It's hard, but its fair!

Entrepreneurship is hard and should not be pursued without a really strong and compelling personal why.

A high paying professional career can be highly rewarding and fulfilling without disrupting your life so much.

A few years ago, I rejected an offer letter for a senior product role in Dassault Systems in Munich. My wife wasn't happy about my decision. Working in a large company in Europe sets you up for life. There is more job security working in large companies in Europe than anywhere else in the world.

But I took the decision to work in a startup instead. I wanted to work in startups to prepare myself for my entrepreneurial venture. Working closely with founders would give me far more exposure than being a cog in a large company. The startup shut down within a year.

My decision in hindsight might seem reckless. But in hindsight, I feel it wasn't. It put me in a discomforting situation, which are necessary conditions for entrepreneurship.

The biggest hurdle against entrepreneurship is a safe and secure paycheck coming to your bank account every month.

I would be lying if I said I did not have thoughts of going back to a safe job. When the stress is overwhelming, your mind wavers and your determination flounders. But my wife would always remind me of my why and of the reason why I began this journey at the first place.

Any meaningful outcome in an entrepreneurial venture takes a minimum of 10 years. If you are not willing to put yourself through a decade of hardwork and slog, you should not pursue it. Without a strong why, you wont be able to stay the course.

Here are my personal whys for pursuing entrepreneurship. They are distilled in the form of some quotes that determine the philosophy of my life.

• To stay true to my life philosophy - "If you are not maximising the limits of your potential, you are betraying the purpose of your life." I had written this quote many years ago that exemplifies my life's philosophy. The path to entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to maximize your potential.
• "Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day." - Abraham Maslow. Entrepreneurship is a growth choice.
• “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride! '” ~ Hunter S. Thompson. I resonate so much with Hunter Thomson here. Before I die, I want to be able to say too, -"Wow, what a ride"
• "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." - Hellen Keller. I too am here for the adventure.
• "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." - Henry David Thoreau. I am a sucker for personal growth. Entrepreneurship accelerates your personal growth.
• “Your vision of where or who you want to be is your greatest asset” by Paul Arden. My life would be empty if it did not have a grand vision for myself.
• The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.

These quotes have become my personal life philosophies. Staying true to them and living in alignment to them gives me purpose and happiness.

The hardship and pain is part of the deal. Nothing meaningful is achieved without paying the price for it.

What are your personal whys for pursuing entrepreneurship?