About three months ago, I made a decision to start my own business.

This isn’t the first time I’ve done it. In fact, it’s the third time. The two other times I made a small amount of money, or I managed to salvage my investment. Both times I felt like I wasn’t really having the breakthrough success I wanted, so I ended up closing them down.

Besides these two brief business ventures, for most of my working life, I have kept myself safe in jobs that have paid me well. Due to a good work ethic, I am an excellent employee, and I always earn a good income whenever I work for someone.

But something weird happens to you when you start to earn more money. You get a sense of control and comfort in your life. It is very seductive and at the same time, very limiting. When you have more than enough, a cushion of comfort starts to develop. The feeling of buying cool stuff, of driving a nice car, of living in a new home. All these niceties began to limit your goals.

Every time I have worked for someone else, deep down I knew I wasn’t happy. But I’ve kept a job for more than 10 years because I liked the comfort of the nice income.

My true passions get relegated to side interests or hobbies. I find reasons to keep my job just one year longer until I am ‘ready’ to start something of my own.

The problem with maintaining your comfort and safety is that you are captive to it.

You are like a caged lion, dreaming of hunting for yourself. The cage is supposed to keep the lion’s behavior under control. But if enough time passes, sometimes the lion starts to forget that it can hunt for itself. It starts to forget that the wilderness is calling. It starts to forget what it really means to be free.

That is exactly the phase I reached in my life three months ago. I knew I had the ability to grow my own business and to face the challenges of the wilderness. Instead of having pieces of steak thrown into my cage every week, I wanted to go find my next meal myself.

I wanted to be hungry. I wanted to be uncertain.
Because, for me, is what it takes to feel free.

Is it scary? Sure.
Could I fail miserably and have to find another high paying job. I guess so.

When you experience too much comfort, you become captive. Your instincts to grow, to keep reaching for your potential start to dull. In a very real way, you forget who you truly are.

About three months ago, I made a decision to start my own business. So far I have two clients and am steadily losing money. It will probably be like this for another year or more.

But, more importantly, I am no longer in the cage. I am out in the wilderness. I am using my instincts and becoming a hunter once again.

I am free.