This week, my class focused on deconstructing our fears (related to starting a business). My biggest, and most prominent fear, is that I wouldn’t be financially capable of pursuing the start of my own business venture. There’s always the option of loans and pooling of resources with possible business partners, but the fact remains that, if I do fail, I’m left with a mountain of debt that I’ll spend the next few years of my life striving to pay off. One venture could either be the discovery of a brilliant dream, or the beginnings of a debt-ridden nightmare.
That said, the purpose of this activity was not to wallow in self-doubt, but to consider the bigger picture. If I truly believe in my entrepreneurial dreams, what do I gain from maintaining the status quo? What life lessons and experiences am I missing out on because I’m choosing to cower in my own safety bubble? Because that’s all it is. A bubble. The perception of safety, but in its very nature, frail and weak, susceptible to the needles of life that prick and prod.
Lao Tzu said: “Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”
I’m not claiming that it’s easy to turn a new leaf, to suddenly greet each and every day with the intent to follow my dreams. But it is possible. Through the balance of bridled optimism and healthy cynicism, I can find the line between dreams and reality that, given time and effort and determination, will grow, wider and wider, until it’s a road so broad even the world itself will walk upon its surface.
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