When I worked at Salesforce back in 2005, I had no idea that in just two short years I’d be heading up my very own company. I often thought about what it would be like to run my own business; I enjoyed entrepreneurship from a young age, and being part of the innovation and leadership team at Salesforce only reinforced this dream. So I found an incredible co-founder, Lem, and took a major leap of faith. I’ll be honest: I’ve learned a lot about the different facets involved in running a company. But it was the circumstances at which I arrived at BrightEdge — and how we got to where we are today — that have taught me the biggest lessons about my career. Because there’s no way I can pick only one, here are the three most important:

There’s never a “right” time

Before I committed to starting BrightEdge, my oldest daughter was born. That’s right: before. Call me crazy, but it was her presence in the world that made me want to exercise my creativity and commit to doing something bigger. But, there were also some practical matters to consider — like having just had her. Many folks (including myself) will tell you that launching a company with a newborn at home isn’t exactly ideal timing. Throw in inviting your co-founder to move in with you while you run your business from your condo’s kitchen table, and you could say the timing was downright terrible. But that’s the thing with timing — it’s never the right time to take a big risk. It’s so easy to make excuses with what life throws your way, but if you always do that you’ll never get anything done. You have a lot more willpower, focus and determination in you than you probably realize, and that trumps timing any day.

To get ahead, you’ll have to work —hard

It’s a natural tendency — some days, you just want a break. But when it comes to starting a company (or even just working at one), you have to be ruthlessly committed. I learned firsthand how much energy, commitment and just plain hard work it takes when we first launched back in 2007. Lem and I were determining how to create the best product for our goals, and we spent several months indexing the entire web. All of it. It was time-consuming and tedious, but we knew it was essential for the future of our company. Now, Lem and I work Saturdays — just the two of us, to make sure we’re always tracking back to the same goals. Are there other things I’d rather be doing? Sure, sometimes. But if the ultimate success of my company means making some sacrifices and putting in extra time, then I’m willing to do that.

Be open to change

Ten years ago, I worked to develop and manage products at Salesforce. Today, I’m the head of a company where our chief goal is to change the content marketing industry. This wasn’t a gradual change, either; rather, it happened all at once, as many of life’s big changes do. I would never be where I am today if I didn’t take the risk of leaving Salesforce to chase an interest that has become a passion. So my last piece of advice would be to welcome those sharp turns and big departures as they come. Pay close attention to where your interests lie, and pursue them when it feels right. You never know where they might lead.

2005年的时候，我还在Salesforce公司工作，当时我完全想象不到，再有不到两年，我就会创办自己的公司了。以前我经常会想象，经营一份自己的事业会是什么样。我从很年轻的时候就向往创业。晋身为Salesforce公司领导层，参与该公司创新历程的经历，令我更加坚定这一梦想。找到创业伙伴莱姆之后，我的信心又有了重大的提升。实话实说，我在经营企业的方方面面都学到了很多东西，但正是我开始创办BrightEdge时面临的环境，以及我们是如何走到今天这一步的历程，教会了我几个最重要的职业生涯经验。我没法仅仅选择一条来说，以下是三条最重要的经验。

永远没有“正确”的时机

在我正式创办BrightEdge之前，我的大女儿刚刚出生。没错，她是在我辞职创业前出生的。你可以说我是个疯子，但正是她的出生，促使我想要运用我的创造力去做一些更重要的事。但当时也有一些实际问题需要考虑——比如刚出生的女儿需要照顾。很多亲友（包括我自己）都认为，刚生娃的时候并不是一个理想的创业时机。如果你毅然和合伙人挤在出租屋里，在餐桌上讨论公司业务，你肯定会说时机选得太糟了。但时机就是这么回事——要承担大的风险，就永远没有正确的时机。用生活压力作借口非常容易，但如果你老这么做，就永远不会成事。你的意志力、专注力和决断力可能要比自己想象得大得多，它的作用要超过所谓的时机。

吃得苦中苦，方为人上人

或许有些时候，你就是想休息一阵子——这是一种自然的倾向。但在创业的过程中（甚至仅仅是为一家创业公司工作），你必须毫无保留的投入。2007年公司刚一成立，我就真切感受到了创业需要付出多少能量、心血和默默工作。我和莱姆当时需要决定怎样为我们的目标客户创建最好的产品，为此我们花了几个月的时候检索整个网络——记住，是整个网络。那是一项非常耗时和无聊的工作，但我们知道，它对公司未来的成功非常重要。现在每到周六，我和莱姆仍然会继续工作——只有我们两个人，以确保我们始终都保持着同样的目标。我是不是也想做其它事情呢？当然有时也想。不过如果公司的最终成功意味着我必须要做出某些牺牲，或者必须要付出额外的时间，那么我愿意做出这些牺牲。

乐于接受改变

十年前，我在Salesforce的工作是负责开发和管理产品。如今，我已经是一家公司的老板，而我们的主要目标是改变整个内容营销行业。这段创业历程并不是一个渐变式改变，而是一次突然的变化，就像人生中很多其它的重大变故一样。如果我当时不冒险离开Salesforce去追逐一个兴趣——而且这个兴趣如今已经变成一种激情——那么我就永远不会有今天的成就。所以我的最后一个建议是，当人生的那些剧变和离别到来的时候，欢迎它们。密切关注你的兴趣在哪里，在感觉对的时候，勇于追逐它们。你不知道它们会把你带到何方。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

审校：任文科