Not Letting Anyone Crush Your Dreams
I wanted to share a bit of background about me, specifically something that happened to me when I was 5 years old, that has stuck in my mind my entire life.
Being a military spouse and moving a lot kind of puts a spanner in the works when it comes to having a traditional career, so in some ways, it was inevitable that I would start my own busienss.
Having said that, I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit, which someone tried to crush when I was 5 years old.
My first busines venture was in the 1st grade, where I sold 20 bumper stickers that my mum had won to kids at school.
I sold them for 20 cents each and remember being when I sold them all and made $4. That was a lot of money back then, especially for a 5 year old!
I was so excited and proud of myself, and couldn't wait to go home and show my Mum and Dad how much money I'd made (and then go and buy a bag of lollies from the local deli haha!)
So you can imagine my disappointment when my teacher found out and made me "refund" everyone AND sit in the "naughty chair" facing the corner of the classroom for the entire day.
I don't know if schools still do the "naughty chair" (I really hope not!) but basically it was a small plastic chair that had "Naughty Chair" written on the back.
If you were deemed to have been "naughty" then you were required to sit in this chair and face the corner of the room until the teacher decided you could join the class.
I distinctly remember sitting in that chair, tears rolling down my face, unsure of what I'd done "wrong."
Of course, now I realize I'd done nothing to warrant sitting in that chair.
Anyway, fast forward to the present day and whadda ya know - I'm a full-time online entrepreneur... I guess the naughty chair didn't do much good, did it?
I remember when I first told some people that I was starting a blog. They snickered at me and said "what makes you think your life is interesting enough to write a blog about?" (They obviously didn't understand the difference between an online diary and a profitable online BUSINESS.)
All of this to say - there have been multiple times in my life where people have tried to squash my entrepreneurial spirit. And if I'd let them, I would probably be sitting behind a desk 40 hours a week in a job I can't stand, wishing I was home with my little boy instead.
If you're just starting out on your online business journey, you'll probably encounter people who mock you, try to dissuade you or even try to tear you down.
My advice to you is DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!
Keep doing what you're doing, don't let anyone crush your dream.
You've got this <3
Recent Comments
2
I can relate to that one, Ashli, I was pretty elated when the banned corporal punishment in the high school that I attended, for some reason if you stood out in the crowd you kind of singled yourself out.
At the time not so good, reflecting back we can make of things what we want, at the end of the day the only thing that can stop us in our tracks is us, we just need folks to get with the program.
Enjoyed reading your post, thank you for sharing.
Hi Ashli,
Great post! Sometimes people close are the dream crushers! Don't listen to them! Prove to yourself that you can do it and then show the dream crushers that you did it!
Thank you for your thoughts!
Michael Inman