Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business
and a life that you love.
And this is Q&A Tuesday, that means Qs and As.
And today’s Q comes from Miss Christina and she writes:
“Hi Marie, I love your show.
You’re my hero.
My husband and I are newlyweds in our early 30s working to pay off student loans, save
for a house, and we want to have kids.
I’ve been out of work for a year due to health problems, so money is getting tight.
I have the option of starting a traditional tried and true business, my own law firm,
or my dream business involving my passion for the wedding industry.
I think the law firm would make money more quickly while my dream business involves more
startup costs and time.
How do you balance the need for money to pay for a house, loans, kids, etcetera with the
desire to pursue a risky dream?
How do you know when it’s the right time to step off the safe path without jeopardizing
your finances or unfairly burdening your spouse?
Thanks so much, Marie.
Love, Christina.”
Christina, this is a big question and it’s a really tricky thing to tackle.
And I would never suggest that you get yourself into further financial hot water or risk not
having kids.
So while I can’t tell you exactly what to do, I can tell you this.
Choosing a path because you think it’s safe and it’ll make you money will eventually
be deadly for your soul.
You know, when I started my business I was enormously in debt and I had to take on all
kinds of side jobs and I lived on the cheap in order to get on stable financial ground.
You know what?
That actually took me 7 whole years.
I made a lot of tough choices during that time, I ate a ton of mac and cheese, and I
deferred big things like buying a house.
And I’m so glad that I did that because here’s what I’ve learned about business
in 3 simple truths.
Truth number one, never start a business just to make money.
Starting any business means a ton of hard work, which I know that you know that fact.
And if you’re not 10 thousand percent committed to it and have some degree of love towards
it, it’s never gonna survive.
Now, yes, I know that there are people out there who start businesses just to make money
and some of them do succeed, but from what I’ve seen, they’re the rare exception.
Most people who start a business just to make money either fail or at some point end up
hating it and quitting.
And if the business does make the kind of money that they hoped for, they wind up feeling
trapped and totally miserable, which does not sound like anything that you want.
Truth number two, if you want guarantees in business you don't want a business.
So starting any venture does not guarantee that you’re gonna be profitable.
There is no such thing really as a safe business, even if it’s in a traditional industry that
tends to make money like law.
That’s why it is so important to choose one that you’re going to want to stick with
over the long haul.
Truth number three, a business you don't love is bad for
your health.
Now, obviously we’re just joking, but this is really serious.
We’ve all heard stories about people that are so stressed out and they are working themselves
to death.
Their adrenals get shot and they wind up with depression and sometimes even with heart disease
and worse.
Now, you’ve mentioned that you’ve had health issues in the past.
When it comes to your wellbeing, starting a business that doesn't light you up, the
one that you consider the safe path, might actually be the most dangerous thing you could
do.
So here is the bottom line, Christina.
There is no such thing as a safe path.
If you’re gonna build a business, please build a business you love.
I know you want to be responsible here, and yes, it is your responsibility to take care
of yourself financially.
And, yes, you are an adult and you need to make adult choices.
But it’s also your responsibility to do what you were put on this earth to do.
It is your responsibility to find a way to express what only you came here to express.
It won't be simple, it’s not going to be easy, but one thing you can bet on by taking
the inspiring path is that you will never, ever live a day in your life saying, “what
if?”
And that is the safest bet that you can make.
That was my A to your Q, Christina, I really hope it helps.
And if you want my help to create a business that you truly love, get yourself in B-School.
It’s a world-class education.
We have the most extraordinary community and we have thousands of parents and aspiring
parents and even single parents in there.
You will learn everything that you need to know to get your dream business up and running
the right way.
Now I would love to hear from you.
Have you ever had to choose between the “safe” and “inspiring” path?
How did you think through that decision, and what steps did you take to make it work?
Now, as always, the best discussions happen after the episode over at MarieForleo.com,
so go there and leave a comment now.
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Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special
gift that only you have.
Thank you so much for watching and I’ll catch you next time
on MarieTV.