Have you ever thought to yourself that it was not the right time to pursue your dream? Maybe you are afraid of letting go of your current job? Worried about making ends meet? Or at a loss on how to start over? I hear people say that it is “too late” for them or they are “not ready” to follow their passion all the time, and I hate it. Instead of taking a chance on their dreams, people are defeating themselves by believing this. I’m here to tell you that you are not too old and that it is not too late. The time is always right to make your dreams a reality. You are ready NOW.
How do I know this? Well, I’ve been there and I get it. I had always wanted to run my own business, but it was never the right time. I kept making excuses because ultimately, I was afraid. I was afraid that it wasn’t the “right” time, and I allowed that fear and hesitation to stop me for years. I was afraid of not having enough experience, of not being able to pay my bills, and deep down I believed that there was a certain time I would be sure that I was “ready”. But being ready is an illusion, sometimes life pushes you in that direction and shows you that you were always ready.
Life pushed me, for example, because my circumstances made it so I needed to support someone I was with. My salary from my day job was not enough to cover the bills, so I knew I had to do things independently. I still didn’t feel “ready”, but I knew I had to do something. I needed to hustle and be creative to make ends meet. A friend introduced me to a freelancer platform and I started side hustling.
After several months of hard work, I started making more from my side hustle than my full-time job. Even though I proved to myself I had what it takes to be my own boss and knew that I could earn a lot more working for myself, I still didn’t feel ready. Instead of worrying about not having enough experience, now I worried about security. I like getting a paycheck every two weeks, having healthcare, and the benefits and stability that a full-time job provides. These doubts held me back from pursuing my dream. But, life pushed me, I had no choice but to stop making excuses and go for it. This had to be fate forcing itself upon me.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year finally forced me out of my comfort zone. Like millions of other Americans, I was laid off in April. The day job I had relied on for stability was suddenly gone, leaving me with no job and no more excuses to hide behind. I had to be ready, whether I liked it or not. After taking a minute to breathe and giving myself some time to cry, I decided what was next—I was finally going to work for myself.
I launched my side hustle into Elkordy Global Strategies where I turned my focus to my clients full-time. Now, 6 months later, I have 45 clients, a staff of nine people, and two interns. This could have started years ago if I had owned my courage and talent, and just went for it. Every excuse I gave myself doubting my readiness, or about there being a right time, held me back from success. My job and my fears were a security blanket that held me back from growing a business and building my legacy.
When people are deciding that it is not the right time to pursue their dreams, they are thinking about their fears and letting themselves be guided by them. The time will never be perfect, and if you wait for that, you will never feel like you are able to take the plunge.
Don’t let all the why nots stop you from living your dream and your truest purpose. The time you focus on thinking about every reason it can’t happen is wasted time that you can be making it YOUR REALITY. Just because you’ve written some of your story, doesn’t mean you’ve written the end of it. Let go of excuses. Pursue your dream. Your time is NOW, you’re ready.