Josiah Mackenzie

How do you move on after overwhelming loss? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot over the past couple days.

Last week, I learned something that will dramatically change the plans I had for the next few years. For the past 6 months, I’ve been preparing mentally, educationally, and financially for a new endeavor I planned to take. All my dreams would come true once this happened.

Everything was ready, or so I thought, with only one small aspect outside my control. As fate would have it, that one aspect ended up preventing all chances of my plan taking place.

So what do I do now?

1. I tried to put it into perspective. I’m young, I’m healthy, and have unlimited opportunities ahead. To every one of you reading this: we’re the luckiest people on the planet.

2. I learned some lessons. These included:

• I don’t have total control over my life. Taking responsibility for one’s life is a hallmark of high achievers, but the reality is we cannot control every possible outcome.
• Invest in skills with many applications. Thankfully, I did this. However, in hindsight I could see how it could have turned out even worse if I did not.
• Enjoy the process. There is a scene in The Way of the Peaceful Warrior where Dan, the gymnast, is telling Socrates how all his problems will be solved once he wins the gold medal. Socrates has him consider the possibility of not achieving that - which makes Dan angry. Later, Dan gets into an accident that dashes his dreams, but launches him on a path to discovering what provides true meaning. There is so much I can relate to in that movie; it seems every time I’ve accomplished something big, I wish I had enjoyed the process more. I need to stop the “once X happens, then I’ll be happy” mentality. There is so much I can be thankful for right now.

3. I’m looking into other options. I refuse to give up. If my first plan failed, I’ll come up with two more. If those don’t work out, I’ll come up with more. With each failure, I’m closer than every to accomplishing what I want.

I’ll never give up on my dreams, but I’ll also remember to enjoy the process.

I don’t like most businesspeople.

Too many corporate types that I’ve met are exchanging their whole personality, life, and relationships to be “professional” and advance their careers. I do, however, love meeting people who turned their hobby into a business and love their “job.”

I call these people accidental entrepreneurs: people who view business simply as a way to fully live out their passion.

This past week I had the opportunity to meet and talk with two people that vividly reinforced this concept for me.

The first was an elderly barber. Last Tuesday I was looking for a new hair stylist, unhappy with my current one’s service. Several sources pointed me to one man as “the best” in my town. When I called to make an appointment, he said he couldn’t make one now because he was attending a customer’s funeral. Okay. When I first arrived at his shop, I was somewhat taken aback by its humble appearance and his quiet manner. But as soon as he began cutting my hair, I knew I had hit gold. After some prodding, I learned he founded two beauty colleges and owned hair salons throughout California. He went on to share his success secret: build a small, extremely loyal customer base and provide unbelievable service. The kind of service that earns a spontaneous big tip, instant customer loyalty, and future referrals.

The second was a well-known travel personality whose multi-million dollar empire began out his love for European travel as a college student. While I’ve been a fan of his practical budget travel advice for a long time, I’ve only recently begun to appreciate his work as an entrepreneur. Watching him on TV, you may not realize the amount of work he puts in to be the best. But talking to his staff reveals his passion for team building and obsession with excellence. Though he puts in an extraordinary amount of work, hearing him talk makes it obvious he loves every minute of it.

These two examples only reinforced my belief that success comes to people who love their work. Starting a business only for the money or to enter a hot industry puts you at a disadvantage.

That’s why my business nirvana is not a 4 hour work week or passive internet income. Instead, my dream is to turn my passions into a business that I would gladly work in 15 hours a day, 7 days a week — and love every minute of it.

When Muslim general Tariq ibn-Ziyad landed at Gibraltar in 711 to begin his Spanish conquest, he had his ships burned, and made this speech to his men:

“Oh my people, whither would you flee? Behind you is the sea, before you, the enemy. You have left now only the hope of your courage.”

For them to return home, they would have to win. Surrender was not an option.

How can you ‘burn the ship’ in your life?

What could you accomplish if you left no chance for failure?

…have big libraries. Poor people have big TVs.” - Jim Rohn