Choosing entrepreneurship, a thousand times over.

People choose entrepreneurship in under different set of circumstances. People tend to glorify the idea of entrepreneurship as the be all and end all of all freedom. They are not entirely wrong.

Several years, ago I had written a piece about the flip side of entrepreneurship.

This time around, I was recently asked by an interviewer, if I would do it all over again.

My answer was a resounding yes.

I am not sure whether these reasons will resonate with others who have chosen this path, but these are my reasons.

No offence to people who are not entrepreneurs simply because not everyone wants same things in life and more importantly everybody’s definition of success, freedom and joy is different.

1. Freedom of Choice: I choose what I do when I do it and the motivation and intention behind each goal is clear to me. It is not a task that I am saddled with — obviously, at times, I have to do things that I would rather not do but that is a part and parcel of life. For the most part — I am able to choose.
2. No day is the same for me: My days are not identical. Every day has a broad outline but I am free to cherry pick on some days and for that I am grateful. I can be spontaneous and for that, I am grateful.
3. Time with Family and friends: Even though, my family and friends might disagree but being an entrepreneur allows me to drop everything and really be there for people I love- when shove comes to push.
4. Building on my own vision: It is a blessing to be able to build on your own vision and dreams. I know what I am working towards.
5. Multiple opportunities: There are various opportunities that I can be a part of while being on this journey. Not in a mad, having your feet in several boat kind of way but in a woke, collaborating, delegating and supervising way.
6. The insight development: You tend to develop insights in terms of people, circumstances and business decisions because of no other profound reason but the obvious — you learn by living.
7. Skill Development: I have honed my skills, at times due to the DIY nature of entrepreneurship and at times simply because of interest. Learning is essential to entrepreneurship. The learning never stops and this is a huge blessing.

One would point out that there are some obvious ones that are usually the goto advantages cited for this path, that I seem to have missed out on. As mentioned earlier, these are mine, not an extensive list but a good primer on why I would do this again, a thousand times over.

What are your thoughts — would you do it all over again, if given a choice?

(This post was originally published on Medium, Nov 11, 2018)