I COULD DO THIS ON MY OWN, OR CAN I?
Posted on January 01, 2018 by Angela Civitella, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.
A look inside the mind of a frustrated executive
I woke up again this morning at 6am, while half asleep, turned on the television to hear the latest tragedies going on in the world, while waiting for the breeze and smell of coffee to swell into my nose and create that well needed explosion in my head that tells me: Another day at the office, can’t wait to get there!!!
But do I really feel this way? After all, it’s not my office, I am only employed there; I don’t own any shares, my brain power is simply being exploited until I have nothing left to give, and then I will be put out to pasture; I command respect only insofar as how well I perform for others and not for myself; If I need a pen, computer, a chair, some privacy, I have to ask for it, so, who am I kidding, none of this is mine, so why am I here? Is there somewhere else I should be, is there something else I should be doing?
These are some of the ever mounting, ever evolving thoughts and frustrations a seasoned and experienced executive has when they are hounded by a burning sensation in their belly that they could do this on their own. To strike out and claim their dream of becoming an entrepreneur, a business owner. Imagine, a place of business, where every element of it is created by you, nurtured and grown by you, where the pulse, the flow, the drive is set solely by the vision that’s driven by you.
So, what’s stopping you? Why is now not the right time and “some other time” is? Let’s further explore this and see if we can come out the other side.
1. Is the C-Suite of value to you?
Most people who join an organization that has an abundance of upward mobility, dream of the elusive and coveted C-Suite. Sleepless nights, countless dreams are had, in thinking of how one can join that level. It’s made up of executives whose lofty titles say something about who they are before a word is ever even spoken by them. It would also appear that a certain vocabulary comes with a particular title that one is anointed by, further confirming that you’ve earned those three letters that now follow you whenever, wherever your name is spoken. Would you rather contribute to a title or to creating something that is of your doing for the greater good?
2. Career ladders have an end, do you?
Your focus is to nurture your career. Make the right connections; show up at the right events, network, and more network; be brilliant, funny, memorable, relevant. One tires just thinking about everything required to climb that ladder, and that’s not even taking into account all the work that needs to get done! So many contingencies need to align to aid and abet your master plan to get that title you want, and then what? For as long as you want to continue climbing, there is always present that the ladder has an end, that someone else can come along who has a more updated skill set than yours can do what you do, and do it in a cheaper, faster and in a more result oriented way. So, keep in mind this path is a finite one, where career change or career endings are inevitable.
3. Is the winding road of an entrepreneurial life for you?
This is a life path that has no end. It is ever changing, adapting and modifying itself to whatever success/failure you are facing. You get out of it, what you put into it. The acclaim is yours when you do well, but so is the responsibility of failure. The only one standing either way is you. The risks are higher, yes, but so are the rewards. It is not one long linear arc, but rather edges and curves that set you on a path of self-discovery, self-discipline, drive, ambition, and the singular vision about how you want to contribute to the world by defining your purpose in it.
4. An entrepreneurial spirit and skillset is timeless
When you set out to be an entrepreneur, there is no expiry date, there is no imposed deadline that awaits you, only the deadlines you impose on yourself to achieve. If you have an ability to see the curves and needs in the market that are not being met, then there is an endless amount of creativity looking to be crystalized by you for others to benefit from. The ability to engage others to join you, buy from you and contribute to your vision and to a life you and you alone created, does not atrophy with time.
Are you up to the task?
