Ziplining and Entrepreneurship
Would you get onto a cable that's 375 feet in the air?
A few months before I left my corporate job, I went ziplining with the girl scout troop that I lead. It was a great experience to watch these girls who ranged in age 10 to 15 climb several stories up, get clipped onto a single cable, and fly through the air to the next platform. We all came away with great memories.
That said, I was not initially impressed. I really thought the experience would be some life changing event - that I’d take away knowledge about myself that I never understood before. But, The only thing I got was a tummy ache and weak knees from the adrenaline rush.
“It’s not my cup of tea” I thought as we discussed coming back again. Most of the girls felt the same. It was fun, but wasn’t something they’d want to do again. My expectations really set this up. So many people love to do things like Ziplining and Sky diving that I figured there must be a spiritual experience to the act. When I didn’t experience anything like that, I was admittedly disappointed.
Since stepping into the world of Entreprenuership many things in my life have changed, and I have reflected on that event many times. When you make a decision to go full time into entrepreneurship and leave a stable job with a stable income it’s like standing at the top of a ziplining platform.
When I made the decision I vividly remember all of the emotions of that day with our troop coming back. Feelings of excitement and fear despite knowing the information and the tools and the experience to get onto the zipline safely, was just like knowing that I had the experience, the information, and the tools to be successful. With each drop onto the zip line there was still a pit in my stomach of uncertainty and of fear, of wondering if the line would snap, or my harness would unsnap.
Despite the experience, the knowledge, the confidence I have in my abilities, I still worry about being without the security of a corporation to keep me afloat. My experience has shifted though. I liken it more to cliff jumping.
For months after I left the corporate world, I felt as if i was standing at the edge of a cliff, looking out at the horizon, my backpack filled with a well packed parachutte, a snack, and the know how… Anxious to jump but with a glass wall preventing me from doing so. I was convinced that if I could just break through the wall, I would “make it.” After a few frustrating months, I felt more like I was flying… gliding through the air and I realized that I wasn’t waiting to break through, but to land. It’s been 10 months now, and as this crazy ride is only just now getting started, I’m finally feeling the grass touch my feet.
The first few times I was on the zipline I remember knowing what to do and how to do it but my nerves made it so that I didn't know what to focus on. I was so nervous about stopping in time, and how everything "should be" that I couldn't enjoy it. And it’s kind of like starting or scaling a business… You might know what to do, but there’s so much to do that we find it hard to focus.
My last time on the line (my 6th run) I was finally able to enjoy the sights, relax and allow myself to just "be." The feeling right before leaving the platform was the same each time and as I continue through this business, I know I will make mistakes, because there isn't such thing as perfect, but I’m finally able to enjoy what I’m doing. I feel the support and the safety of having a place that can help me with anything I need.
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