If you think about it, trust is really key to most everything we do. They say the more we trust, the more ability we have to navigate the environment to reach our goals. It is like a give and take situation where the more you give the more you get in return.
Some examples of possible behavior in this regard would be the difference between suspicion and giving someone the benefit of the doubt. The former puts up barriers and defenses which may impede progress and actually become limitations, more than protecting us from what we suspect. It may well result in termination. The latter allows things to flow and develop as they will. If all goes well, there will be a successful transaction or exchange as a result.
With that said, nobody should just trust blindly in most cases. We need to create trust by for example doing research and having direct experience; and finding favorable results, we then start to trust that we are going in the right direction and therefore begin to have confidence in our actions and the process. We trust it.
When we decide to step ‘out of the box’ and create our own source of income we must trust our own judgment, but not until we really determine in our own minds that we CAN DO this. If it is feasible that we actually have enough resources to pull it off then we begin to believe it. Resources are tangible elements such as skills, experience, information, time and opportunity, in addition to actual money if any to invest.
However, intangible resources may even play a bigger role than any of the above, being substantial, like attitude (‘mindset’), maturity, discipline, and real desire to accomplish our goal; determination and willingness to work hard over time, possibly without seeing any proof or results for an extended period.
While we may be able to study our statistics and tracking to determine if we are on the right track, definite faith and trust are without a doubt, pre-requisite to starting any new venture. We just plain couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything different where we are ‘stepping out on a limb’ if we didn’t trust that it would be possible to succeed.
People might say ‘oh this is not for me, I need to know for sure that I am going to have the money by a certain date’. In the job world, we have had a job offer and job description that includes the amount of money we can expect on what day each month. We likely know what our expenses are to live and how much money we need to make that happen. We could TRUST that if we kept our word and did our best that they would honor their promises and we would have what we expect to earn by when.
Yet there are never any guarantees and I think a couple recessions in the USA have proven that anybody, regardless of education or expertise can suddenly find themselves without an income. If you are very fortunate you have a little wiggle room in your severance package/unemployment insurance so that you can survive while you find another source of income. This is really the ideal time to try to develop your own business.
However it is a real concern that you do need to think of your survival first no matter what, so part of the plan to start a new business should take that into consideration. It may be that you will need to start saving money while you are still working to ensure you are not caught completely off-guard if they pull the rug out from underneath you.
If you find yourself ‘out on the street’ suddenly, then your first consideration should be to cover your expenses, as you will need to live while you are building your new business. You can support yourself by way of at least a part-time job or working temporary contracts as a consultant if you do not have severance pay and/or unemployment insurance. The point is to have a plan for all contingencies.
Bottom line – you have to trust or gamble – but make it less of a risk by being prepared and having a plan of action. It is much better to start something on your own when you are not in desperate circumstances.