My first cold call…. Monday morning, had to come into uni at 9am so that means I left my house at around 7:30am. I’ve prepared a list of people to call and my team leader/buddy is next to me. We’re in the Australian School of Business Room 111. It’s a tiny little room — basically one table and a bunch of lockers. I wish I was in one of the lockers. My phone is in my shaking hands. I have a basic script and all I really have to do is ask if they are interested in meeting with us to find out more about our initiative — we’re trying to see to if they would be willing to hire overseas talent on a short term contract.

All you’re doing is seeing if they’re keen for a meeting. Are you ready?

I say “yes” but I really mean “hell no.” I nod and I dial out the first number anyway. I’m pretty sure I didn’t breathe for the next two minutes. I was praying that nobody would pick up on the other end, I quit this volunteering role and I just get to go home. Eventually someone picks up and I give them my pitch. Surprisingly, I didn’t even really have to think about it. I had practised heaps of times before and it came out pretty fluently. Under all the adrenaline, I didn’t really have time to think, I defaulted back to my comfort level and training.

I understand the common advice to chill out whilst I’m in my early 20’s. I don’t have as many responsibilities as I will have as when I’m older and so I should have fun, travel, relax etc. The counter intuitive thought for me is that means I start “training” when I’m meant to be already excelling. Am I meant to start a business once I have a massive mortgage, growing family, annoying in laws and heaps of health problems? Am I meant to start blogging when other things are taking a higher priority?

Am I going to regret it? 100% yes. There are too many options to forgo that I can live without regrets. The question I have to ask myself is “what will I regret most?” I wish I could have it both ways. I really do. I wish that when I wake up tomorrow, I’m so good at sales that I can sell ice to Eskimos, enjoy the beach side views of my mansion in Santorini with my beautiful family, I have 8% bodyfat and I’m just rippling with muscle. One day, but definitely not tomorrow.

I’m incredibly blessed to have the family and friends that I have (I don’t know how they deal with my crap). They still support me, my goals and ambitions. I can take a few risks and know that I will still have food on the table and a roof over my head. One day this will no longer be the case. It just makes so much sense for me to just work hard right now. I’m never going to have this much luxury again. If you understand the business cycle then you’ll understand that you’ll go through many economic downturns in your lifetime. Money will be tight at a lot of times of my life. Time will always be sparse and I’ll never be as young and sprightly as I am today. Life’s going to get harder and so I have to get better.

Yep, it gets tedious. Yep, it’s pretty much the same thing week after week. Yep, it gets lonely. Writing things that nobody is reading. Trying to sell things that no one is really buying. Going to the gym when you’re tired. It all sucks but one day I’ll have people relying on me and the pressure will be on to deliver. At that stage, I’ll be glad that I put in that work.