What Wisdom Would You Pass On To Your Younger Self?

What if you could go back in time and talk to your younger self? This is the premise of countless movies and books, and it’s the intention behind The Unique EDGE, our program for young people between 18 and 24.

On this blog, we’ve profiled some of the entrepreneurs in the Strategic Coach Program. One of the questions we love to ask in these interviews is, “What was your first job?” because a lot of entrepreneurs start out doing something almost comically different from the career they ultimately create.

For some, it’s just a temporary phase in their teens, working as a waiter or counter clerk as a summer job. Others stay in the “job-and-boss” model for years before finally deciding they can’t take it anymore.

People become entrepreneurs for different reasons, but there’s a certain type of person who will just never be comfortable working under someone else or within the constraints of a bureaucratic environment. “Looking for work” and “getting a job” are the default options, though, so it can take a while before they realize there is a world of other possibilities.

When you reach this point, whether consciously or unconsciously, you make what we call The Two Entrepreneurial Decisions†:

• I will rely only on my own abilities for economic security.
• I will expect no opportunity in life until I first create value for others.

By doing so, you accept a level of risk that others aren’t comfortable with, but you also gain an incredible freedom over your time, relationships, income potential, and sense of purpose.

Even if you’re a well-established entrepreneur, you’ll find it helpful to regularly revisit these two decisions: They cut through the “stuff” that accumulates and remind you of what you’re really doing and why.

And if you know a young person who’s trying to sort out their plans — someone with that spark of you, back then — perhaps you’d like to invest in them attending The Unique EDGE, and fast-forward them through the life lessons that being an entrepreneur teaches you.

Visit The Unique EDGE for more information, along with a video in which past participants talk about what they got from this program.

For more information about The Unique EDGE workshop, call Kathy Valant at 416.583.7180 or 1.800.387.3206, ext. 7180. Or email uniqueedge@strategiccoach.com.

What would you tell your younger self? Let us know in the comments below.

†“The two entrepreneurial decisions” are featured in Dan Sullivan’s book How The Best Get Better.