Help: Should I give up?
I was surfing through the Millionaire Fastlane forum & came across a desperate cry for help from a new entrepreneur.
I had to see what was wrong so I jumped in to see if I could help.
The post was titled “Help: Should I give up?”
Here’s what the user posted.
After I read The Millionaire Fastlane, I was filled with excitement and passion. I felt like I can make it, that I will be able to provide value then I can be a Millionaire.
My idea is to create an awesome Android app that will acquire gazillion of downloads . Yes, android app because it satisfy CENTS by 80%. The moment I finished reading TMFL I started to learn how to code and create an app via Udemy, Books and thru web searches.
It was really hard since I was just using leftover times of my 9-5 job and I will try to learn until 12am. I even sacrificed my Saturdays and Sundays.
To resist the urge of giving up, I registered on Google play console and paid the $25 registration fee and I started an instagram account with now less than 1000 followers.
Last week, thinking that I already know everything about android app creation; I decided to start building my app. Then, wham I cant create it.. I cant even make it work.Before I started to learn coding, my idea for an app is not yet in Google play since I searched for it. Now it was in Google play and someone did it perfectly. Another wham!
Now I don’t have any idea of a good android app.
So, should I give up in android app creation and find another business idea or should I stay?
Sounds rough hey? can you hear the defeat and desperation in his words?
It’s an all too familiar feeling for most entrepreneurs. The rollercoaster ride that defines what it means to live the challenging life of an entrepreneur.
Why is entrepreneurship so hard?
Being an entrepreneur might be the coolest thing in town, but it is by no means an easy path to follow. It takes a lot out of a person; physically, mentally and emotionally.
1) There is no guarantee of success.
No matter how hard you work at your business, there is no guarantee it will work and your vision come true. This, unfortunately, the hardest truth to deal with when it comes to entrepreneurship.
2) Uncertainty is the new normal.
As an entrepreneur, you need to get very comfortable with uncertainty. Will this campaign work? Is the product good enough? Will that customer sign the deal? Will I have enough money to pay the bills? Will the marketing strategy work? Will the new product feature get used or will user hate it? As an entrepreneur, you are uncertain about almost everything, every day.
3) You have to know everything.
You’re in charge. The buck stops here.
When you are at the top(CEO), everyone looks to you to know the answers to all the questions. Yes, it’s lonely at the top.
Succeeding in business not only means that you have to build a great product or service, but it also means you have to make tons of presentations, do webinars, learn the legal and finance jargon, pitch and sell a million times, build websites, write code, social media, sales, and the list goes on and on…
So, why is being an entrepreneur so great then?
Despite all of the above and the added stress and uncertainty, being an entrepreneur can be the most fulfilling thing in life. In an entrepreneurial journey, you not only grow as a professional but you also grow as a person.
It teaches you to be a survivor.
It builds mental endurance in you that no matter how difficult a situation gets, you have the skills and drive to figure out a way to crawl out of it.
It teaches you to have faith when everything else fails.
It teaches you to keep going when you are ready to give up.
Most of all, it teaches a very simple fact of life…
Dreams only come true when you go out and chase them with all your heart.
So, how did I respond to the guy that wanted to give up?
I told him this…
Entrepreneurship is not a linear path. It has ups and downs, obstacles, struggles, failure, success and that can all just be in one day.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a Sprint. Every “overnight success” was usually 10 years in the making.
So… don’t give up on yourself, give it another go, pivot and keep trying. Don’t worry about the competition, learn from them. Make an app that you like and that solves a problem that makes sense for you and solve it in your way.
Also, consider getting a developer to help you. Find a pro that knows what they’re doing to guide you and mentor you.
Just don’t give up!
…and a day later, he replied to the thread with this.
Thanks for all your post.
I admit it, I’m sorry. I should be ashamed of myself. It is TIME that I am afraid of. I’m afraid of seeing time pass by, seeing my parents grow old, while I’m here, doing my best but still stuck and failing.
I know Entrepreneurship needs enormous hardwork and I’m ok with it. What concerns me is time. The uncertainty of success when it comes to time.
“You are not innovating when you are not failing” (Elon Musk). Yes, failure is part of the process, we can try then fail then try then fail then try then fail. Lets try to change our process, it may somehow change the outcome. Then we fail again then we try again then we fail then eventually we die. Nada another life wasted. (Let us celebrate the life of [my name] who tried enormously and failed enormously).Fuck this, now I’m even afraid of trying.
FUCK THIS LIFE!!!
So be it I had enough , I don’t fucking care anymore. I don’t care if I will be an old trying hard loser entrepreneur as long as will not be a scripted slave all throughout my life.
Now I’m all in, I take full responsibility on this.
I WILL NOT FUCKING GIVE UP!
I love it!
This image sums this all up nicely.
