LOOK BACK AND DON’T REGRET

I remember the day that I decided to quit my job and start a company like it was yesterday. Although it wasn’t a snap decision and rather one that took many years, it still feels as though it hit me like a lightning bolt. At the time, there were a number of reasons fueling the decision and although some of them are too personal to share here, I decided to give myself 10 minutes to come up with 5 reasons that I’d like to share with you:

1. I wanted full control (yes, I’m a bit of a control freak, it comes with the territory) over final sign off on concepts and ideas that I felt would suit partner companies. In many cases ideas that were far more cutting edge were simply pushed to the side in order to concentrate on the bottom line. For me it’s never been completely about the bottom line, but rather about putting incredible work out into the world. My opinion is that with great management and great work comes the money to back it.
2. A flexible calendar is important to me. Anyone who works in a fast paced role will know that finding a schedule that allows for a optimal work/meetings is one heck of a difficult feat. Having my own company allows for this – not entirely, but far better than before.
3. Since as far back as I can remember, I wanted to own something that I was proud of and that allowed me to work with incredible people. This blog allowed that for many years, but the time came when it wasn’t enough.
4. This blog paved a fantastic platform for me, but it was limiting. I’m a competent programmer, a digital marketer, a project manager and a bunch of other things. I needed one platform to use all these skills and the iMod brand needed to be stepped up a notch into something bigger to allow this.
5. I knew deep down inside that I needed to explore the challenge of running a company. I cannot break this down much, but just trust me on it. This burning feeling inside telling me that I could do it.

Those aren’t necessarily my top 5 reasons, but they’re the 5 reasons that came to me in the 10 minutes. The interesting thing is that a lot of these relate to the thought of one day looking back and regretting the decisions I made. Can you think of anything worse than that? You hear the stories about people on their death beds listing things that they wished they had done – gives me the shivers just thinking about it. In fact, the other day I read an interesting article about a nurse who revealed the top 5 things people on their death beds regret:

1. I wish I’d had courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish I had let myself be happier.

In my opinion, all of these relate to something really simple: Taking control of your life, making decisions that you know will make you happy and making decisions that will keep the closest people around you closer. It doesn’t matter how successful you are in business, how much money you have, what car you drive – what matters is your family and friends. Of course, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that people should drop their jobs and live in the bush, money is an enabler, but perhaps next time you’re faced with a financial decision or the likes, think about those around you and factor that into your decision.

Photograph by: Ken C.K. Lam.

I guess the big question is, was the decision worth it? Did quitting and starting a company fulfil the 5 reasons and do I feel that it’ll assist with avoiding regret?

The answer isn’t a straight forward yes or no because one cannot predict the future. What I can tell you outright is that I made the right decision and that I’m happier than ever. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Please feel free to leave a comment below with your opinion on this, are you doing things to make you ultimately happy?