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"None of this shit is easy, and no one is going to handhold you through the process."

Thanks for giving the straight up answer on this.

We all love to read about the people doing it but the reality is that the time and effort that is really involved is just tremendous. I am reminded of the story of a person asking a famous piano player that they would really like to play like them. The answer that was given to the person was - "No you don't. You don't want to be sitting in front of a piano for 4 hours every day for years, practicing and practicing. You say you want to play like me but you can't/won't put in the time to get to my level of skill."

We all like to read about starting a company but at the end of the day, no one but you is going to get you out of that couch. Especially this notion of "I don't have a an idea". There's a simple answer to that. Make that your intention, make it your job to get an idea.

I love James Altucher's daily practice : http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/02/how-to-be-the-luckiest-...

Just spend time every morning coming up with ideas. Heck there's going to be hundreds of shitty ideas coming out but at some point there might be something akin to nugget of gold in there. Even with that nugget, not much will come of it, if its not cleaned, processed and made something of it. It's the same with the idea, go ahead and apply Steve Blank's methodology on it. Maybe in a span of one or two years, you went through a handful of junky ideas that didn't turn into anything (and hopefully not much was lost - especially if you followed Steve's approach) but perhaps you might have enough of a business to work for yourself and have a couple of employees.

Now, does this mean that if you follow this approach, you will succeed? Who knows. That's the beauty of it, the journey is the fun part. If you've done it right, you might succeed gloriously (but please, don't think you can be the next Dropbox, Groupon, etc. bringing home 200-500K net income from your business for yourself is a very comfortable lifestyle). Just don't fail gloriously. Baby steps, until you know that the big step you want to take (such as quitting your full time gig) will have a good outcome.

All good stuff to know. Thanks!

> Especially this notion of "I don't have a an idea". There's a simple answer to that. Make that your intention, make it your job to get an idea.

Yeah, I've tried that. I've read "48 days" and got stuck at the point it says "what do you want to do". I emailed them and told them this. They tried to help. It didn't (at all). Basically, I want my own business. I want to work from home or somewhere where I control my environment and location. But the main thing is that I love is my family. I will continue to do the shit I am tired of doing (tired of it since 2003) because it continues to pay the bills. I've wanted to be running my own "shop" since ~2007. I've read lots. I've listened to lots. And I just keep getting older and dumner. So now I've actually started to do more than just buy a domain and sit on it or talk about doing things. I've started, but I'm not totally in love with it. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up, because when I list those things, it sounds like an uber rich kid philanthropist, not someone who is service-oriented. When I think about the things that I would most love to do in terms of work, it would be helping others and feeling competent and helpful in my own business. That's all I know. That's not enough. So "figure it out" doesn't help me anymore than a shot in the leg helps someone to be motivated to run. But, I'm trying. I have something going. And it's the first time I've been excited about work in a while.

BTW- that link you posted is awesome, but here is a tough quote from it:

"But I don’t get close to anyone bringing me down. This rule can’t be broken. Energy leaks out of you if someone is draining you. And I never owe anyone an explanation. Explaining is draining."

That is both true, close to home, and also sounds so selfish. I think you need to be there for your friends- your real friends at least- and family like he said, and that can really mean that you get drug down. By the same token, I drag them down. I think this quote is about 50% right then, but the rest of that post is right on.

You know what, the message that I am hearing from you is that you want to be in control of your work, in control of your time and know that what you are doing is meaningful. A person that runs a cleaning service with 5 or 6 employees gets all of that.

The question then may not be so much about having something to be totally in love with. We all have to be practical. As long as you like what you are doing and you are in a position that gives you that control from doing it, that might be enough. I can't say that I'm totally passionate about what I do, but I gave up on finding my "passion". I have marketable skills and I am leveraging it. I was a full time employee of a Fortune 500 software company and then I became a full time contractor. I am loving that aspect of it. I am more in control of my work, I don't fully control my time but if I don't put in a 7.5 hour day or take a day off here or there, no one is on my back. Personally for me the next logical step is to build a business so that I am able to get even more in control (ie move away from having my income depending on hours).

So, what can you do now that can bring you closer to giving you that control? If you are full time, can you go contract? I'm not talking freelancing but instead doing the full 40 hour week but getting paid hourly. If you are already doing that, then the next step is to just save and save money. The way older people can somewhat make up for the advantages of youth is to have a large runway. Having $100K to $200K that you can live on and spend on your business for the next two-three years goes a long way to having a better chance of success. Having a wife and kids and putting the house on the line and worrying about the next mortgage payment or rent payment isn't being an entrepreneur, that is just being plain stupid and selfish.

If you hang around your local startup groups, you will realize that everybody has something to bring to the table no matter how old.

Anyway, I get your frustration. I would not devalue yourself. Don't take any of this seriously. It's just not worth it. One book that I think you would find worth reading is Cal NewPort's book - So Good They Can't Ignore You. His blog is also interesting.

Thanks for letting me share my opinion on this. I don't intend it to sound preachy - it is just my own thoughts.

I like your response and tone. And the article.

But:

> Agreed, but that's why the majority of the world ends up living life as a cog.

This to me, amounts to: You are a failure (cog) if you don't do your own thing and "follow your dreams".

I don't agree with anything in that statement. I would ask readers to really think about why "following dreams" is important. Is it related to happiness? What if skills and dreams are completely out of reach from each other? Is it really just going to set someone up for failure/depression etc.

As I say, I like the sentiment, but feel there is little analysis to the thought.

> What if skills and dreams are completely out of reach from each other?

That is right on. Every time I list the things that are important to me that I love and/or would love to do they don't match up with my skills or they won't make me any money, with the exception of the generic "start your own business", so I'm doing what I don't really like all that much to be able to have a business, which I do love. It probably isn't a terribly great idea. But, I'm excited.

Depends on your "governing values" (Covey), You are a cog, but your values lie with Family, then cog is a means to end not an end in itself?

You're right, and it should be just "follow your dreams".

Doing your own thing has a lot less to do with it, and just happens to be a part of my dream.

Also, I'm not exactly "doing my own thing" -- I'm simply getting to work with a team that's a lot better at making our collective "dreams" a reality as compared to our respective previous situations.

Sorry for the 1-sidedness -- and you're right about there not being much analysis to the thought. This was a more personal, than logical, post so please take it as only such.

Thanks for the advice!

> If that's your expectation, you're simply not cut out for this.

I'm identifying a need. I know plenty of people like myself. The problem is not motivation. The problem is that by the time that most of us are old enough to recognize that we could do it on our own, we're also smart enough to realize that even if we knew all of the rules, the chances are 100% that our family has to sacrifice and chances are even with all of the knowledge, failure is frequent. I want to minimize failure. I would pay someone to have this info. Something focused on selling support for previously free open-source products with established international customer base, and converting from 6 figure salary with great benefits to working from home at same salary within a year at most. I'm the only wage earner and we have bills to pay. I'm not being a wuss. It is just something I want to do, but have no idea how to pull off. Many would say either "don't do it" or "start slow and see how it goes". I'm trying the latter right now, but I still have no fucking clue how to handle the practical stuff. I need to know the applicable laws, have the connections, and I'm not attractive to VC's or angels at all in my own estimate.

A lot of solutions simply mean breaking down a problem into further derivates than you think.

"becoming attractive to VC's" wouldn't be a solution, there are about 100 details you'd have to get right first. Brainstorm those details and focus on them, instead of the goal that ends up being a summary of those details :)