Some of life’s most exciting times come when you step out a little, make yourself vulnerable and take a risk that you don’t feel completely prepared for. Unfortunately, that can also bring on heartburn, anxiety, sleepless nights and nervously chewed fingernails... which are not so fun.
You’ve probably felt that hesitation when facing some of life’s biggest transitions. Times like moving out of the house, having options to move up at work or even start your own business; times when you looked in the eyes of your family and said, “I think THIS is the right move…”
So, what did you do?
If you took the leap, looking back, you likely realized that 99% of the worst-case scenarios that terrified you had little possibility of realistically happening, right? If you didn’t take the risk, the could-have-been may still haunt you.
Weighing options and knowing whether the time is right to “put it all on black” is a complex part of life. That’s why risk assessment is such a big business with 1,000s of data points accumulated, but still only amounts to a gut feeling. We want to be as prepared for the next move as we possibly can before we make it, but the reality is, there comes a time when action must be taken, or you’re going to miss out. Ready or not.
At the start of 2019, I will become a daddy for the second time. My wife and I have a little boy on the way (we’re registered at Target, Costco, and Mercedes-Benz if you’d like to help the cause…). Admittedly, the feeling is slightly less terrifying with baby number two, but as any parent can attest, you can read all the parenting books, have everything so baby-proofed that it takes an engineering degree to open your cabinets, and still feel like you should be the one in the crib with his thumb in his mouth. No amount of preparation and study will ever make you completely confident in stewardship over another life. So, why did my wife and I decide to take on the huge risk of being parents when we were unsure we could handle it? What made us tell the voice inside that was screaming, “You’re going to screw this up!” to quiet down and add Thing #1 and Thing #2 to the Jacobs family? Well, for me it was some advice I was given by my father-in-law when I was facing another big life decision.
Rewind from the baby talk almost 10 years to when I asked my soon-to-be father-in-law for permission to marry his daughter. I knew she was the right girl for me and somehow, I had convinced her to tolerate me. But I was young… and she was young, so I came to him with my hat in my hand, and my head hung low. I loved his daughter very much, but at that point in my life, I was still bouncing jobs, bringing in little and still searching for stability. I fully expected him to tell me to come back and see him in 10 years after I had all my ducks in a row. His response is something I’ll never forget. He told me, “If you wait until you feel like you are completely prepared in order to make a move, you’ll probably be waiting forever. You’ll miss out on some of life’s greatest adventures if you’re scared to live it.”
I don’t think he was being irresponsible with his daughter. What he did was give me the vote of confidence that I was unwilling to give myself, and because of that, I was motivated to attack life like never before. I didn’t want to let him down, her down, or myself down. Young Justin, who only had himself to worry about had little on the line, and if I was going to take this risk there could be a lot to lose… but exponentially more to gain. Challenge accepted. I’ll probably never be a rich man who can shower my wife with diamonds, but I’m a long way from that kid who had no goal in life.
Your risky decisions are taken to a whole new level when the choice affects the lives of others, be it your physical family or your “work family” of employees. It’s not easy to make decisions that could negatively affect the lives of people that depend on you. And that thought can cause us to freeze, hold the status quo and never move forward. But to be honest, that can affect them more negatively than anything.
I share this story with you because while speaking with contractors daily about their hopes and visions for their businesses, I usually hear a quiet resignation in their voice. We make plans, we do the homework, we lay out a path to do things differently… and then at the last minute, they shrink back and are afraid to pull the trigger. “I’m not ready. Maybe next year.” Standing at the edge of what could be the start of a whole new world, they choose the one that’s comfortable and safe. “Ready” will never come.
I’ll leave you with one last thought.
Einstein’s definition of insanity put into Alabama boy slang- “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.” If you’re fine with the way things are then tread on, but often the only thing holding us back is ourselves.
As we’re looking ahead to next year, I want to tell you, I have faith in you. I’ll give you that vote of confidence you might not be willing to give yourself. We hear a lot of success stories around here, and I believe that you can be one of those as well. But it won’t come without work, it won’t come without planning and investment, and it won’t come without risks.
If you need a friend to help you develop a plan with encouragement and accountability to put it into action, give us a call at (800) 489-9099 or email us at [email protected]. It may only take a few small tweaks to make you more successful, and we can leave the big risks to others. Either way, 2019 can be your year.
If you’re willing to step out and take the plunge, we can make big things happen together.