Soccer vs. Swimming - A Classic Dilemma

I remember vividly when I was 9 years old and my mother had, at this point, been taking me from soccer practice to swim meets to soccer games to out of State meets for swimming... it all came to a head one day after soccer practice when she asked me, "Joe, I really need for you to choose one sport over the other because I can not continue to keep this up for you." My mom posed the first major decision I had to make in my life. Do I continue playing soccer or do I literally dive full time into swimming. Well, the way my mind worked then is a little different than now... I decided to swim because I was starting to get really good and because girls swam more then they played soccer. So there you have it. I chose swimming and ended up swimming my way to 6 State records, national rankings in several events and most importantly a swimming scholarship to Clemson. I would say the life changing decision I made at 9 years old worked out pretty well.

I bring all this up because all entrepreneurs must make a similar decision at some point. They have been doing one thing for a while, maybe their entire professional career, and here is something to take them away from the norm and into something completely different. Again the move, change, or whatever you want to call it was brought on by something inside you going, you have got to make a choice. Well, now it is something inside and no longer my mother. To choose doing what you have been doing or to do something you have never done before and hopefully something that has never been done by anyone else either.

I never looked back to soccer after I made my decision to swim. Sure, I would play it in the backyard or with friends but I never wanted to go back to what I was doing prior to my decision to swim. I made the decision to swim and that is what I did. An entrepreneur must have the same drive and determination to make the decision and not look back. Every bit of focus and energy must be dedicated to making your goal a reality.

What was the first major decision you ever had to make and how did it affect your life?