Building An Airplane

In one week I will hop on an airplane to Istanbul. I have enough savings to get me through about one month of travel, but I know that I won’t be heading home for over half a year.

Running out of cash on the road is, of course, not an option. I’m making money online now, but it is currently not nearly enough to sustain me. As I begin my journey I am moving forward with the faith that I will be able to make up the difference.

There’s a quote that’s been on my mind for the past few months. It’s a quote about entrepreneurship, spoken first by DJ Patil in his commencement address at the University of Maryland.

“Entrepreneurship is jumping off of a cliff and assembling a plane on the way down.”

Taking my one way flight to Istanbul is my act of jumping off of a cliff. Building up my income is assembling my airplane.

Is this ‘jump first’ approach a smart one, or would it have been better for me to build up my income before leaping into oblivion?

–==–

To me, the answer seems very straightforward.

If I’m about to miss my rent payment in Chiang Mai I will spend the time to find $300 worth of work. (Even if it takes me over 10 hours)

If $500 is all that stands between me and a trip to South Africa I’ll be highly motivated to earn that money.

Jumping off the cliff is the best way to ensure that my airplane gets built.

As a human being, I won’t let myself starve. I won’t let myself get kicked out onto the street if the opportunity to make money is available to me. I’ll figure out how to earn a high level of income online if it’s necessary for me to do so.

If I was comfortably living at home I would be much less likely to be motivated to earn money. With no deadline or driving force compelling me to earn an income, I would also probably take three times as long to do so.

Even though I ‘could’ motivate myself to work from my comfortable bedroom at home (with mom making me breakfast every morning), I would find it much more challenging to get started.

With my rent on the line, a hungry stomach, and the potential for finding myself stranded in a foreign country, I know that I’ll build the airplane I need to avoid disaster.