I used to dread riding roller coasters as a kid. Now I seem to ride them all the time. Not literally, of course. I’m talking about being an entrepreneur.
And from my conversations with other entrepreneurs, I don’t think I’m the only one sporting an “all you can ride” pass!
In those conversations, I hear two words used a LOT. The first one is “scary.” Here’s the definition according to Google:
scar·y
ˈske(ə)rē
adjective (informal)
1. frightening; causing fear.
“a scary movie”
The second one is “exciting.” Here’s that one’s definition according to Google:
ex·cit·ing
ikˈsītiNG
adjective
1. causing great enthusiasm and eagerness.
“an exciting breakthrough”
Scary AND exciting at the same time
It’s funny, though, how those words combine to describe the state of an emerging and growing business. On the one hand, it’s scary as heck because we’re being pushed out of our comfort zone. It’s also scary because we’re opening ourselves up to some pretty big risks by venturing into the unknown. Will our venture succeed? Who knows! Will we bet the farm and lose it all? Who knows! Are folks going to point and laugh at our offerings, our marketing, our prices, our business model? Who knows! Aaaaah! Grip the safety bar of that roller coaster car for dear life and I promise if you let me survive I’ll be a good person eat all my vegetables stop picking on my sister and never ride a roller coaster again!
Or something like that! ;^)
The flip side of the “scary” coin is “exciting.” Sure, we’re stepping out of our comfort zone… but we’re STEPPING OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE! We’re doing something new! Something we WANT to take the risk for! And that’s pretty darn exciting… because we just could be RIGHT. We could bet the farm and win big. We could bring something new into the world, benefit others, make money, live the LIFE! Eeeeee! Wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care and scream with glee at the top of your lungs as the roller coaster rushes forward on the track to toss you all over the place upside down and backwards as it screeches to a stop at the end of the track and you’re laughing hysterically practically peeing your pants from laughing and you can’t get out of your seat fast enough to get back in line and ride it again!
Or so I’ve been told.
(Oh, who am I kidding? That’s me on pretty much any roller coaster at Disneyland!)
At any rate, in my conversations with other entrepreneurs I’ve noticed that we describe new ventures, new stages of growth, even new vacations (yes, VACATIONS in the entrepreneur world!) as scary yet exciting. As in, “holy cats it’s a big risk, but I can’t wait to see it pay off.”
Scaryexciting
So, I’d like to propose a new word. Can we just make it official?
scar·y·ex·cit·ing
ˈske(ə)rēikˈsītiNG
adjective (informal)
1. causing fear, great enthusiasm, and eagerness all at the same time.
“a scaryexciting business move”
After all, these two words are used so often together to reference entrepreneurial ventures, we may as well save time and just make it one word!
How will you use “scaryexciting” in a sentence today? What are you doing that’s scaryexciting for you? What is YOUR next roller coaster ride? Let us know in the comments below!
I cannot wait to see what you draw forth,
I wave my hands in the air with tightly fastened seat belt! As a mountaineer and climber I’ve always believed that that the so called “comfort zone” is not comfortable at all if you need to climb high. However you must be careful in order to survive to your actual climb, get to the top and from there start planning what will be the next mountain you will climb. I think everyone enjoy scaryexciting activities at their own bearable level as long as they can be sure they can have another one.
“at their own bearable level” – That’s so true, Mauro! Let’s hear it for seat belts AND hands in the air! ;^D