Will Smith said, “if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.” As I thought about this quote and how great it sounds I began to wonder what it means to stay ready. Before launching my business, my plan and dream was to leave corporate America and run my business full – time someday. Someday sounded good but because I wasn’t ready, it never came. Honestly, I was too comfortable with those consistent paychecks.
If my dream was going to become a reality, I had to face my current reality and make the necessary changes in my daily actions. See, I knew how to plan and get ready. What I didn’t want to do though was fail. And, that’s when I realized that fear was holding my dreams in the palm of its hand. It is what kept me planning and planning and planning some more. I wanted to remove any and all perceived risk so I kept getting ready.
The real risk wasn’t in leaving. The real risk was in not living my dreams and building my business. It’s easy to get comfortable with the consistent pay dates but if you’re dream is to be a full-time entrepreneur, then you must be clear about what it means to stay ready. In other words, the plan only works if you work the plan, daily. Please, don’t confuse planning with taking action. Planning is another way of getting ready. And actually, getting ready is a way to delay and avoid taking action. Think about it, if you’re getting ready, you’re not doing the work. You’re not taking action. You’re getting ready. Nothing changes when you’re getting ready. Change occurs when you take action.
So, if you’re in Corporate America with a dream to run your business full time, remember, the only exit strategy that works is to stay ready. Be in action.
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