Don't be afraid to change!

After years of doing great things and working with great people, I decided to leave and walk away from what many will say is a great thing.  Some may think that what I did is idiotic and I may regret it, but I believe I walked away from something good to pursue something great.  Robert Tew once said that you should respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.  The minute I realized that I’m no longer growing or learning from my surroundings, it was time to make a decision to either “suck it up” and plug along because it’s a safe job with a paycheck and benefits, or “get unstuck” and make a change regardless of the unknown.

Spending years being an employee was great and I was certain that I can do it again elsewhere and be successful at it.  However, I decided to be a risk taker and I decided to terminate my employment to pursue the dream of owning my own business.  Why work hard to make someone else' dream come true, if you can make yours come true? As long as you have the attitude that there’s no choice but to move forward, you should expect positive and exciting things to happen.

Having an entrepreneurial attitude and being able to adapt to any situation allowed me to make one of the best decisions of my life by walking away (the best one is definitely proposing to my beautiful wife and having my wonderful children).  Don’t get me wrong, I was concerned for a long time, thinking about the unknown, the lack of income and benefits for the family, but I realized that fear was a choice, and I was choosing to be worried and afraid of the unknown.  I was 18 years old when I traveled thousands of miles to come to the United States to pursue and live the American Dream, not knowing what the future has plans for me.  I worked hard throughout the years to take advantage of the opportunity I was giving. I wasn’t afraid of that situation, so why would I be afraid to go after something exciting and make a change from good to great?!!

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not telling anyone to quit their job without planning ahead.  I did plan ahead and my change was a calculated risk based on time and situation.  Sometimes an old weak bridge needs to be removed to allow for new and exciting bridges to be built.  My advice to anyone who reads this is to always “get unstuck”.  Don’t let anything hold you back.  You have the power and the tools to change, and the only obstacle in your way is you.  Define your goals, create a plan to get there, pursue the plan with discipline and determination, and don’t let fear stop you from moving forward.