Self Employment Ideas: Are You Ready To Make The "Leap of Faith"?One day, when brainstorming self employment ideas, I had a very important shift in my thinking about starting a very small business. Specifically, my thoughts shifted about whether or not I could make the leap from my office cubicle to my outdoor patio. This was a big source of uncertainty for me, and this amazing shift decreased my anxiety. It was a very powerful shift because for many years I experienced an almost daily sense of anxiety about one particular aspect of my life: whether or not to be self employed.
With just a change in my thoughts, the anxiety about starting home business is gone. I still do experience anxiety and fear about things, just no longer about whether or not I could start my own business. A simple change in how I decided to handle the thoughts that caused my anxiety was all that I needed. Since completing grad school several years ago, I put aside my self employment ideas and instead I went to work for a Fortune 500 company. Within a few months of beginning my post-graduate career, I realized that I was unfilled with my work. As I assessed the job functions of the managers, directors, and controllers around me, I became worried and scared. Based on the type of work I saw from peers and upper management, I realized that changing my job function or waiting for a promotion would not lead me to more fulfillment. I recognized that the Company was never going to ask for, nor allow me to, contribute my own ideas or skills at a level that would be personally satisfying. In school, I thought that I would be able to use my education to drive changes and make significant contributions and improvements to the Company status-quo. Upon entering the work force, I realized that the large amount of on-going day-to-day activities consumed every day and that only a select few, very high up in the corporate ladder, ever received the opportunity to make personally satisfying contributions. Fresh out of school and with a mortgage and student loans, I was worried and fearful of my future. I talked to friends, family, and even a life coach. I recognized that I would have to leave the corporate world in order to stand a chance of enjoying work life. This made me afraid because I didn't know a damn thing about doing anything other than working for a company. So, what did I do? I worked harder and harder to make corporate life the right fit for me.
I thought constantly about leaving the corporate world and starting my own very small business, but I didn't know what type of business I should have. Whenever I researched self employment ideas I felt empowered, exhilerated, fullfilled, and yes, scared, too. But it was an anticipatory fear, like butterflies before giving a big speech. It was the kind of fear that I knew was good for me and was simply signalling to me that I was going a bit beyond my comfort zone. I spent time debating with myself about whether I could stick it out and stuck it up in the corporate world, or if I could really be self-employed. My inability to make a decision about whether or not I should focus on being a success in the corporate world or to begin trying out one of my self employment ideas, is what drove 95% of the anxiety I felt. I could envision myself being successful in either situation, but I was still conflicted with where to apply my energy, focus, and time. The not knowing was what was so stressful. One night, I realized that I could trust in the positive energy I was feeling whenever I devoted myself to business activities that I valued. I realized that I was more productive, worked at a faster pace, had better insights, and was way happier when doing my own work. It occurred to me that if I operated with that level of energy in my own business, then I couldn't not be able to be a success. This was when I made the decision, totally internal, with no external changes in my life, that I would begin exploring my self employment ideas. I still didn't know how I would do it, but I made up my mind that my extra time, energy, and focus would go into starting home business. This decision alleviated the anxiety I had been feeling every day for 3 years. It is important to note that nothing external had yet changed, but internally I had moved a mountain.
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