Thursday, September 30, 2010

The StartUp An Employee’s Passion or Nightmare

The StartUp – An Employee’s Passion or Nightmare

There is one thing that is a sure bet for employees that join a startup. In employment and non-employment related discussions with friends and family members, they will hear the dreary and almost ear numbing warning, that STARTUPS ARE RISKY.

Money and a high class lifestyle is what most people dream of, while looking for a job. Status and reputation in the economy is what employees struggle to achieve. So, is RISK out of the question? Yeah, obviously for almost everyone, risk is what they are not willing to take. They ask themselves, would Risk bring me Money and Reputation? N

o! is the overwhelming answer they get.

How would I get money if I join a startup and it suddenly closes? Is my job secure? My colleagues earn almost double of what I get in a Startup and they don’t even have to go through half of the struggle and pain that I endure. Would a startup add up to my reputation among others, or would Google, Yahoo, IBM or Microsoft give me a better image? And Oh, I am gonna get married, so, wouldn’t I get a better proposal if I have a safe and non-risky job at a major MNC? The answers to all these questions inside your mind leads to one simple answer DON’T JOIN A STARTUP. Simple as ever, right?

Well, there is a small group among the common man though, who most people initially think are arrogant with a "bring it on" bravado. I would say that they are people who think beyond what a normal person thinks. They are tired of corporate jobs and just wanna get away from cubicle lives that seem too confining and boring. Are you one of them?

Well, I don’t blame people who have got talent but are from developing countries like mine, India, for instance. Parents who dream of getting their child well educated and reach pinnacles that they could only dream of during their lifetime, tend to somehow spend money so tha

t their kids can afford to go to expensive institutions and universities. By the time the highly expensive education is over, their pockets have dried up. Okay, so now we need to find you a job as soon as possible, and that too a good job in a reputed MNC, because I don’t want my neighbors and relatives booing me behind my back. These are the messages that parents start conveying into the minds of their just-out-of-college kids. What are the kids supposed to do? They look for a highly lucrative, safe, non-risky, 9 to 6 behind the desk jobs. Do they really want that? I don’t know you have to answer that question.

“Awakening Your Inner Creativity”, oh yeah, everyone has a little inside themselves, but doesn’t realize it, or should I say they do not want to realize it purposefully. Oh, what can I do, I am just a normal person. There are lots of brilliant guys out there and I don’t want to be a fool among them. Thoughts keep raveling in everyone’s mind.

When will you stand up for yourself? When will you listen to your gut instinct? When will you try something new and different? What you should have is a vision for your ideal personal and professional life. Instead of focusing on what you couldn’t do to make it happen, focus on what you can do. You may get knocked down, discouraged, and even doubt your own san

ity at times (many times), but that’s natural. At the end of the day…It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count; it’s how many times you get up that matter.

So what does all this really mean? Does passion pay? I say YES. Our passions might not always pay dividends to our bank accounts, but they will always pay dividends to our heart and soul. People who stood up no matter what the world said, Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Inc), people who thought out of the box, Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook), people who knew that life is about taking risks, Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Founders of Google and people of who believed life and work is about passion, Jack Dorsey (Founder of Twitter), never thought that they would get recognized, famous and rich as they are now, but they stood for one thing and one thing only, what does their heart say.

When you feel stuck you have to give your creativity a metaphorical shake of the shoulders. It is important to stop and replenish your stores of creativity. And you’ll do that by expanding your view, not by narrowing your focus. Then will you be able to jump back in. As Bob Parson, the Founder of GoDaddy said, “when you think you are ready to quit, just know that you are closer to success than you think”.

You may not find immediate results while pursing your dreams, may be you wouldn’t be respected or recognized for what you do, but one day all your life’s efforts will pay off. May be you would have to wait for a lifetime to see the end-results, but atleast I would say that you can lie peacefully in your bed, even if it is the last day you would see of this world, and know inside that you have left your footprints in history.