Should You Quit Your Job?

quitQuitting Your Job Is Not About the Job – It’s About Your Life

I had someone message me on FB the following:
Hey man! How you doing?!
Alright, first things first – your blog has been a huge fuckin’ inspiration.
It tells me one thing – a focused persevering man can never not win.
From your posts over the last year that I have been following closely, I really could imagine myself doing as much good financially and spiritually as you seemed – the satisfaction of job and money.
I just want to ask you a couple of things – nothing technical, just personal human experiences.
When you left your job to devote your full time to app development, did you have any panicky feelings or were you totally sure about yourself? Did you have any fear – what if my apps would flop, what if I couldn’t get my job back if my app business failed or I couldn’t just persist and focus more on it or got bored of it? 
I will be 22 years old in June. I passed out last year, completing my B.Tech C.S degree,and I do have a placement in an MNC with a decent salary package (at least for Indian cost of living), but haven’t got my joining yet. I’ve waited too damn long enough. 
I’m thinking of starting my app business seriously, along with a friend who might join me in a month probably, if I were to start my shit tomorrow.
Dude, I don’t know if you got my question or not by now. Answer this maybe.
How did you know, that “YES, THIS IS IT”? How did you know that yes my app would be perfect, that yes, I could make do financially with these apps on the market?
I’m confused as f**k. I am working in a startup (because I did not get joining in the MNC yet), and I feel like I should be starting up myself. 
Also could you give any pointers like as to what two dudes definitely should be doing when starting an app business?
Thanks a lot man if you read this far. 
Alrighty then.
 

Here’s what I wrote back:

Hey dude,
Thanks for your words. You’ve got a good vibe and I dig that. 
Dude – quitting my job was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was 25 and it was a startup, managing all the internet marketing. The CEO was a billionaire and when I told him I was leaving he said I was making the biggest mistake of my life and that I was a failure. I walked out two week later with zero plans, little money, and was TERRIFIED. 
I went home and read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand for a week. It changed my life. I finally realized that I have to go after my dreams and work harder than I ever thought possible to bend reality to what I wanted. 
I didn’t get right into apps. I spend 2 years doing websites, SEO, and all that for people in a small town. I worked 19 hours a day for the first few months because I needed to make money.
I would literally build websites for companies then walk in and try to sell them already built! It was desperate times because if I didn’t sell, I was fucked. 95% of people said my websites sucked, told me I was a joke, and a failure. I failed at almost anything I did when I started on my own. 
Things went on and I started to make some money, at least enough to pay my bills and not stress out all the time. Then I started messing with apps and did my first project. Flipped a $13,000 app (Alpha Combat). Maxed my credit cards, worked 300 hours on it, and released. It didn’t do that well haha, but I made it my mission to find out why and to share it with the world. 
It was do or die. I refused to die. So I rocked as hard as I could, all day every day, until I got what I wanted.
Success.
During 2012, I kept grinding but also doing SEO stuff. The hardest part (which most “gurus” dont talk about) is starting with little money and not being able to write code yourself.
So I made a plan to execute as much as I could for as little money as possible while still earning dollars on the side. The goal was not to get RICH, it was to get SMART. I realized the most important priority was to learn as fast as possible, and the money would come after that. 
Starting in August, things clicked. I understood how to publish and I understood the market. I had a team in place that I worked well with. I was manufacturing apps and could publish hundreds at a time. The money started to come in. 
The rest is history, I guess.
To answer your questions – remember that the opposite of fear is faith. Ghandi once said “A spoonful of faith can move a mountain” and I believe that.
What if’s can easily be “what if this all works out?” or “What if I get what I dream of?” Optimism is incredibly powerful.
Every night I spend 20 minutes watching videos or reading books that remind me that the only thing stopping me from getting what I want in life is myself. It has changed everything.
There was no “Yes this is it” moment for me, but rather a series of small “fuck yeah” moments when I made something happen. Those all add up to moments when I realize that I am extremely happy with my life and the choices I’ve made. 
I know those feelings of confusion very well. The answer that I have found is that what I wanted was not financial freedom or millions of dollars or whatever – it’s that I wanted to stop being confused.
The only way to do that is to take action. Indecision will end you.
No matter what you decide, realize that it’s going to teach you something for good or for bad, and that’s all that matters. 
Its also easy to feel like you’re watching the mobile gold rush happen and you’re standing on the sidelines while everyone else gets rich. I can assure you that being successful is not about “hitting the bubble” at the right time.
Successful people can do it in any economy, in any industry, any time. Your goal should be to learn to be successful, not to make money on apps. 
I’d recommend reading two books – Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen. You’ll understand why once you do. 
Remember that you deserve to be successful just as much as anyone else. There is no reason why you cant or shouldnt be. Fear is the root of all spiritual evil – treat all decisions equally and believe that any decision will make your life better (because it will).
Life is one big experience and you will crush it no matter what you do as long as you remember that. 
Rock and roll man. Here’s to your life and the endless possibilities you have. 
Keep in touch. 
Carter
 

His response:

ALRIGHTY! Thanks a lot man. That was so deeply more than what I expected. Thanks a fuckin’ lot man. I’d read those two books you gave, and I’d start taking action. I’m indecisive right now whether I should leave the startup or not. 
Just, thanks again man. That was so truly enlightening. Man, do me and yourlself a favour, put that whole message as a blogpost. Others deserve to see this. I know I’m not the only one who’d benefit from all those words.
You take care. 
Alrighty then.
 
And that’s what’s up.
Carter

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