Time to get busy

There are very few things I believe I need in life to be happy.

• Seeing my children grow up happy and healthy. Check.
• Someone to share life with, someone who offers me endless love, support, and loyalty. Check.
• A roof over my head and food on my table. Check.
• A career that offers job security, good benefits, and excellent pay. Not so much.

I will say that I believe I have good job security where I work. However it is a far cry from a career. It’s just a job, and it gets me by. I live pay check to pay check and sometimes I’m lucky if I even make it that far. I am offered meager health benefits, no retirement or 401K, no stock options, etc. I bust my ass every day and receive no respect or appreciation in return. The more work I do the more they expect, and have often been yelled at and berated in front of the whole office.

Why do I stick around? I have often asked myself this, but in a time of economic hardship where unemployment is at an all time high, I’m not willing to take the risk to leave my current secure job for one that could evaporate with no warning.

I’ve realized that all I am doing is working to help someone else build their business. I will see no returns from my efforts aside from my weekly paycheck; I won’t be able to retire from this job knowing that I have built something, left my legacy. I will never have anything to leave to my kids if I stay where I am.

I have known for quite some time that I want to own my own business. And the further along I get into the process of writing my business plan, considering funding, searching for grants, and the overall planning the more anxious I feel. I know it won’t be easy, and it will be much more work than what I do now, but it’s what I feel I’m meant to do. It’s a drive so strong that since I have started it more than 2 years ago, I haven’t given up on it, gotten bored with the idea, or just decided it was going to be too difficult. Granted it shouldn’t have taken me 2 years to get as far as I have, but there was a period of time where it was set on the back burner, like many other things.

I always want to go at things full force. I want to go big in the beginning. I’m learning that I can’t do that now; I’m going to have to start small, and build my way up. It’s a bit frustrating because I have so many ideas that I want to see come to fruition right away, so many things that will be beneficial to the business and help draw customers in. Alas, starting small is the first step.

It's time to make a future for myself and my loved ones, time to make my mark, time to get my ass in gear.

The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer. - Nolan Bushnel