The journey is hard. How hard? If you knew the answer you’d probably quit.
Gary Vaynerchuk is making a name for himself by consistently calling out ‘wantrepreneurs’. A quote from a recent post of his really puts it into perspective.
“ We are absolutely living through the greatest generation of fake entrepreneurship that we’ve seen in a long time.”
Gary points to the fact that entrepreneurship is hard, really hard. The glamorization of entrepreneurship as a lifestyle has skewed the public perception on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. It isn’t glamorous, it’s not a lifestyle most people would wish upon themselves, and it isn’t easy.
Gary’s posts are great tools to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs. As well as warning signs for the uncommitted. I have the feeling though, due to confirmation bias, that the message inevitably falls on def ears.
Those who believe themselves to be entrepreneurs read through Gary’s posts constantly comparing themselves to the tenants he lays out. They see “work 18 hour days” and misconstrue their sprinklings of unstructured email correspondence throughout the day as equivalent. Very rarely, I assume, does some would-be entrepreneur read one of Gary’s posts and realize that they would indeed be happier working a steady job.
The aspiring entrepreneurs may find themselves falling into the same trap as the wantrepreneurs. Confirmation bias happens to the best of us. Caught up in Gary’s incredible energy we tread on idolatry agreeing with every word. But do we actually listen?
Of the few readers who do listen to the message, it can be quite emotional. This is where you finally realize “holy shit, he’s right this is hard.” And that’s okay. His message should make you feel uncomfortable! You should walk away from reading one of Gary’s posts with questions to ask yourself. He even suggests it:
“Why am I even going down this route in the first place?” The answer is happiness, because that’s the truth.
As an aspiring entrepreneur who actually reads Gary’s words, you may feel a tinge of fear. Self doubt bubbles up as Gary’s words sink in and you start wondering “Is this really me? Can I really do this?” Don’t let this discourage you! This is your chance to dig deep.
Yes it will be hard. The numbers are against you, but the world is not against you. You don’t need to have all of the answers right now. Gary wasn’t an overnight success, there’s no such thing as an overnight success. It takes time and it takes effort.
Let the messengers like Gary give you the pushes you need to make the changes over time that will lead you to your goals. You can’t have it all at once, and you can’t have it all right now. This could take years, decades, your entire life. That’s the time commitment entrepreneurship takes, a lifetime.
Entrepreneurship is NOT a lifestyle, entrepreneurship is a LIFE.
The path it takes to get there is long and hard, and you must be willing to commit your life to it.
Gary’s posts are humbling.
If you truly believe in yourself as an entrepreneur, don’t become discouraged if you realize the disparity between where you are and what Gary says it takes. Use that disparity to trigger changes in your life. Check your ego at the door. Constantly pivot yourself and your habits to become the person you need to be to achieve your goals. If you truly, deeply, soulfully desire to achieve those goals you won’t regret the sacrifices along the way.
Thanks Gary, keep killing it like you do! And keep calling the rest of us out on our bull shit.
