Scratch Your Own Itch

Like many, I never had much hope that my dream of starting my own business, my own small business that is, could ever come to life.

With an endless stream of pros and cons constantly taunting the mind, the logistics of funding the start-up costs, needing to generate a steady income and take on employees, and ultimately growing the business until it was large enough to be deemed successful by peers...the alarm bells sound, procrastination sets in and the dream retreats to the depths of the mind, where familiarity and hope keep the dim light lit — once again telling myself someday; and so the dream stays just a dream. 

A Time For Change

Recently, I stumbled across a book that Silvia had recommended called “Re-Work: Change The Way You Work Forever” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, who are the founders of the revolutionary online project management software - Basecamp.

After flicking through a few pages I decided to buy the book and have a read, after all I thought, “What's the harm?” Turns out this is probably the best decision I've made in a while — it has to be one of the simplest, yet most empowering and inspiring reads about 'entrepreneurs', or as they prefer to call it — 'starters', as anyone can be a starter.

Rather than focusing on the enormity of planning, the text focuses on a simpler approach, shaving away the unnecessary excess and getting down to the bare bones of getting started — that is, you have to start.

Anywhere. It doesn't matter where. If you never start, you will never know if you could own and run a business; if your idea could be the next big thing; if your business will succeed or fail, or if you even enjoy working for yourself.

One of my favourite quotes from the book is that: 

“We all have that one friend who says, “I had the idea for ebay. If only I had acted on it, I'd be a billionaire.” 

Put ever so simply, it can’t be any clearer for readers — if you don't scratch your own itch, someone else will and you'll be left pondering 'if only I had'.

Among the many excuses that are thrown about when asked, “Why didn't you?”; some of the greatest, besides financial woes, include: a perceived lack of knowledge and brain capacity (we feel there is just too much thought required); excess stress that we associate with running a business; and the limitations of what's really possible, that we base on our accrued knowledge of what has been done before.

But this is changing, with the emerging field of neuroscience continuously growing in popularity, we are now learning how to enhance our cognitive abilities through 'brain training'. It is becoming evident that a positive mindset is a crucial element in the success of a business, managing stress levels, and allowing us to focus on what's really important.

Impressive Minds

Our brains are capable of more than we think, consider: man landing on the moon — to many, it was nothing more than a pipe-dream; but on July 20, 1969, the world watched on as it became reality - the result of collaboration between many minds making it possible.

Or perhaps consider our smart-phones with touch screens — a mere five years ago they were nothing more than a glorified ideal of Hollywood films, and now they’re a part of our everyday reality. This goes to show that with the right nurturing, mindset and simple training — our brains are capable of making the impossible, possible.

Just Start

Having a dream isn't about doing things the proper way, or only the way they have been done before; it's about taking your itch and scratching it how it needs to be scratched, even if that means addressing it in an entirely new manner.

'Re-Work' doesn't encourage you to quit your day job, but instead to utilise the little bits of extra time in the day — be it choosing to work on the train or staying up just one hour later each night. It can be done by all of us, and if you're like me in thinking, “But what if it completely fails?”, consider this — “Failure is not a prerequisite for success." A Harvard Business School study found...[that] people who failed before have the same amount of success as people who have never tried before.

So What Are You Waiting For? 

Whether you have tried starting a business before or never tried at all, now is the time to utilise your brains full potential and start doing and creating the impossible, no matter how big or small your idea — you just need to start.