Embrace Your Inner Rebel

It occurs to me that I have never fit in to any established organization, not completely anyway. Girl Scouts was a disaster since I just didn’t get the whole badge thing and I’m pretty sure my college sorority sisters only tolerated me.

Elementary school felt foreign – desks lined up in perfectly spaced rows, uniforms at one school and a dress code at another, and having to ask for a hall pass just to go to the bathroom. Seriously?! And they insisted on calling it a lavatory.

My first job was working at a McDonalds where my process improvement ideas were met with disdain from my coworkers whose main objective was to do their time and call in “sick” on sunny, summer days.

So it seems odd that I would choose to join NJROTC in High School. The truth is, I wanted to be on the trick drill team. Of course, being a member made me a complete and total outcast from the cool kids, who felt it part of their ordained obligation to throw snowballs when I was in uniform. In the bigger picture, our little group was fraught with rebels who defied the all-consuming teenage need to be liked and aimed at being part of something bigger than ourselves.

This led to a four-year ROTC scholarship to college and then a twenty-year career as  a Naval Officer.

I loved being in the Navy. It felt like a family and was filled with excitement, energy, adventure, travel, and the opportunity to handle more responsibility than most people see in a lifetime. Most importantly, I loved working with some of the finest, most ethical, honest, and heart-centered people I have ever know.

But despite my love for the people and my respect for the organization itself, I always felt like I was trying to fit into a coat that was a little too tight. I even remember a boss once telling me…literally…to get back in my box. I followed the rules when they made sense, and railed against them when they didn’t. And I always felt a little like a failure because I did not completely comply.

Before retiring, I took a course that helps senior officers transition from the military into the private sector. I was the only one who intended to strike out on my own and start my own business. It felt absolutely natural to me and seemed so foreign to the other officers attending. I was excited to create and launch something new and just couldn’t trade in one uniform for another.

I’ve had my own business for seven years now and have never looked back. It has been more difficult than I ever imagined. And it has been so much more rewarding and fulfilling than I ever thought possible.

Being an entrepreneur means you are a rebel. You see things in ways that other people do not or will  not. Your mind is always spinning with ideas and your need to create is a driving force that cannot be squelched, no matter how hard other people try to stomp on it. Regular people do not understand how or why you do what you do.

By nature, entrepreneurs tend to be abundant, optimistic, risk takers who thrive on creativity and are comfortable with ambiguity. They tend to flock with other entrepreneurs because that is where they are understood, embraced, and encouraged.

If you have always felt a little like an outcast, you might just be an entrepreneur in corporate clothing. Maybe it’s time to trade in your company conformity for an entrepreneurial mindset. It means you will have to embrace your inner rebel and swim against the tide.

Then again, why would you want to fit in when you know you were born to stand out?

Be bold!
Ann Vertel
P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this…please leave me a comment below!

P.P.S. Want a daily dose of motivation? Check out The Confidence Club at
http://AnnVertel.com/shop/confidence-club/

Connect with Ann…

Ann Vertel, PhD Success Psychologist / Entrepreneur Mindset Expert http://AnnVertel.com

* If you use this article on your blog, website, or ezine, you must include the following paragraph (including active links):

Dr. Ann Vertel is a success psychologist and entrepreneur mindset expert who speaks, writes, and trains on how to win the inner game of entrepreneurial success. She is the creator of The Millionaire Mindset Method, a proven step-by-step program to shatter your money limits so you can earn what you are worth. To get your own copy of her success mindset articles visit http://AnnVertel.com.

Connect with Ann...