Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship pdfdrive com

I’m so excited to begin!
In thirty days, I will post everything I’ve done!
Good-bye job! Hello entrepreneur!
And then, bam! Twenty-four hours later, they’re gone, never heard from
again. Their grandiose declaration, meaningless. Instead of a true 
SCRIPTED
disconnection, they reconnect: back to their job, their existing paradigm, and
their spectacular weekend. The problem is, these people 
like
the idea of
entrepreneurship as much as they like the idea of winning free money. But they
don’t honor the effort or expectation required to make it real. For example, I had
a college buddy who always talked entrepreneurship. Let’s call him Willie.
Willie gets a job helping him fund his entrepreneurial dreams—you know, so
he can “pay bills” and meet his obligations. After getting a decent-paying job,
Willie starts accumulating surplus cash. Instead of saving it or investing it into
his business, he buys a new Jeep and a townhouse in a hot city district. The next
thing you know, Willie is job-trapped, as it’s needed to fund his lifestyle. From
the moment of his first paycheck, mediocre comfort ensues, justified and
entrapped by “I have responsibilities.” Willie’s entrepreneurial dreams pay the
price. But hey, at least he has a nice Jeep with only forty-five payments
remaining.
Translation #1? Willie is owned by his junk and the mediocre comfort it
provides. He isn’t willing to risk or sacrifice comfort in hopes of something
better.
Translation #2? Willie doesn’t need entrepreneurship as much as he needs
comfort. And entrepreneurship doesn’t need him.

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Similarly, a lot of fathers on my forum expressed concern that their teenage
children have zero interest in entrepreneurship. Even the teenage boy in my life
isn’t interested in entrepreneurship and it doesn’t surprise me. Why? Because
they haven’t experienced a shitty boss, a shitty job, or a shitty commute. When
you experience how much the system sucks firsthand, the desire appears.
Warning people about a hot fire doesn’t work—they need to feel the burn for
themselves
.
The problem in these instances is 
mediocre comfort
—enough of it that it
prevents you from getting up off the nail. The nice car, the regular paycheck, the
fun weekend of football games—all of it keeps you at the poker table with the
same strategy, the same bets, and the same cards. In the end, nothing changes but
the passage of time. At some point, you have to decide: What’s more important?
Your 
UNSCRIPTED
dreams? Or watching the Yankees third game on a ten-
game home stand? Your long-term happiness? Or your drunken stupors at the
lake on Saturday afternoon?
Threat #2: Your Guarded Pride And Ego
A real FTE overcomes an insulated ego. I was a C-student in high school, but
in college I earned two business degrees, won scholarships, and graduated near
the top of my class. Despite such accolades, I was willing to do anything to make
my entrepreneurial dreams happen. That included washing dishes, driving cabs,
mopping floors, and flipping burgers. You see, I wasn’t “too good” not to do the
dirty work. My dreams were stronger than my pride and ego.
If you’re “too cool” and fear what your friends and family might think
because you’re waiting tables down at the Applebee’s, you’re probably not cut
from an entrepreneurial cloth.
I once tweeted that if you’re not willing to take a minimum-wage job, you’re
not willing to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs can go weeks, sometimes
months, without getting paid. Are you willing to make that sacrifice? 
If you aren’t
willing to work for the minimum, how can you expect to work for nothing?
My forum is crammed with people too proud, too cool, and too good to work
a shit job. Some are even too cool to get a real job. And you know what? These
proud souls will never succeed as entrepreneurs, let alone get out of the gates of a
SCRIPTED
existence. Had I been “too cool” to run a limo company for an
absentee owner, I would have never learned the inside scoop about the business
leading to my first successful company. The plague of “too cool” was seen during
Ashton Kutcher’s acceptance speech at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. He said:

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I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work… When I was thirteen, I had
my first job with my dad carrying shingles up to the roof. And then I got a job
washing dishes at a restaurant. And then I got a job in grocery store deli. And then
I got a job in factory sweeping Cheerio dust off the ground. And I’ve never had a
job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job. And
every job that I had was a stepping stone to my next job, and I never quit my job
until I had my next job. And so opportunities look a lot like work.
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Epic speech, no doubt.
Epic crowd reaction, not so much.
As Mr. Kutcher voiced this life wisdom, the crowd didn’t care to hear it. No
raucous applause. No standing ovation. The crowd of mostly teens, surely
mesmerized by Ashton’s hyper-personality, sandwiched his “hard work” speech
with crickets. Chirp chirp. Of course being sexy and cool was met with screams
and catcalls. Clearly our youngsters are more interested in “big breaks” and
“overnight success” than they are about sweeping floors and washing dishes.
Threat #3: I Have Responsibility
Are you “in deep”?
“In deep” is a phrase I use when I hear someone deeply entrenched in
SCRIPTED
living. It refers to someone who is so overwhelmed with
responsibility, debt, and consumption that 
SCRIPTED
disconnection is nearly
impossible. Their burdens have them paralyzed, and only a real FTE can change
it.
For example, every so often during an interview, I’m asked if I have any
advice for someone with four ex-wives, seventeen kids from six different women,
nine credit cards, two new cars, and a bad job. Really? Not sure I have any advice,
at least the type of advice you’d want to hear. How about keep your damn pants
zipped? Quit buying shit with money you don’t have? Make better choices? With
such a 
robust
personal resume, this person doesn’t have a money problem—
he
has a decision-making problem
. And until that changes, nothing will change, no
matter what my advice is.
A real FTE burns bridges and forces change; a fake one does not.
The coldhearted fact is, the more responsibilities assumed, the stronger the
SCRIPTED
grip becomes. Responsibility can be the yoke of many things: car
payments, student loans, credit cards, mortgages, alimony, children, and yes,

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even man’s best friend, your dog Fluffy. I know this isn’t popular, but I’m not
here to balm chapped lips.
The Maricopa County Animal Control shelter in Phoenix is known as
Slaughterhouse Central, routinely killing hundreds of animals every week
because pet owners are morons. One of the most common reasons innocent dogs
are surrendered and killed twenty-four hours later? We can’t afford him. Duh,
but I betcha can afford that iPhone 14, huh champ? Too many people go stupid
blind when they see a cute snout, and suddenly they can’t cognitively connect
that dogs need feeding, training, grooming, walking, medicating, vaccinating,
and toys. Nope, he’s just so cute! And bam, thousands of sweet, adoptable pets
end up at Animal Auschwitz, all because of rampant human stupidity.
My point is this: 
Responsibility necessitates consumption.
Stack
extemporaneous responsibility into life and consumption is mandated. And the
SCRIPT
loves consumption.
Threat #4: Fear
A real “fuck this” event fears nothing.
An epiphanic FTE understands that the world doesn’t end when you lose
your job. However, you’d never guess it by how many people remain in jobs they
hate. Deep down, they are consumed by fear. Fear of the unknown, humiliation,
failure, and gossiping friends. Fear of being left behind, driving a shitbox car and
going without the latest. Fear of 
Poltergeist
clowns. All unreasonable,
overestimated, and fully incapacitating.
Whatever fear prevents commitment, ask yourself, “What’s the worst that
can happen?” And if it does, will it end your world? Is it life threatening? Will
you go blind or lose a limb?
Underneath unreasonable fear is an unreasonable expectation of the
consequences. Having to live with your parents for a few months isn’t so bad.
Working the fryer at Wendy’s isn’t a death warrant. Missing the latest episode of
The Walking Dead
is not the end of the world. You will survive.

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