In high school, the teenagers used to turn to each other for advice. It could be about anything like love, family, clothes, etc. However, there was never a time when any of my friends came to me for advice on how they should do this.
The common reason that I heard was that I was as slow as a turtle when it came to making decisions. For instance, if you were going to the mall during Black Friday, you’re supposed to prepare a list beforehand and grab everything you need as soon as you reach the store. But since I could not decide what to get once I was already there, all the good stuff would be gone before I thought of what I wanted to get. When I attended Sadie Hawkins dance one time, I ended up going alone because I kept putting off selecting my partner among the guys who asked me out.
In my defense, I was not slow – I was merely biding my time to ensure that my decisions would not bite me in the ass in the future. That’s something that I learned from my parents, who found business success when they were already in their 40s. Before that, Mom and Dad held different jobs at different companies and only thought of becoming entrepreneurs when they had a solid plan on the kind of business they both wanted. It worked for them, so I did not see any harm in following in their footsteps.
How It Helped Me As An Adult
Since I was always cautious of my actions and decisions, I significantly reduced my losses when I tried my hand at becoming an entrepreneur.
You see, I had always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. I started making clothes when I was a toddler. My little hands barely knew how to use the child-friendly scissors that my mother gave me, but I tried to make the lines as even as possible anyway. When my parents could trust me with needles and real scissors, I asked them to buy me some fabrics to make dresses for my Barbie dolls. I did not know it back then, but upon revisiting the old Barbie dresses that my mother kept for me, I saw that I was very much into haute couture.
When I got into middle school, though, I began to doubt myself. That’s primarily because I heard that fashion designers typically had some eccentricities, which I did not think I had. If I did, my classmates would not have branded me “plain Jane,” right? Still, I graduated from making dresses for my Barbie dolls and began to sew casual dresses and shirts for my mother and me while focusing on other things like sports, cheerleading, and more activities.
When I went to college, I saw how everyone had a mind of their own. They inspired me to continue aspiring to become a fashion designer. I worked hard and networked harder; that’s why I got to train under one of Paris’s most prominent fashion designers for three years after graduation.
During those two years, many people in my life asked why I agreed to be in training for that long. Most of my batchmates opened their own fashion houses right after getting their diplomas, after all. They did not feel the need to gain more experience in the business by working for other designers first. They thought I was a chicken and that I had zero confidence in my creativity.
Well, of course, who wouldn’t want to be their own boss? However, I wanted to have as many connections as possible before that happened. It was okay for me not to get what I wanted immediately for the sake of ensuring my success in the future. True enough, when I finished my training and went back home to start my fashion designing career, I had Hollywood celebrities and other socialites as my first clients. It was all thanks to my former boss, who recommended me to them. Meanwhile, my former batchmates were still trying to keep their businesses afloat by producing basic dresses and streetwear in their small boutiques.
Sweet Takeaway
I believe that we all have the capability to make our dreams come true. It is innate; we are born with it. However, many individuals tend to experience more losses than others because they assume that taking as many risks as possible will make them succeed in the end.
Those people do not seem to realize that being a risk-taker does not have to be a frequent loser. There are a handful of evasive tactics to try out there, and they all start with learning how to wait until you can create opportunities for yourself.
I bided my time, I worked hard, and I got what I wanted. That’s a lesson that I wish to impart to everyone who wants to find business success. This works for me. However, if the stress of the business world is affecting you already and you can’t seem to manage anger issues in business, there is no harm in seeking advice from mental health experts from online therapy for stress services. After all, healthy mental health is important for a successful business.