Leaving The Rat Race To Run The Entrepreneur Race So you want to leave the rat race? Congratulations… now a whole different kind of race is about to begin. The race of running your own business… the Entrepreneur Race. Immediately you stop. Fear looks you square in the face and you decide that you can’t do it just yet. But then your confidence grows and the more you see your ideas become a real business (at least on paper or in your mind) you start to gain momentum. Because of this confidence the fear sometimes subsides, and you then know that you can never look back and it’s time to make the leap! But before you get to the stage of leaping you need to make sure that you can reach the finish line. On Monday night at The Corporate Escape Club our speaker Patrick Romano spoke of resilience as an entrepreneur. You see resilience is essential for your success. It’s not just a straight line to the winning post.

You will find your journey sometimes seems easy… and you may think that it’s plain sailing hereon in…. Only to find that the next hurdle is just around the corner. This is where you need to be resilient, because it just doesn’t work like that! So before you kid yourself that you can run a 4-minute mile here are some hard questions to help you reach the finish line: Ask Yourself ‘What Is Your Why?’ At The Corporate Escape Club Patrick spoke of when he ran a 100 mile ultra marathon ‘for fun’ last year. Running your own business is like running 100 miles. It is no walk in the park. It is grueling, demanding and sometimes downright hard work. For some it can be terrifying. On the other hand it is fun, exciting, rewarding and there is no better feeling in the world… So ask yourself ‘Why do you want to do it’. If you can’t come up with an answer that inspires you then just don’t do it. If you don’t have a ‘why’ you will not be able to last the distance. However if you do have a ‘why’ then keep that in mind all the time. If you have a big enough ‘why’, you can overcome any ‘how’. Ask Yourself ‘What Is The Worst That Can Happen?’ You see sometimes fear can take over your decision making process and stop you in your tracks before you start. If you ask yourself what is the worst that can happen, you will probably realize that it’s not too bad. The biggest fear tends to be the thought of failure. But what if you do fail? What would be the worst that could happen?

More often that not it would mean going back and getting a job. Which is no different from the situation you are in now. So you have already failed. Nothing bad can happen. And as this is the case, then the answer is a no brainer. The only way to better your situation is to give it a go. It’s time to buy the long distance running shoes and run! You are about to learn a hell of a lot on the way, and you will be able to say you have tried. Who wants to look back from their deathbed and say “I wish… but I was too scared.” Do you? Ask Yourself ‘Are You Prepared To Get Muddy?’ Running your own business is more of an obstacle race than a marathon. You are going to wade through mud, hang precariously from monkey bars, and crawl through tight spaces. It is essential that you are prepared; sometimes you will be running a 50m dash, and other times you will be running Patrick’s grueling 100 mile ultra marathon. You will need to pace yourself to succeed, if you don’t you will run too fast and burn yourself out. Ask Yourself ‘Are You Ready To Change Your Lifestyle?’ Being a business owner will affect your everyday life. The impact is even greater if your business involves working out of your home. Which to be honest it probably will. The distinction between work time and personal time will blur, especially in the beginning whilst you are still on the starting blocks. Your family and friends may feel shut out, and may not understand

what you are doing. Ask yourself are you prepared to live a few years of your life the way others will not, to live the rest of your life like most cannot? You see if you can go through the tough times… come out the other side with mud on your face and still be laughing, then you might just have what it takes to be a Thriving Entrepreneur. If you are prepared to focus on your big ‘Why’, jump the hurdles, embrace the obstacle course and adapt to the changing landscape - then you probably have what it takes to win. Now all you need to do is make the leap; it’s time to escape your corporate cubicle and follow your passion as a Thriving Entrepreneur.