"Burn the boat...or…create a soft landing”?

During this period now dubbed “The Great Resignation,” that is the question many people are trying to answer as they’re considering ways to leave their 9 to 5 jobs for a career as a business owner.

My own journey from being a full time employee to becoming a full time entrepreneur took many years to complete. It was incredibly exciting but also ridden by periods of great anxiety, self-doubt, and fears.

What-If scenarios kept haunting me throughout–-what if I fail? What if I won’t be able to provide for my family? What if I can’t replace my salary with income generated by my new business ventures? As I worked through this process mentally, emotionally, and financially, I asked myself many times, why not just burn the boat? Force myself to learn how to swim or face the prospect of drowning? Wouldn't that bring about the much-needed solution more quickly? But I never allowed myself to pull...