I fear having my aspirations get changed with time...
I might be one of the youngest here, a B.Tech student from a Tier-3 college (I mention this for context).
Straight to the point: I come from a business family and have always dreamed of building something that impacts people on a large scale, something that can contribute meaningfully to India's economy. Being rich is great, of course, but I see it as a side effect of focusing on a bigger goal: serving the people.
Through my experiences, I’ve learned that to truly contribute at a large scale and become super-rich (yes, maybe a multimillionaire or even a billionaire—no, I’m not dreaming, I set my goals high so I keep pushing forward, not fantasizing), I need to build a business that addresses a real problem. The key is to create solutions that are both impactful and monetizable.
Here’s where I’m struggling: I see older people around me—some adults here on this app, and some I’ve met in real life—who had similar dreams. But over time, many of them ended up in stable jobs, stuck in the routine. It’s not that I’m against their decisions, I understand that personal circumstances shape those choices. But seeing this makes me wonder:
- How do I make sure I stay true to my goals in the long run?
- What keeps you motivated when the path to entrepreneurship seems uncertain?
- Have any of you experienced a shift from entrepreneurship dreams to job security? How did you handle it?
- For those who are in the entrepreneurial space, what advice do you have for someone just starting out in a Tier-3 college?
I’m asking for genuine advice because I fear that my aspirations might change as time passes, and I’d love to hear from those who’ve been through this journey. I am sorry if my posts seems immature and I am willing to learn from you guys.
I don't know if being over-aspirational and setting the bars that high is a good thing but one thing I wanted to mention is: I failed enough in the recent years, sometimes so close to big victories and then ending up losing, that I have stopped regretting on it and and learned to move forward.
Talking product sense with Ridhi
9 min AI interview5 questions
Why do you want whatever you want?
If those wants change over time, what is wrong with that? You mature with age, develop new tastes, attachments, relationships, discover meaning of life. Having big dreams is okay, but the outcome cannot be binary "Go big or go home". You cannot start with changing a billion lives, that's egoistic. Start with 4, then a dozen. Else you won't change any life meaningfully.
What you wanted sometime back could have been immature. Don't make the current you a slave to your 18yo version.
Thanks for your input Is dreaming big immature? I agree we have to start small, am not denying it.
It's amazing that you have such clarity of thought at this young age!
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Goals evolve. Your vision seems solid and if you stick to your vision of "building great products that address real world problems", you should be good. I'm sure you'll fail a few times, but you will take them as learnings.
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The problem is that we are fixated on a path that rewards certainty. Like the oldies you mentioned in your post. An entrepreneur needs to embrace uncertainty. Even on a presumably certain path, there can be sudden twists due to a layoff or any black swan event.
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Guilty as charged here. I may be an oldie, so bear with me because you have the wisdom of retrospective information. In 2009, we started aloopyaz.com - think of it like quick commerce when Zepto founers were probably in kindergarten!! We had decent traction in one locality. This was in MBA college and family and education loan pressure put us back on the job security track!! I don't feel bad about it now, but keep thinking about it when quick commerce valuations skyrocket! That's why after 14 years, I don't want to miss the bus. Once you have that spark, it never dies.
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Just start. Don't wait to get started. It will be imperfect at first, but fine.
It's fine if your aspirations change, as long as you don't live in constant regret of the past.