Follow up to the courage of conviction

After my last post about the courage of conviction, many people shared with me that reading it, they had a deeper sense that they were on the right track. Knowing that they were afraid and that the road was hard, they were still pulled by their conviction to keep on, keeping-on.

“Everything you wrote, told me that this is really worth it,” said one person, someone who’s “in it” with her business right now, but who knows that she simply can’t pull back, because it’s too important to her. That’s what conviction looks like.

Other people worried. They worried that I was talking to them, and tacitly saying that they shouldn’t be aiming for the path of entrepreneurship.

So this is what I want to say to the people who worried: I don’t have any idea what anyone “should” or “shouldn’t” be doing. That’s up to you.

I only know this: that conviction is critical, and that the world tries to tell people that the only way they can have an impact is through striking it out in some big, blustery way such as the arena of entrepreneurship.

And--that simply. isn’t. true.

There are a million other infinite possibilities for you, and you simply cannot do your very best, most amazing, most impactful work--the work grounded in your convictions--if you’re trying to fit it into a medium that does not fit you.

I’m not interested in what’s trendy, and what’s trendy right now is running an online business. Online businesses, however? They’re just the “medium,” the vehicle. It’s not the only vehicle around.

Keep dreaming big; keep aiming high. Keep emerging. Keep standing out as a leader.

Just understand that big dreams don’t always end up in blog posts. Aiming high doesn’t need to relate to income projections. Emerging is not about visibility through social media followers.

And leadership? Leadership is not predicated on having a website and a “Buy Now” button.

But big dreams, aiming high, emerging, and leadership DO have one thing in common: Conviction.

You choose the medium.