe the YouTube people are full of baloney? Or, at least being very dramatic? After all, they are always trying to sell something; a product, a course, some coaching, etc. And they can only sell these things by selling themselves and the image they are creating. I get that. I mean, if their upbringing was anything like mine, the main struggle was my sister getting the remote control to the ONLY color TV in the house before I did. Yet, I survived!
#2- Much more important than #1, I had the correct people in my life already to support what I wanted to do. When I was asked some honest questions from a concerned loved one, they could see that I at least had a plan. This wasn’t some crazy idea that I hatched after a night out drinking.
My plan did not guarantee any level of success, but it showed that a lot of thought had been put into what I was about to do.
By already having the correct people in my life in addition to having a solid plan, I only felt support from the people I knew. I only felt that my success would also be their success. I only felt that they were on my side and cheering me on.
If there is something that you have in your mind that you want to make into a reality, but what other people might say to you is holding you back, ask yourself a couple of questions:
#1- Would their objections be correct because you don’t have a well-thought-out plan?
#2- If you do have a good plan, do you have the right people in your life right now to help support you along the way?
I run my business by myself, but it is very far from an individual success. I still have letters in my office from friends before I even opened wishing me well and telling me that they KNOW I will succeed. Their words, and those of many others, have helped me succeed. I might be the only one who cleans the toilets at the dojo, but I'm far from the only one who has a part in its success.
Do you have the correct people in your life right now?
If not, I encourage you to start changing that. You will need the right people for life’s many challenges. And, this will also allow you to be that person for someone else which is incredibly rewarding!
Enjoy the day,
john g