Doing what others won't

I have been running a micro consultancy (just me) for a few years now and I am not going to lie, it hasn't been the easiest and it definitely hasn't returned huge amounts of wealth. It has been hard work and often stressful as unlike a salaried job, there are no guarantees on income month to month and with a small child and a wife going back to school, this instability compounds.

But, it has been very rewarding in so many ways and has helped me better understand my abilities and further develop my personal values and philosophies that I use to negotiate the world. I have learned a great deal that without being in this position, I do not think I would have discovered these areas of myself and life at this depth.

I am unsure where, but when I was fairly young I heard that an entrepreneur is willing to do what others are not for a few years. My view of this is the ability to push without guarantees of return, the force to continue into the unknown waters without a compass.

Of course, that is just a visual representation of the process and the reality is much less romantic and much more bland. Essentially, it is the willingness to work hard when others are not without relative security, present or future.

The human mind has a security complex and continually searches for a platform on which to plant itself psychologically. This leads to an unwillingness to try new or venture into places where it feels it may fail or experience discomfort. Struggling to make ends meet while attempting to do something for a future that is clouded by uncertainty is definitely uncomfortable.

This is also why those that can successfully negotiate the waters through a mix of skill and luck are so heavily rewarded as they are the ones that chose to do differently than the group. There is obvious value in being among the first to discover or present a new way to the masses.

Being within the group comes with the security of the group but it is also largely limited by the averages of the group. There is nothing wrong with being there per se, but it should also come with an understanding that by enlarge, there are ceilings and walls that are likely insurmountable if also wanting the group's protection.

Heading outside of the confines of the group is a scary proposition however as it means that one must move largely alone and in the circumstances of failure, accept the risk that there is no help forthcoming. In most societies, those that try and fail are often shunned for the failure, not celebrated for the attempt.

We can see that those who often make the largest material gains in society are the people that are willing to do what others are not. But this is also true for those who make the most gains in anything. The people who are the most despised and most celebrated are often the same in their willingness to work for whatever they have chosen.

For most however, there is a desire to have the results but the hierarchy with security generally restricts them from investing into the work required or the risk inherent in uncertainty. This obviously limits their potential at reaching their desired result.

How each person negotiates their experience is up to them as individuals but often we outsource our actions to that of the group even though we may understand that we want something different than the group can offer. this creates conflicts in experience and can lead to a whole range of internal competing positions.

It can also lead to feelings of resentment towards those who have been able to get what another desires, and a minimisation of their effort to achieve what they have. The issue often here is that the focus becomes the results of achievement and ignores the work and acceptance of uncertainty to get there.

Yes, some people get lucky and some have a far more supported starting point than others but this in itself is no reason to minimise the effort that goes into attempting or becoming successful at something, no matter what that something is.

For example, in the cryptosphere we currently reside, there are a whole range of people attempting to do various things to take advantage now or make gains in the future. There is a lot of uncertainty in starting a new service or investing time, effort and capital deeply into something that is in its infancy and is largely unsupported.

For me, this concept of what others won't do affects my behaviour in many aspects of experience and drives me to explore parts of myself that were hidden, takes steps I have avoided for too long, try things that scares me and pushes me to work and work and work.

Perhaps, all of this work will amount to nothing in the long run and I would have wasted my time and effort when I could have been enjoying what others enjoy. But, this uncertainty means that it may also bring results others will want in the future but not realise in the present. And the most important factor is of course, I actually enjoy this process of investing in uncertainty a lot more than what I was doing previously while playing it relatively safe.

We live in exciting times where there are many new and emerging possibilities for a large number of people to really sink their teeth into and do some very cool things. The problem often is though that to delve in deep means to take the feet off the solid ground of where the majority stand. It means to accept the consequences of facing uncertainty.

Everyone is capable of deep levels of strength and resilience yet due to the construction of modern life, most have never tested this. Everyone has the possibility and the opportunity to do something different than what they currently are or, stay the same. It is up to each of to decide if we embrace some level of uncertainty, rather than suffer it.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]