At a wedding reception last week, I met many professional colleagues.
The banter was conventional, predictable, ‘doctor speak’.
Only a few knew about my online persona, and referred to it sparingly,
often with a snide smile or quiet wink twixt themselves.
Because I am different.
Unfamiliar, unusual, unlike what they are used to.
It doesn’t bother me these days. I realize that if only they knew
what I have because I dare to be different, they would give their
right arm to exchange places with me. (No, I don’t tell them – it
would be cruel!)
I get more family time in a week than most of them have in a year.
I enjoy a lifestyle that’s in no way inferior to theirs, often better.
But most important, I move toward a goal, a purpose, a mission that
lends deeper meaning to my life – instead of running ever faster on
a treadmill going nowhere… just because I’m afraid to stop and
hop off!
That is SCARY. Unnerving. Terrifying.
But so is being different.
Giving up the familiar, the secure, the comfortable – takes daring.
14 years ago, when I made my choice, I experienced fear. To abandon
the traditional physician’s career path was risky. I set ’stop loss’
triggers – but have been fortunate to fly above them.
And slowly, steadily, the passion won through – and turned a dream
into ongoing reality.
Looking back, that choice was the best decision of my life. And like
all tough choices, the hardest bit is making them.
In 1995, it was easy to dominate any niche on the Internet. Today,
it is at least one hundred times harder.
But here’s the good news.
In 2019, it will be one hundred times harder than it will in 2009.
Now is when you should decide about taking that chance. Ask yourself,
“Do I dare to be different?”
Read the PASSION manifesto. Think about your passions. See which ones
are worth going after.
Don’t do it all in a rush. Set your own ’stop-loss’ triggers. Keep
that day job – until you can afford to lose it. Work on your passion
during your spare time.
But throw off the shackles of what is ‘regular’ or ‘conventional’ or
‘accepted’ – and dare to be different.
In a new program, I’m teaching two hundred students how to open the
doors to their dream business as information entrepreneurs. It’s
about doing it “The SMILENAIRE Way” – to grow happy, contented and
rich.
No, not tomorrow or the day after, but in the fullness of time.
The first step in your journey however begins from within.
With the decision based on a simple question:
“Do I dare to be different?”
What will your answer be, I wonder. Will you share it here, please?
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