If I could reset my life after college years and start all over again, I’d prefer to start working at a startup. Without hesitation. Without worrying about making that ‘wrong’ career choice. Because out of everything, working at my own startup has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, for me & by me. The challenge encounter, the set of endless opportunities to learn, the close-knit culture to build, watching your product/service grow from a mere idea to a giant existence, the flexibility to work from anywhere & on your schedule, anytime — I love them all.
But during the tough days, my life would get pulled apart through burnouts, disappointments, ugly emotions, and doubts. No matter how much I wanted to push myself towards the future I’d envisioned for myself and my company, I couldn’t convince my mind more towards hustling. The only thing that could were these quotes (which I’m about to share as you might find them helpful as well).
Anytime you feel stuck, just go through these quotes — they’ll bring back the inner light to help you brighten your day.
Don’t Talk, Act. Don’t Say, Show. Don’t Promise, PROVE.
There are two types of people you will find in this big world: thinkers and doers. Complainers and doers. You won’t make a dent in the world if you do nothing. If you want people to know what you’ve accomplished, do it first, finish that task and then put it off onto the display. Even if your mind thinks that you’ll fail on that task, do it anyway. Because the moment you’ve tasted success, it’ll drive more motivation for you to keep going and moving forward.
Sometimes People Having the Worst Pasts End Up Creating the Best Future for All.
As someone who has been broken off from a 9 1/2 year relationship and left stranded with an empty resume in hand, it made me even more determined to get my life back on track after I saw a dip in my career. I knew if I didn’t work hard enough to excel, I’d always be a step behind to chase over my success. But if I keep it up and continue to learn new ways to progress as a person and see track it towards growth, I’d be closer to living the life I always wanted.
Just know that if you’ve been through a tough life at an early stage, it’ll be easier for you to create a better future for yourself — but only if you put in the right effort and in the right direction.
Never Give up on Something You Can’t Go a Day Without Thinking On.
If your startup idea is important to you, you will be thinking about it every day, maybe every next minute. Your favourite streaming on NetFlix? Not as much, unless you have an obsession to see it. You see, the things you think about on a daily basis holds more importance in your life than the ones which you don’t waste on thought on — whether that’s the short & urgent task (e.g. your emails) or a long-term commitment made to someone important (e.g. your partner). And if you devote your time, energy and attention to what you value most in life, you won’t be stalling yourself from achieving your goals and expectations, you would be going forward to smash it.
Always Be a First-Rate Version of Yourself Instead of Being a Second-Rate Version of Somebody Else in This World.
No matter how closely you follow someone who you highly respect as a person, you’ll never become them, you’ll always be you. Even if you spent hours and hours every day practising the skill they’ve perfected, you’re still under someone else’s shadow. There’s nothing new that you’re sharing with the world if you’re trying to be someone else. All you really are is an inferior version of the best which the world can avail. So if you want people to recognize you, respect you and account your presence; whether you’re a content marketer, engineer, a school teacher, or a doctor, you’ll need to embrace what your strengths are and keep powering through them until you’ve become the most reputable expert of your field of work.
Success Means We Go to Sleep at Night Knowing that Our Talents & Abilities were Used in a Way that Served Others.
Every time I see an “awesome” rating on my customer support ticket in my business, I feel great and happy. It’s a small thing which encourages me to raise my customer support skills up a notch and keep serving my fellow coworkers well. In fact, I feel even more motivated to keep doing what I’ve been doing to date, even if it’s the most boring task in the world for someone else. If there would have been no one to give me positive feedback over my efforts, or any feedback at all, I wouldn’t try as hard and would care less about my performance. So, if someone appreciates your effort, acknowledge it and work harder.
