Leave My Comfort Zone Alone
I cleaned out my bookshelves last weekend and ran across an oldie-but-goodie, "DO IT! Let's Get Off Our Buts" written by Peter McWilliams. After re-reading it, I couldn't resist sharing a key message with you that my successful clients must embrace in order to achieve their goal of business ownership: stepping outside of the Comfort Zone.
Take, for example, Roseanne. After working for 3M for 25 years, do you suppose she's had to step outside of her comfort zone to leave a cushy job and start her new business? Or Jeff, who went from being a stay-at-home dad to starting his new venture last spring? Or ask Chuck, who had held high-level leadership positions in corporate America, if moving to a new city and starting a chain of service stores two years ago didn't take him a step or two outside of his comfort zone?
Why aren't more of us acheiving our goals?
According to McWilliams, "because there is something we are trained to honor more than our dreams: the comfort zone."
Market research firm Harris Interactive asked American workers who consider starting a business, why they have not yet followed through. Here are the main excuses:
• 37% lack the funding
• 28% fear losing job security
• 23% had no viable business idea or plan
These sound like logical reasons, right?
They may sound legitimate, but in reality, they are excuses used to rationalize (aka rational lies) why we stay in our Comfort Zone. Even when our Comfort Zone isn't so comfortable.
There are, of course, valid reasons for being cautious when starting a business. As you long-time readers know, The E-Source advocates following a fact-based, analytical process in investigating options.
Unfortunately, rather than stepping outside of the Comfort Zone to gather the facts necessary to validate or invalidate those excuses, many folks give up before even starting. They stay in their "jail" because it's easier than taking the initiative to explore their options. Or plain old don't know where to start.
What if Anne Lindquist hadn't stepped out of her Comfort Zone? Despite the fact that she didn't think she could afford a business, she attended a self-employment seminar I gave. While there, she learned that she could use her retirement account to fund a new venture. What if she had chosen to stay in her Comfort Zone that day? It's quite likely that she wouldn't be a business owner today.
It takes commitment and action and the conscious choice to break out of our Comfort Zone. And along the way, it's tempting to quit or get distracted. Forging ahead, however, expands our comfort zone and even strengthens our commitment to our dream.
When you're 75 years old, how would you like to answer this question, "Throughout my life, did I pursue what I wanted or did I do what was comfortable?"
Don't let your dreams die. Take the first step. I'll be waiting for you on "the outside".
Take, for example, Roseanne. After working for 3M for 25 years, do you suppose she's had to step outside of her comfort zone to leave a cushy job and start her new business? Or Jeff, who went from being a stay-at-home dad to starting his new venture last spring? Or ask Chuck, who had held high-level leadership positions in corporate America, if moving to a new city and starting a chain of service stores two years ago didn't take him a step or two outside of his comfort zone?
Why aren't more of us acheiving our goals?
According to McWilliams, "because there is something we are trained to honor more than our dreams: the comfort zone."
Market research firm Harris Interactive asked American workers who consider starting a business, why they have not yet followed through. Here are the main excuses:
• 37% lack the funding
• 28% fear losing job security
• 23% had no viable business idea or plan
These sound like logical reasons, right?
They may sound legitimate, but in reality, they are excuses used to rationalize (aka rational lies) why we stay in our Comfort Zone. Even when our Comfort Zone isn't so comfortable.
There are, of course, valid reasons for being cautious when starting a business. As you long-time readers know, The E-Source advocates following a fact-based, analytical process in investigating options.
Unfortunately, rather than stepping outside of the Comfort Zone to gather the facts necessary to validate or invalidate those excuses, many folks give up before even starting. They stay in their "jail" because it's easier than taking the initiative to explore their options. Or plain old don't know where to start.
What if Anne Lindquist hadn't stepped out of her Comfort Zone? Despite the fact that she didn't think she could afford a business, she attended a self-employment seminar I gave. While there, she learned that she could use her retirement account to fund a new venture. What if she had chosen to stay in her Comfort Zone that day? It's quite likely that she wouldn't be a business owner today.
It takes commitment and action and the conscious choice to break out of our Comfort Zone. And along the way, it's tempting to quit or get distracted. Forging ahead, however, expands our comfort zone and even strengthens our commitment to our dream.
When you're 75 years old, how would you like to answer this question, "Throughout my life, did I pursue what I wanted or did I do what was comfortable?"
Don't let your dreams die. Take the first step. I'll be waiting for you on "the outside".
posted by Carolyn Herfurth, The Entrepreneur's Source at Tuesday, August 08, 2006
