Starting Over

The ghost that almost every entrepreneur must face at some point in their career is the need to start all over from scratch or face bankruptcy. Even more than once, it wouldn't be wild if it's two or three or five times. A very similar ghost confronts the employee when he loses his job. However, employment or work is, to some extent, recoverable in a shorter time.

The big difference in both cases is that the entrepreneur tends to make this a slow and painful process when it's their first time. Sometimes, it's easier to close down or sell as soon as possible, save what you can, and restart faster. Some recommend it. The most challenging thing is to detect and be adept at identifying the right moment to take that step. When a job is lost, the hit is usually cold, sudden, and without anesthesia.

Is it starting all over in either case, as an employee or as an entrepreneur? The most plausible truth is that it's not starting all over again. But it could be. I'll try to explain the difference. (Keep reading below) Remember, it's not truly starting over. It's a new chapter, a fresh start, but not a complete reset. This understanding should reassure you and boost your confidence as you navigate your career transitions.

Anyone with professional behavior in any field, whether entrepreneur, employee, independent, or investor, would not have to start over in any situation, whether bankruptcy or job loss. To never start over, we must prepare and be consistent with some things.

First, always dig deeper into your strong area. We all have two or three strong areas. These are activities that, because of the passion and depth with which we do them, we tend to do better than others and improve over time. We do not need to be paid to want to do them. By way of example, in my particular case, I have two strong areas: entrepreneurship and investment in stock and options markets. I do not have to get paid to do any of them. Always thinking about it.

As an entrepreneur, I have had a lot of orientation and practice. I do it to solve needs or take advantage of spotted opportunities. As an investor, I have received many training courses and use them for personal consumption. I also have two "support" areas: teaching and economics. They are areas in which I can perform well professionally and enjoy doing, although I find it difficult to stand out for long periods, and in some cases, I would not do them if I did not get paid.

So, we have to intentionally delve into the strong areas every day, learning, talking, sharing, applying to expand our strength, expand it, be more relevant to it, and compound the knowledge and the expertise. All that learning process is being kept in our brains, so the compound effect of it. If we do the work daily, the wisdom in that area grows, making us more relevant in our territory. With all that expert knowledge, we can go through any of these events; it's not easy, nor will it ever be like starting from scratch. This continuous skill development enhances our competence and prepares us for any challenge that may come our way.

Second, we have to reflect every day. Daily reflection is an exercise that allows for continuous learning and behavior improvement. Every day brings new lessons; we live so many things in a day, and if we reflect on it, we will surely find or become aware of countless lessons. Lessons about our emotions or thoughts, relationships with others that may be family or friends, or leadership in or out of our workplace. We can't let our lives go unnoticed. Every day brings at least one valuable learning. We must reflect on it and consciously incorporate it into our lessons learned, a log file in our brain. It is very different to have the experience of 25 years than to have the experience of a year 25 times. The difference is made by daily reflection. This daily reflection enriches our lives and empowers us with wisdom and insight.

Just as advancing in our strong area every day makes us more relevant in our field of action, daily reflection allows us to become wiser in life. It does not allow us to make the same mistakes and enhance our projection, life, and influence on others. Likewise, all this information is stored in our brains and cannot be removed from us even when the worst external event comes. We'd never start over completely. We'd have a lot of accumulated wisdom by then.

So, starting over is more of a fear than a reality if we've consciously worked on the two areas and activities I mentioned above. If we haven't started doing it, today looks great to begin!

Suppose you are an entrepreneur rising up again, starting your first venture, or in a career transitionand want to execute a project. In that case, I invite you to this free webinar, "4 Steps to become a professional entrepreneur," next Thursday, December 9, at 7:30 a.m. Central America, 8:30 a.m. Bogotá. To register, follow this link. This webinar will be held only in Spanish.