“Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable, than risk being happy .”

~Robert Anthony

When I first read that quote many years ago, I didn’t buy into it for a second.

I thought to myself, “People want to be happy. There’s no way this is true. This guy is just a cynic.”

As I got into my first career, I realized more and more what this quote was actually saying.

What it really means is that people would rather be miserable and comfortable doing something they don’t love, than taking a chance on something that they love and failing.

I don’t claim to know much, but I do believe that we’ve all been trained in our formal education, to fear failure, when in fact, failure is the greatest teacher of all.

However, there is a caveat.

Failing isn’t enough.

We can’t just fail and then walk away. No learning happens there.

We need to fail, then try again.

And then the next time we fail, we try again.

And again…

And again…

And eventually we succeed.

This is true for anything you will do in your life.

“But Eric, I just don’t have that kind of skill. People are born with that particular talent. It’s just not something I’m good at.”

To this I say, yes. That is true. People are born with natural talent. There is no denying that.

However, talent only gets you so far. Practice and persistence is how you achieve greatness.

Before I elaborate, a little disclaimer… I certainly do not claim to be an expert guitarist by any means. I would put myself maybe at “rusty intermediate” at best, but this may put things into perspective.

When I was 13 years old, my older brother bought a knockoff Fender Telecaster from eBay. It was a starter pack that came complete with a small 5 watt battery-powered amp, replacement strings, and a case.

My enthusiastic brother also purchased the complete Beatles collection guitar tab book.

I watched his stamina fade as he strummed the guitar a few times, attempted a few finger shapes, and squinted at the sheet music. He then he packed it in the included case and threw it in the closet… Never to open it again.

I began to (without permission) go into his closet, take out the guitar and work through the basics.

I stumbled my way through Rock N’ Roll classics like “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Hot Cross Buns”.

Eventually, single notes became chords and I could mimic the songs of my favorite bands like Green Day and Matchbox 20.

I started to take some lessons, and before I knew it, I was playing the guitar solo from “Stairway to Heaven” and mimicking one-handed guitar licks like Angus Young.

Now, why was I able to learn how to play guitar and my brother wasn’t?

Was I more musically inclined? Some people may say that, but honestly, I’ve never met a bigger music fan than my big brother.

“Oh Eric, maybe you’re just smarter?”

I’m going to stop you right there.

Absolutely not.

My brother got one “B” in his entire life and graduated from Penn State with a 4.0.

Honor Roll with the occasional “High Honors” is about the best I could produce.

The answer is simple.

My brother thought the guitar would come easily like most of his academic endeavors… but it didn’t. When he failed, he assumed he simply wasn’t good at guitar, and gave up.

I tried to play my favorite Blink-182 songs and failed.

Then, I tried to play some Green Day songs and failed.

Then, I tried to play chords and I failed.

Then, I played “Happy Birthday” and I failed… but I was close.

So I played it again.

And again.

And then I had it!

Then I tried to play something more challenging and continued to fail my way up to the point where only the likes of the Eagles and Pink Floyd were difficult for me.

The only difference between my brother and I was my brother didn’t want to go through the discomfort of failure to learn how to play the guitar.

We unfortunately bring this attitude with us to our professional careers. We find ourselves in a career that’s not too challenging for us and we don’t really like, but the money is decent and our bills are paid so we stay.

I did this for 17 years at my first career.

Even when my gut told me something was wrong.

I would justify because my bills were paid and there was food on the table.

It wasn’t until the thought of spending the next 30 years feeling the way I was feeling, was more terrifying than the fear of failing at what I really wanted to do.

3 years ago, I decided to take a chance and teach myself how to do something that was completely out of my comfort zone.

It has led me to a better salary, a better lifestyle, more time with my wife and kids, and has led to me launching my very own company!

It was scary.

I was the sole provider for a family of 5. I had a mortgage and little mouths to feed. It would’ve been safe to stay where I was for the next 30 years, but my gut knew that I was meant for something more.

I spent 17 years trying to be something that I knew deep down I really wasn’t called to do… because I was comfortable.

The best things in life are on the other side of your fear.

You need to stop letting comfort determine who you are and what you want to become.

Take CALCULATED chances.

Envision yourself 3 years, 5 years, 10 years from now looking back at yourself. What is that person telling you? What do you need to do to become that person?

I took a chance 3 years ago and it has paid off more than I ever thought it would.

So if you’re out there feeling what I was feeling, I’m here to tell you.

Listen to your gut.

Trust your instincts.

Don’t be afraid to become something more.

To all of the entrepreneurs out there reading this, I am here to help you.

I’ve been where you are and I’ve made it my mission to help you get to where you want to be.

Nothing thrills me more than helping small businesses grow and budding entrepreneurs live their dreams.

All you need is an idea and some good old fashioned grit (and maybe a great website… shameless plug, sorry, not sorry) and you can become what you always wanted to be.

“Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable, than risk being happy .”

Don’t be “most people”.